Day 16: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 16. Keep it going.

Well, we have come to the final week in this blog series. If you have been playing along, you have reached Productivity Action Day 16. There are only five of them left for you to take action on.

Now that doesn’t mean it all ends on Friday. It means that it truly has begun for you. Being mega productive that is.

So to start your week out right, your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 16, if you so choose to accept it is to:

When the going gets tough, get motivated

Have you ever heard or even said “I just need to be motivated” or “I am not motivated”?

Truly, those are excuses. When it comes to being productive, motivation doesn’t just strike.

Sure there may be times when you are excited to get things done. And then there are the times you aren’t. But it’s not just because you don’t feel like it.

It’s something more. Here are several that usually show up:

• You don’t know what it is you need to do to get started.
• The outcome is unclear.
• It’s a boring task (taxes anyone).
• There is an underlying (sometimes unknown to you) issue going on.

Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list. There are many other reasons you may feel unmotivated. For today, though, let’s look at being unmotivated as something you can change as it pertains to productivity and getting things done. And have you reaching your goals.

Where your mind goes, your focus goes

On Productivity Action Day 12 you worked on Mindset. You learned your mindset can make or break you. Your mindset has a direct link to your motivation. And so does how you look at, think about and feel about what you are doing.

You may have heard a lot of talk about finding your “why” and how it’s key to reaching your goals.

For instance, if you have ever been around children, when they are about two they go through a phase of asking why.  They are curious, but they also want to know why it is they need to do something that they may not want to do.

Guess what? As an adult, you do the same thing. Finding your why is important and it is key. It can be a great motivator for you to start, continue and finish what you are doing. 

For instance, some whys can be very meaningful and deep as in, “I want to feel fulfilled in my work.” Others can be very basic as in “I will feel great when I have my taxes ready for the accountant”.

As a result, determine your why (big and/or small) to motivate yourself to get things done, especially when you seem to come to a standstill. 

Meanwhile, when you struggle with productivity and getting things started, moved forward or finished, list out why you aren’t “motivated” then list out your why of getting in motion again.

Above all, motivation really is just getting into motion. Your why can help with that. After that, it’s a matter of checking things off.

I’d love for you to share your thoughts, your results or ask any questions you have. Feel free to post in the comment box or reach out directly to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

IGTV: Kim Ravida IGTV

Article: Twenty Motivation Tips

Book: The Miracle Equation by Hal Elrod

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com

Disclosure: Some of the links I have provided for you are my affiliate link. It costs you nothing but I may receive a small commission.  Thank you.

Day 15: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 15. Bright Shiny Object Syndrome.

Congratulations, it’s Productivity Action Day 15. You are more productive. I know you are. If you have been following along, taking the actions, there is no way you haven’t improved your productivity.

Meaning, you have improved your results! Yay you!

Today is a fun day. Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 15, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Ignore the BSOs

Bright Shiny Objects that is. They are all over the place. They show up when you least expect it.

For instance, they come in the form of a free download you came across while surfing the web. An email that came directly to your inbox. Or a text messaging from a colleague claiming “you just have to hear this new deal, right now.”

In addition, Bright Shiny Objects show up when you are in the middle of your goal. You have been working away. Doing your ONE thing and bam.

There it is. Calling for your attention. Did you ever notice they don’t show up when you are just sitting there doing nothing?

What you focus on you get

Do you want to get your result or do you want to go down a rabbit hole?

We both know the answer to that.

So then, what do you do with these wonderful opportunities (well, some are wonderful)?

You put them in a “parking lot”. Yes, you get out a sheet of paper, open a new document, or make an electronic note on your devise and write it down whatever came to you or whatever someone gave you and look at it later.

Do you remember on Productivity Action Day 9 you were to give yourself time to think.

This is the time you can pull out your information and think about it. Ask yourself some questions such as:

• How does this fit into where I am right now?
• Will this bring me closer to or further from my goal?
• Is this something I want to put on my next to do list?

Ultimately, you want to be proactive with ideas, opportunities and the like. You want to be the driver of them not them driving you.

How to be the driver of your success

You want to not get caught up taking action on something that was not on your radar while you are already working on what is on your radar.

Bright Shiny Objects can be great, just not at that exact moment. Go back to what you have already discovered about your 3 TOP Productivity Steps for your success. Time, Organization of your already laid out actions and Prioritization of what you are doing here and now.

Seeing those will help with what just showed up and then you can use the 3 TOP Productivity Steps to incorporate new projects, tasks and actions into your plan.

I’d love for you to share your thoughts, your results or ask any questions you have. Feel free to post in the comment box or reach out directly to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

IGTV: Kim Ravida IGTV

Article: The Shiny Object Syndrome: How to Stay Focused and Stop Getting Distracted

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com

Disclosure: Some of the links I have provided for you are my affiliate link. It costs you nothing but I may receive a small commission.  Thank you.

