by Debbie Rodrigues | Nov 2, 2017 | Challenge, Productivity
To be more successful, you need to make productivity tools work for you. Learn how to do it the easy way and boost your efficiency.
Do you make productivity tools work for you? Or are you just collecting them like souvenirs?
When you’re reviewing your tools there are questions that aren’t worth asking such as:
- How much do they cost?
- Is everyone buying them?
- Are they only cuteness?
[ninja-popup ID=11356]
[/ninja-popup]
Among the meaningful things you need to pay attention are:
- personal preference
- current needs
- efficiency
- quantity
- automation
Read more about them on the articles listed below.
How To Beat Procrastination With Technology
It’s so easy to fall for shiny things, isn’t it?
But what if I tell you that you can beat procrastination with technology?
There’s a practical way you can take advantage of it even if you aren’t tech savvy.
Read all about it here.
How To Stop Hating Yourself For Bad Email Productivity
Emails can steal a lot of our time.
But if we don’t deal with them, things just get worst.
Grab my checklist and start improving your email productivity today.
How To Know If You’re Wasting Time With Inefficient Tools
If you aren’t careful, you may end up wasting time with inefficient tools.
And it doesn’t really have to do with the tools themselves. Generally, it’s just us who don’t take the time to apply them “correctly”.
Check my tips on how you can take better advantage of the tools you got.
10 Super Easy Ways To Find Out If You Have Too Many Tools
You know you have too many tools when…
The answers vary from person to person.
Still, I got a list of 10 ways you can find it out for yourself on the blog that will help you spot yours.
How To Develop A Strong Strategy With Automation
Developing a strong strategy with automation is easier than you think.
You can use it for a wide variety of things. Including household tasks and social media scheduling like for Pinterest.
Learn how I use my favorite social media automation systems to stay relevant and consistent without being spammy.
Make your productivity tools work for you
Maybe you know someone who bought a stationary bike but only uses it as a hanger. Maybe you’ve done it yourself.
The thing is that the bike won’t help them get fitter if it’s covered with clothes.
The same happens with any productivity tool you purchase.
Only if you use it the right way is that it’ll solve your struggles. Otherwise, they won’t work.
Moving forward, ask yourself:
- Why you have the tools you have.
- For what you need them.
- How to use the ones you already own.
If you need help getting started, come on over to the challenge for accountability, support, and motivation.
52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You
I’m hosting a 52-week productivity challenge on my closed Facebook Group.
You can read everything about the challenge here.
[ninja-popup ID=11356]
[/ninja-popup]
How the 52-week productivity challenge works
First of all, grab a copy of the list [ninja-popup ID=11356]52 Things That Are Killing Your Productivity[/ninja-popup].
After signing up, you’ll be invited to join my closed Facebook group.
On the group, I’ll share daily prompts during the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You.
I’ll guide you through a brand-new topic each week.
From Monday through Friday, you’ll learn how you can use Mindful Planning™ to:
- Become more efficient
- Save time
- Manage stress
- Achieve your goals
You can start the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You at any moment of the year.
And you choose whether to follow every single week or to focus on your personal pain points.
If you miss anything, you can always refer to older posts for catch-up or review.
All that FOR FREE!
See you at the challenge
The method I apply to the challenge is exactly the same one I use with my clients: Mindful Planning™.
It’s a 5-step method you can use to all aspects of your life become more productive one day at a time without added stress.
Come and join the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You today.
I’m looking forward guiding you towards a successful year and beyond!
by Debbie Rodrigues | Oct 23, 2017 | Challenge, Productivity
How do you know if you have too many tools? Keep it simple to be more productive and achieve your dreams one day at a time.
I know you have too many tools, period.
And it’s not because I have a crystal ball or a spy following you.
It happens to everyone when they start their journey towards a more efficient lifestyle.
We make the decision to improve our efficiency because we realize we can’t keep on doing things the way we do.
How?
We read ALL the books we can find and trying ALL the tools we can get our hands on.
Unfortunately, in most cases, we see little or no results.
We find ourselves overwhelmed by information overload and excessive tools we don’t know exactly how to manage.
[ninja-popup ID=11356][/ninja-popup]
You know you have too many tools when…
To help you identify whether or not it applies to you, I put a list together.
Make sure you haven’t become a victim of impulsive consuming more systems than you need.
1. Distraction
Have you ever caught yourself browsing your productivity tools aimlessly?
Whether it’s a paper planner or your favorite cloud tool, if its content is cluttered and unorganized, it becomes very distracting.
