My fave productivity hacks

If you know me, you know I’m big on systems.

I’ve written about my love for efficiency and spreadsheets many times before and every time I do, I usually get a few comments from people keen to know some of my systems for productivity and getting sh*t done.

So, behold, some of my favourite productivity hacks:

Note, none of these recommendations have been sponsored – it’s just the things I do to stay organised!

1. I use the Google Keep app to keep track of all my To Dos. Basically Google is my best friend. I run my business on Gmail, Google Drive and Google Keep.
2. Separate to my To Do list, I use the reminders app on my MacBook as an overflow list for all my random thoughts.
   Every week, I sift through it and add notes and reminders to my main To Do lists. So, for stuff that I’ve thought of, but don’t need to action yet, I’ll put it in my reminders time list (eg ‘Name for Book, set to remind me on November 30, 2018). Then, I’ll “chunk” the reminders – so for example, if there’s three random calls I need to make, I block out time in my diary to make those calls all in one small block of time. It helps pull random things into one category – making things easier to achieve.
3. Every time I complete a new task in my business, I write myself a Google Doc with the basic steps I took. Kind of like a simple ‘how to’.  As a business owner you need to wear a lot of hats, and its easy to forget how you did something. I find that in writing a how to, I don’t have to store so much in my brain – cos I can always look back over it when I need to refresh my memory
4. I use the Boomerang app in Gmail so that I never forget to follow up on something. It’s genius, you basically set parameters for the emails you send – so if I send an important email, but don’t hear back from the receiver in a set period of time, the app will put the email right at the top of my inbox again – so I can easily follow up. One less thing to keep in my brain as a To Do!
5. I have a standardised meal plan. Yep. Basically that means we eat the same meals every week i.e. Monday is Mexican, Tuesday is fish and salad etc etc.
6. I take my meal planning a step further and also have a repeat online grocery order. The groceries get delivered, we make the meals, it all rolls! Oh, and I experiment every month with a new recipe. If it’s a winner, it gets added to the standardised meal plan and something else gets booted. I’m wild like this.
7. I use the BrainFM app a lot. It’s probably my fave shortcut to getting and staying focused. The marketing spiel says it was invented to have the brain of a neuroscientist and the heart of a musician – and I don’t know if that’s right but I do know it makes me super bloody focused!  I use the ‘Focus’ playlist with my Beats headphones and I reckon it triples my productivity.

Let me know if there’s a productivity hack you swear by. I’m always keen to hear new and better ways of getting stuff done!

T x