Day 14: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 14.  It’s elimination time.

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 14, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Eliminate Time Wasters

One of the things you must do if you want to be productive is to eliminate your time wasters.

Time wasters are things you are doing that 1) are not RGAs and 2) you do not need to do.

True, if it needs to be done, then it is right for someone else to do. And it is not for you to do.

Look over your list. By now, you should know (or are getting closer to seeing) your RGAs, your value-added activities and those that only you can do.

Everything else is a time waster.

How to eliminate time wasters

Time wasters show up in interesting places. Things such as feeling like you have to enter every single receipt into a separate file folder. Feeling as if you have to have meetings with everyone all the time. Excessive traveling when a phone call or Zoom meeting would do.

I’m going to give you two (yes, only two) ways to eliminate time wasters. 

1. Stop doing them and delete them from your list
2. Give them to someone else to do (as in delegate)

Don’t forget, you have to know your time wasters first in order to eliminate them so if you have yet to do that, go back, especially to Productive Action Day 5 and list out your Revenue Generating Activities and your Non-Revenue Generating Activities.

That will give you a good starting point.

Yesterday we talked about time containers, there is no reason for you to put time wasters into those precious time containers that you have.

Don’t forget you can follow along with my IGTV or YouTube channel.

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comment box or reach out privately to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

Article: Time Wasters that Will Kill Your Productivity

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Disclosure: Some of the links I have provided for you are my affiliate link. It costs you nothing but I may receive a small commission.  Thank you.

Day 13: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 13.  Finding ways to contain your time.

Missed a day? Click here for Productivity Action Day 10 that has links from the beginning.

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 13, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Contain Your Time

If you have been following along with my IGTV or YouTube channel, you have heard me talk about time containers.

A time container is the exact amount of time you have to get something done. Think of a Rubbermaid food storage container, you can only fit so much in it.

Your work and your day are exactly like that. On Productivity Action Day 1 you determined exactly how much time you had for work, that is a container. Then you got crystal clear on what you did and exactly how much time it took you to do things, that is another container.

In order to be productive you take both of those and you assign them to time containers. 

The actions you specifically do for your business and your life. Such as your admin work, marketing, client work, focus time, think time (remember that?), and so on.

Optimal Working Time

There is a lot of talk about finding your optimal working time. I agree with that, to a point.

However, there will be days that you just have to get things started, moved forward or completed and it isn’t in your optimal working time.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t work during the time you feel your best. What I am saying is that you need to contain your time and your tasks to the times you know you are at your best and the times you aren’t but still have to get things done.

Optimal working time is also a time container. It is valuable for you to know when you work best and if possible, schedule the work to be done in that time container for your best outcome.

Choosing Your Time Containers

Look at your categories and what you narrowed down on Productivity Action Day 4. You know exactly how long things take to do and you know how much time you have to work on the days you are working.

Take your actions and put them into the time you have. Viola, those are your time containers.

You know that on Mondays you spend time on administrative tasks and marketing. On Tuesdays you have client calls or you see customers and so on. 

Using time containers gives you a specific time and space to be productive.

You can think of it like a storage container or a plastic slash pocket where your work is contained. You can only put so much in it before nothing else will fit.

I think you get the idea now. 

Please feel free to ask any questions in the comment box or reach out privately to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

IGTV: Kim Ravida IGTV

YouTube: Kim Ravida

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Disclosure: Some of the links I have provided for you are my affiliate link. It costs you nothing but I may receive a small commission.  Thank you.

Day 12: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 12.  It’s a matter of mind.

You are more than half way to learning how to be mega productive with this series of actions you have been taking part in.

Maybe some of the steps were easy for you and maybe not. What really matters is that you are taking action and getting things done faster and easier.

Anyone remember the Six Million Dollar Man? We can rebuild him. Better than before, better, stronger, faster. That is you when it comes to being productive!

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 12, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Mind your mindset

Your mindset can make you or it can break you.

What you think about you get. If you think you are productive, you will be.

And if you think you aren’t, well, you won’t be.

I’ve written before about the Little Train story. You are just like that. YOU CAN!

Today, do a mindset check. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being I suck and 10 being I’m crushing it) how do you feel about your ability to get things done? In essence, how do you feel about your ability to be productive at this point in the game.

How you talk to yourself does matter

Are you upbeat and generally positive with yourself or are you a gloomy Eeyore?

Do you say things like:

• “You have this!”
• “How awesome are you for being productive!” 
• “Wow, look at you crushing these goals!”

Or do you say and/or think:

• “I suck!”
• “Why can’t I get anything done?” 
• “There is no way for me to do all of this?”

How you talk to yourself, what you think to yourself and what you think about yourself is a big deal.

If you had a number less than 10, stop. Yes, right now. Stop.