Mainly if you have to jump back and forth to find the information you need.
2. Procrastination
I know it isn’t a question easy to answer but: Do you use your tools as an excuse to avoid doing the work?
If you spend more time planning things than working on them, there’s something very wrong going on.
3. Scattered information
When working on a project, what tools do you use?
You’re using too many if you:
- Keep more than 2 tabs open on your computer.
- Need more than 2 apps/software at a time to perform one single task.
- Have a cluttered desk with documents to handle.
If you’re experiencing any of the items above, it’s time to downsize.
4. Time-consuming
How much time do you spend collecting information to perform a task?
If you store each piece of a project in separate tools, you’ll need to dedicate a good chunk of your day to put everything together before even being able to get started.
Those minutes wasted here and there turn into unproductive hours at the end of the month.
That’s not what we want, is it?
5. Cost
How much do you spend per month and per year with subscriptions?
If you can cut down your expenses, why not?
I’m sure you can use your money for cooler things that a 3rd cloud drive, can’t you?
Start tracking your expenses and find out how much you can save by letting go of excessive tools.
6. Focus
Do you get lost in your thoughts when working with your tools?
Are there too many interferences when you work with them?
Creatives can struggle more with it.
Because we see “shiny things” everywhere, a colorful background is enough for us to forget what we were supposed to be doing in the first place.
7. Too complex
Do you frequently get lost in your color code system?
If so, you might be overdoing it.
Unless you have concrete reasons for using all the colors of the rainbow, for example, keep it simple.
If you need a code to use it, it’s an invitation to give it up.
8. Difficult to maintain
How long does it take you to get your planning done? What about the tracking of your activities?
And once you’re done with your work, how much time do you need to wrap things up?
It’s easy to spot if you have too many tools when your processes aren’t straightforward.
9. Impossible to duplicate
If someone looked at your planning right now (on paper or electronically), would they be able to understand it?
Ask someone else to give it a try if you aren’t sure.
If they struggle moving from one tool to another to accomplish simple tasks, your approach may be exaggerated.
10. Latest fads
When you purchase new productivity tools just because they exist, you have too many tools.
If you find something that genuinely interests you and solves at least one of your current struggle, don’t be afraid of giving it a try.
And if it really delivers, don’t hesitate to drop one (or more) of your non-efficient ones to keep the balance.
But just don’t buy “stuff” for the sake of having it.
Our goal is to become more productive, remember?
Stay away from too many tools
Too much of a good thing…
You know how it ends, don’t you?
We use tools to solve our struggles and challenges, not to keep up with the Joneses.
Know:
- Why you have the tools you have.
- For what you need them.
- How to use the ones you already own.
If you can’t answer these 3 questions for every notebook and software you got, maybe you should break up with them and see how it goes.
You may found out you get a lot more done by keeping your tools to a minimum.
52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You
I’m hosting a 52-week productivity challenge on my closed Facebook Group.
You can read everything about the challenge here.
How the 52-week productivity challenge works
First of all, grab a copy of the list [ninja-popup ID=11356]52 Things That Are Killing Your Productivity[/ninja-popup].
After signing up, you’ll be invited to join my closed Facebook group.
On the group, I’ll share daily prompts during the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You.
I’ll guide you through a brand-new topic each week.
From Monday through Friday, you’ll learn how you can use Mindful Planning™ to:
- become more efficient
- save time
- manage stress
- achieve your goals
You can start the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You at any moment of the year.
And you choose whether to follow every single week or to focus on your personal pain points.
If you miss anything, you can always refer to older posts for catch-up or review.
All that FOR FREE!
[ninja-popup ID=11356][/ninja-popup]
See you at the challenge
The method I apply to the challenge is exactly the same one I use with my clients: Mindful Planning™.
It’s a 5-step method you can use to all aspects of your life become more productive one day at a time without added stress.
Come and join the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You today.
I’m looking forward guiding you towards a successful year and beyond!
by Debbie Rodrigues | Oct 9, 2017 | Challenge, Health and Wellness, Productivity
If you struggle with your inbox, you must first stop hating yourself for bad email productivity. Learn how I’m doing it one day at a time.
Why am I telling you to stop hating yourself for bad email productivity?
Because I’ve done it for long enough to know exactly how it goes.
Every time I saw my boyfriend’s inbox, I felt miserable.
Because of an inbox, Debbie?
Oh yeah!
