This is the twelfth edition of The Founder’s Corner! Today, we’re dishing up some super valuable productivity tips. And we’re focusing on the the 3 R’s for staying focused on the most valuable tasks.
But first…
The Founder’s Corner posts are based on previous segments from our weekly newsletter. So if you want this type of content first, check out the link at the end of this post!
Now, let’s dive into today’s post!
Doing Things Differently – Some of My Top Productivity Tips
After almost 9 years of running a fully remote company, there are a few tips I’ve learned along the way. What it comes down to mostly is knowing yourself!
The key to staying productive when you are the keeper of your own time is knowing where your strengths and weaknesses lie when it comes to time management!
Do you ever feel like you put in a lot of effort and simply aren’t seeing the results? Are there tasks related to your podcasting process that act as major bottlenecks preventing you from working ahead?
Quick analysis: You might not be spending your time in the right places!
Now, as you’ve heard, there are certainly pros and cons to working remotely (and we dive into all our top tips for helping you master remote work in this post!) but the important piece is being able to distinguish between “busywork” and work that actually moves the needle!
This concept has been absolutely fascinating to me, especially while on the journey of creating, launching, and promoting a podcast.
There is this tendency for us to “forge our own way” and although there are countless how-to’s and guides that show you exactly what you should and shouldn’t do during your podcasting process, we still seem to think we know better and we should just continue to operate through trial and error.
But why?
That is exactly what I have been asking myself lately. There are tasks on my to-do list that take up incredible amounts of my time — but are they even worth it? Is the effort worth the results?
If the answer is ‘no’, then it’s time to re-evaluate! And it’s time to cultivate productivity tips that are all about staying focused on the most valuable tasks…those tasks that move the needle…
But more on those productivity tasks in a bit!
Here are a few things that have popped up as time-wasters for me on my podcasting journey:
1. Wasting time reviewing episodes pre-edit when you have a great production team!
There’s an element of needing to relinquish control of certain parts of your podcasting process simply to make it more streamlined and dedicate your valuable time elsewhere. While reviewing my episodes was a great learning opportunity at the start, when you’re trying to work ahead and have other pressing, more urgent tasks to get to, this simply becomes a redundant task.
2. Spending too much time trying to put out a “perfect” product.
Of course, putting an emphasis on creating valuable content is something I live by. But when the task itself becomes too time-intensive then it’s time to re-evaluate. Instead of re-recording an intro five times or going through endless iterations of an episode title, focus on what works and simply get it done! Efficiency over perfection.
3. Spending too much time creating social content and not enough promoting on other podcasts or interacting in communities.
Sometimes, without even knowing it, creating content to promote your podcast on social media can take up big chunks of time. This is often because the inner creative in me really loves creating shareable content, but does it move the needle as much as it should? Although it can be great to interact over the content you publish, there is so much more value in building relationships and fostering connections.
So how can you ensure that you are in fact leveraging your time on tasks where you will have the most success?
Productivity Tips: The 3 R’s of staying focused on the most valuable tasks
1. Re-evaluate
When you’re ready to start doing things differently, the first step is to re-evaluate where you spend your time. Start by prioritizing the big picture and make sure that your to-do list is aligned with achieving it. Spend time focusing on high-value activities that help you get closer to your goals and actually make an impact.
It is easy to get caught up in menial activities, so it is just as important to implement boundaries and time limitations to help keep you on track. When you prioritize a small percentage of the right tasks, the results will be much more likely to move the needle!
“Focusing is about saying ‘No’.”
Steve Jobs
So evaluate, spend committed time focusing on high-value activities, and limit non-essential tasks from draining your time.
2. Reflect
As you work through your day, be sure to also take time to reflect on everything that has occurred. Because our daily lives can be quite hectic, a period of reflection can help you see any missed opportunities and question your methods/tasks and their outcomes to ensure they are in fact the best use of your time.
While reflecting on what didn’t work can help you avoid making timely mistakes, it is also important to recognize the things that do work so you can do more of it!
“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly.”
Claude Monet
So take the time to reflect, recognize what works, and implement it to achieve growth.
3. Reinvent
The last and most crucial step is to work on yourself! Working on yourself ranks among the most frequently neglected of the high-value tasks. How often do you actually carve out the time to purposefully learn something new, work on a skill, or implement a mindset shift? As part of your process, challenge yourself every day to do better and be better!
Truly moving the needle starts with a decision to reinvent yourself and move beyond the status quo.
“People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.”
Warren Bennis
A Final Word on Productivity Tips
All this to say, when you work and podcast remotely and there’s no one to keep you accountable, it is up to you to make sure you are spending your time in the right places! And you need to find productivity tips that work for you.
Re-evaluate your tasks, reflect on your daily occurrences, and reinvent yourself so that your efforts are leading you to results that move the needle and make an impact on your big-picture goals.
The Founder’s Corner posts are based on a segment of our weekly newsletter.
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