Breathe. Stand up. Set your feet solidly on the ground, roll your shoulders back and reach the top of your head to the ceiling and tell yourself “I am amazing right here, right now on this day and everyday.”

And then carry that attitude into the next second, minute and beyond. Because you are. You are unique and special and you need to tell yourself that.

Out of everything you have been learning and doing, your mindset is the #1 key ingredient for your success in everything you do!

I’d love for you to share your thoughts, your results or ask any questions you have. Feel free to post in the comment box or reach out directly to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

IGTV: Kim Ravida IGTV

Book:  Mindset The Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

See a preview:

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com

Disclosure: Some of the links I have provided for you are my affiliate link. It costs you nothing but I may receive a small commission.  Thank you.

Day 11: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 11.  

Let’s start off saying congratulations. You are on to Productivity Action Day 11 of your 3 TOP Steps for Productivity.

Friday was Productivity Action Day 10 and you did your check-in with where you are now. You asked some questions, got some answers.

What I have found to happen at this point in the system is you have started to realize that you are doing way too much.

You see where you are sabotaging your efforts and where there is room for improvement.

The action for today is simple, yet not so easy to do.

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 11, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Do ONE Thing

Now I know you may roll your eyes.

I did. My thought was “I can’t possibly do just ONE thing”. There are so many things to do, how can I do just one?

Growing up, my father, who was a masterful educational teacher, told me: “Kimberly (yes, that’s what my parents called me when something important was to happen, or I was getting into trouble =), do one thing at a time.”

Truthfully, I never took that to heart. And so that’s probably why I struggled so long in my life and in my business. I always was doing 10 things at a time.

One thing at a time does equal success

This one action took me a long time to get. And it does take some of my clients a long time to get. When we get it, wow! It’s a game changer.

From Productivity Action Day 10 you were to answer several questions and then create a list of actions and ways of behaving in order for you to excel at your productivity.

So your action today is to look over those answers and choose ONE thing to improve on for this week.

Side note: it takes longer than a week to see significant improvements, however, my guess is you will struggle with just focusing on this ONE thing right now. So let’s get set up for success and start slow.

You can (and I hope you will) carry it over into the follow weeks until your one thing is complete. And then you can move on to other important actions.

The One Thing Book

While this is one small action I’m giving you to complete. It’s really a part of a bigger equation. One that, in full disclosure, I work with extensively with my private coaching clients and groups.

I wanted to give you a phenomenal resource that I know will change how you look at productivity. It’s called The One Thing. It is written by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. 

It is brilliant for helping you see the importance of doing one thing. And you will get a step by step plan to first know your ONE thing (if you didn’t already, but you probably do) and then second help you to do it.

You of course, may reach out for a conversation for us to have on how you can receive your own private support. I’m always happy to help people excel faster if they so choose.

I’d love for you to share your thoughts, your results or ask any questions you have. Feel free to post in the comment box or reach out directly to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

Book:  The One Thing

Preview of The One Thing:

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com

Disclosure: Some of the links I have provided for you are my affiliate link. It costs you nothing but I may receive a small commission.  Thank you.

Day 10: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 10.  How are you feeling since your Productivity Action Day 9 of thinking? Did you do it?

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 10, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Check-In

Today, you are going to take the time to look back on the previous 9 Productivity Action Days and see where you are now and how you feel you are doing.

1. Determine the time you actually have to work
2. Take inventory of the Big Picture
3. Do your Time Estimation
4. Create the Small Picture
5. Establish your Revenue Generating Activities and your Non-Revenue Generating Activities
6. Calculate Time Precisely
7. Use your Time Accurately
8. Prioritization
9. Think Tank Time

Each of the steps you have taken are leading you to your TOP Productivity Process.

All of which is allowing you to get the important things done for you and your life and business.

Questions to ask

1. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being not at all and 10 being I’m nailing it), how productive have you been in the last 5 days?
2. What is one thing you feel most satisfied about moving forward or completing?
3. Name one thing that has changed for you regarding productivity over the past two weeks?
4. Which step (if any) do you need to revisit? Or which step has been the hardest for you to implement?
5. How can you use what you now know and improve upon it?

Feel free to ask any additional questions that you think will benefit you at this point.

Productivity is a process. It’s only when we can see where we have been that we improve on where we are going.

That’s all you have to do for today. Next week we’ll talk about what to do with the answer you came up with from today.

And, I know you are going places!

I’d love for you to share your thoughts, your results or ask any questions you have. Feel free to post in the comment box or reach out directly to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com

Day 9: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 9. How are you doing on your Productivity Action Day 8 action?

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 9, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Build in Think Time

Say what? Yes! It’s time to actually stop.

You have been moving along nicely doing your  3 TOP Steps for Productivity Process.