It was more than just than his emailing skills, but the feeling of me, being so good in organizing planning a lot of things, failing terribly in that area.
Remember when we talked about perfectionism?
Unless you break up with it, you feel stuck, lost, and end up procrastinating.
Did I improve the past months? Absolutely!
But before we move on, let me clarify one thing: my email productivity skills can be better.
I’m NOT an over-20,000-unread-emails person anymore, but I’m still to reach inbox zero.
[ninja-popup ID=11356][/ninja-popup]
Dealing with feelings
One thing I’ve learned is that I could hate myself as much as I wanted, but the number of emails I had wouldn’t go any lower because of that.
On the contrary, since I wasn’t taking any action, it only got worse.
It took a lot longer than it should, but I finally realized I had to approach the situation with the same level of practicality I used for everything else in my life.
Since it was easy to measure the damage, I jumped towards the second step of Mindful Planning: Analyze.
The results of my review pointed to 5 main issues. I:
- Had too many email accounts.
- Was using my inboxes as reminders.
- Was using my inboxes as archives.
- Didn’t apply the 2-minute rule for new messages.
- Wasn’t making any time to clean things up.
As you can see, these aren’t things that happen overnight.
And the best way to solve them is by setting negative feelings aside and getting to work.
I had too many email accounts
One of my many email accounts is almost 20 years old.
It had so much junk in it that while it may sound strange, it was the easiest one to get organized.
I had the habit of creating separate accounts to separate contacts. Even though some of them were deactivated throughout the years, I still had more than I needed.
And all of them were chaotic!
I was using my inboxes as reminders
Whenever I received a message related to something I had to do in the future, I kept it in my inbox.
If I wanted to take time to reply to a friend, I did the same.
Needless to say, it wasn’t an efficient method at all.
Things were so cluttered there was no way I could remember everything that was there.
I was using my inboxes as archives
Not only I kept emails related to things I didn’t want to forget. I also stored messages I wanted to save for later.
I did pretty much the same thing as what I used to do with my letters.
That was, in fact, the main reason why I could never just delete stuff without reviewing it. It wasn’t only clutter I had there.
I didn’t apply the 2-minute rule for new messages
On his book Get Things Done, David Allen explains the 2-minute rule.
Putting it simply: if you can do it in 2 minutes or less, just do it right away. No delay or procrastination.
It’s straightforward and easy to apply, isn’t it?
Now, I’d say “of course”, but it wasn’t my approach at all.
I wasn’t making any time to clean things up
So my inboxes were cluttered and messy. Time for action, right?
Well, that wasn’t what I did.
Instead, I just hated myself.
No productive effort at all. Only lack of motivation and blame.
I was wasting time with negativity when I should be using my emotions to become more efficient.
Stop hating yourself for bad email productivity
This mindset and approach to my inboxes went on for years.
Last year, however, I decided that it was time to change it.
I started reading blogs, books, and following gurus on the subject.
While I learned something new each time, I couldn’t find an approach that matched my needs.
For example, archiving or deleting everything weren’t options I was comfortable with at all.
Early this year, I made it a priority and assumed the responsibility of putting together a strategy that worked for me.
The result was a 10-step checklist you can download FOR FREE here.
The 3 main ones are:
- Add all your email accounts to one tool.
- Create tasks for actionable emails.
- Deal with new messages immediately.
Getting started and staying on track
It is possible to reach inbox zero, or get as close to as you want.
The first step you must take is to stop hating yourself for bad email productivity.
It isn’t who you are, and you shouldn’t make it personal.
Grab my Inbox Zero For Perfectionists checklist today and get started.
To make sure you stay on track and get the results you want, join my community of like-minded achievers for accountability and support.
52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You
I’m hosting a 52-week productivity challenge on my closed Facebook Group.
You can read everything about the challenge here.
[ninja-popup ID=11356][/ninja-popup]
How the 52-week productivity challenge works
First of all, grab a copy of the list [ninja-popup ID=11356]52 Things That Are Killing Your Productivity[/ninja-popup].
After signing up, you’ll be invited to join my closed Facebook group.
On the group, I’ll share daily prompts during the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You.
I’ll guide you through a brand-new topic each week.
From Monday through Friday, you’ll learn how you can use Mindful Planning™ to:
- Become more efficient
- Save time
- Manage stress
- Achieve your goals
You can start the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You at any moment of the year.
And you choose whether to follow every single week or to focus on your personal pain points.
If you miss anything, you can always refer to older posts for catch-up or review.
