This time of year I feel like I am my most productive. That’s largely because I have so much more work this time of year…and the more work you do, the more productive you are. Right? I actually feel that I am being MOST productive when I’m able to really strike that all too delicate balance between home life and work life, which really starts to bleed together when you work from home most days! I personally feel I’m handling things the best when I can not only crank out my edits in a timely fashion and respond to emails, etc quickly, but also have clean laundry and time to exercise.

One thing I’ve learned is this: Productivity is a mind game! It’s about tricking yourself into getting work done in an efficient manner.

Productivity breeds productivity. If you’re having trouble getting motivated to work, start by making a to do list and then handle a couple of the easiest tasks on the list. Once you start to feel productive it’s like seeing workout results…you won’t want to stop because you won’t want to lose that productive feeling!

Another productivity tip I use from time to time is actually the opposite of that. I tackle whatever is most difficult first. By getting it out of the way, I feel a huge sense of relief and am ready to take care of the easier things on my to do list that I’m more excited about doing because they’re more enjoyable or fun to me.

I blogged this tip before, but it’s a good enough tip that I’ll share it again today…consider timing yourself working! I use this method for editing and it helps me get control over my time! I also create editing deadlines for myself, which means I know that I have to get xyz done TODAY if I want to make the deadline I set for myself. This helps me know that I HAVE to make editing a priority.

If you are struggling really hard with certain tasks that seem to bog you down, consider another solution. Is it something you don’t REALLY need to do? Cross it off your list. Is it something you HAVE to do, but for whatever reason, you find it tedious or difficult? Outsourcing could be a good idea! For example, I’ve talked about this before, but I currently outsource album designs to Align. I actually like designing albums for my couples, BUT it can actually hurt my overall productivity to do this myself because designing the albums AND making swaps and changes for clients is a little too time consuming when I do it myself.

If you aren’t really at a point in your business where you feel that you have the money to invest in systems like album designers, etc, I would consider re-evaluating your pricing. If you’re booking enough to where you are overwhelmed with your workload, you may be able to switch things up there. OR, you may need to build into your pricing the funds for things that will save your sanity! Time is money, so saving your precious time is always a good investment.

These are just a few of the ways I help myself get productive! Hope that this helped you at least a little bit! As always, if you have questions, feel free to comment or email.

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