More than likely you have been seeing results, things are getting produced meaning you have been productive and you are feeling great.

Yeeehaaw!

Now it’s time to take time to THINK. Let’s call it Think Tank Time. 

Spend 5 minutes each day thinking about where you are, what you are doing and how you feel you are doing.

That’s it. Super simple, but not so easy to do. I know, I had a hard time with this one too as do my clients. AND it’s the single most productive thing you can do for yourself and your business.

Name your think time and place

Determine when you’ll spend your time thinking and where. 

You want your time to think be away from your office or where you do your work. You could step outside for some fresh air, you could expand your 5 minutes, which by the way, you’ll be asked to do a little later in the process 😉 and go for a coffee or even take yourself to lunch.

Moving yourself out of your regular space jars the brain into action. It also gives it a chance to settle down.

Choose what time and where you’ll go to think and then just go and think!

Any question? Ask in the comment box or feel free to reach out directly to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

Article:  Why Think Time Is So Important

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com

Day 8: Be productive, right now

Productivity Action Day 8. Did you take your action for Productivity Action Day 7 to use your time accurately?

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 8, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Prioritization

Yes! It’s time to move to Step 3 in the 3 TOP Steps for Productivity Process you have been learning.

1. Time
2. Organization
3. Prioritization

The meaning of Prioritization is: the action or process of deciding the importance or urgency of a thing or things.

I’m sure you have lots of things on your list that feel like priorities. However, some need to be prioritized over others and some fall into time prioritizations as in you need to have had them done yesterday.

Hopefully though, through this process you have been learning, you’ll no longer have things hanging over your head.

As a result, by knowing the time you have to work and organizing your categories appropriately prioritization will be the next natural step for you to get things completed.

How to prioritize

Let’s take a step back. You have mastered your time (ok, it’s a work in progress), organized your actions accordingly and the next step is to work on the most important tasks that moves you to where you are going in your business.

Too often you are working on the urgent things, the things that had to get done yesterday.

You may have a little backlog here. If so, be sure to schedule time to complete those tasks.

Look at what you have currently and upcoming and assign some criteria for it. Such as:

• When do I have to have this completed?
• What will I need to have/do for this to be done?
• How long do I think (estimate) this will take to be accomplished?
• Is there something I may be missing in order to see this finished?

It’s more like a project than a one and done. The one and done action can be scheduled and completed easily.

In addition, after you have your steps that you need to take to complete your project you can then assign an order of importance. And from there you know what to do first, second and so on.

Consequently, you then schedule it into your time containers (more on that subject coming soon) to get it completed.

In conclusion, for now, look at what you have on your to do list(s) and assign your criteria so you can begin to prioritize them, schedule them and get them completed.

Any question? Ask in the comment box or feel free to reach out directly to me at kim@kimravida.com

Additional References for you

Blog:  It’s not that hard to be productive

Videos:  Check out last week’s videos on IGTV:

• Getting started
• Learn to use time well
• Determining your RGAs

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com

Day 7: Be productive, right now.

Productivity Action Day 7. Did you take your action for Productivity Action Day 6 to calculate your time precisely?

If not, you do want to take that action today. Productivity Action Day 7 builds off of what you have been doing.

Your Mission Possible for Productivity Action Day 7, if you so choose to accept it is to:

Use your Time accurately

Yesterday you got super clear down to the second on the time it took for you to get things completed.

As a result, you have the true amount of time it takes you, right now, to complete a specific task.

Let’s say you estimated (Productivity Action Day 3) it took you 30 minutes to on board a new client and yesterday (Productivity Action Day 6) consequently, you realized that it takes you 90 minutes.

It’s eye opening isn’t it? Can also be eye popping as in “I had no idea it took that long.” And it could have also shown you where your process needed improvement among many others things you now know.

Here’s a quick story:

A client of mine knew she was effective in signing on new clients by going to her local chamber meetings (RGA). She resisted because she didn’t like to get dressed in appropriate clothing, drive to the meeting and interact in person.

Above all, she knew what her RGAs were and she went to the next chamber meeting. Within 30 minutes of her arriving, she had $5,000 of new business! And that new business would turn into recurring business over time. 

Therefore, if you factor in the time it took her to get ready, drive, attend the meeting, and talk to people, it equaled less time than if she sat at home trying to reach out and contact people online.

Goldilocks got it right

Because she tried a couple of things, she knew without a doubt what was just right for her.

Hence, look at the precise Time you take to get things done and ask yourself:

• Is this taking too long to do?
• How could I do this fast?
• Is this the right amount?

Finally, once you know the answers you will make solid decisions on your time and how to use it.

Additional References for you

Video:  Goldilocks and the Three Bears

If we aren’t connected on social media, follow me over on Instagram where we’ll keep the conversation going.

Wondering how to get personalized help? Email me privately at kim@kimravida.com