All that FOR FREE!
See you at the challenge
The method I apply to the challenge is exactly the same one I use with my clients: Mindful Planning™.
It’s a 5-step method you can use to all aspects of your life become more productive one day at a time without added stress.
Come and join the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You today.
I’m looking forward guiding you towards a successful year and beyond!
by Debbie Rodrigues | Sep 28, 2017 | Challenge, Productivity
What’s for you the best approach to dealing with productivity killers? I got some tips that will help you find it out.
There isn’t a universal best approach to dealing with productivity killers.
It happens because of various factors such as:
- our personal/professional needs
- stress levels
- availability
- responsibilities
I remember back in the day when I worked in the corporate, I only check social media during lunch break.
Even though I was active on various platforms, my professional performance didn’t depend on it.
Now, I’m contacted through Facebook or Instagram, for instance, by clients, students, and followers.
While I don’t check every single message as they arrive (more about it below), once a day isn’t enough for me anymore.
What to do them?
How can we use notifications and social media, for example, without being controlled by them?
[ninja-popup ID=11356][/ninja-popup]
Defining your approach to different struggles
In the past weeks we focused on the following productivity killers:
- Saying yes too much
- Excess of redo
- Notifications
- Social media
Check the approach I use for myself and learn how to adapt my tips to your needs.
How To Stop Saying Yes Too Much To Be More Productive
At a certain moment, someone decided that one was only professional, capable, and skilled enough if they accepted whatever was dropped on them.
From the smallest and most insignificant tasks to major projects, unless they answered “yes” with a big smile all the time, they weren’t good enough.
This is changing. Slowly, but it is.
Discover when saying “no” is, in fact, a big “yes”, and see your efficiency boost.
If You Need To Do It, Do It Right The First Time For Productivity
Excess of redo is a major waste, period.
Of course, that we’re humans and we all make mistakes.
Hoping to be perfect isn’t a productive mindset either.
Yet, you have a lot more to gain if you focus on your tasks and perform them the best way you can.
You’ll get a lot more done if you do it right the first time.
Find out how it works.
Just Turn Off Your Notifications Right Now, Will You?
I’m not a notification hater, however, it steals a good chunk of your day if you aren’t careful.
If you think your addiction to beeps and vibration needs a total rehab, you just have to shut them all off.
But, if you want to find ways how you can use them to your advantage, I got some tips for you on the blog.
How I Save Time Planning Social Media With CoSchedule
I love CoSchedule* and I cannot lie.
It saves me a lot of time with one of the most dangerous productivity killers of these days: social media.
The great news is that you can still be relevant and share useful information without spending endless hours scrolling through your feed.
On the blog, I share how I use their latest features to free precious time to engage with my clients, Tribe, and friends.
Dealing with productivity killers
There isn’t a one-size-fits-all ideal approach to manage efficiency blockers.
With my coaching clients, for instance, I go through their as-is situation, goals, and needs first before even starting discussing solutions.
Who you are, what you do, and your objectives play a major role on how you attack productivity killers.
Make sure you go through my tips, and if you have any questions, drop me a line in the comments below.
Discovering the best approach to dealing with productivity killers is what’s going to bring you closer to your goals.
52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You
I’m hosting a 52-week productivity challenge on my closed Facebook Group.
You can read everything about the challenge here.
[ninja-popup ID=11356][/ninja-popup]
How the 52-week productivity challenge works
First of all, grab a copy of the list [ninja-popup ID=11356]52 Things That Are Killing Your Productivity[/ninja-popup].
After signing up, you’ll be invited to join my closed Facebook group.
On the group, I’ll share daily prompts during the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You.
I’ll guide you through a brand-new topic each week.
From Monday through Friday, you’ll learn how you can use Mindful Planning™ to:
- Become more efficient
- Save time
- Manage stress
- Achieve your goals
You can start the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You at any moment of the year.
And you choose whether to follow every single week or to focus on your personal pain points.
If you miss anything, you can always refer to older posts for catch-up or review.
All that FOR FREE!
See you at the challenge
The method I apply to the challenge is exactly the same one I use with my clients: Mindful Planning™.
It’s a 5-step method you can use to all aspects of your life become more productive one day at a time without added stress.
Come and join the 52-Week Challenge For A More Productive You today.
I’m looking forward guiding you towards a successful year and beyond!
Disclaimer: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. However, when you order through my link, it helps me to continue to offer you lots of free stuff. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. Thank you, in advance for your support!
