Productivity Matters: Getting It All Done!

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

How do you do it all? I get asked that question
at least weekly. I speak to business groups, blog for
several clients, blog on
my own sites, give the diva Poodle Henrietta all the love she demands, spend
time with family and still find time to crochet! I have to admit, I’d get more
done if I didn’t have a bit of a television addiction, but that is a topic for
another post.

I guess what I am trying to say is, we all have
tasks to complete, priorities to schedule and lives outside of our time in
front of the computer. How do I do it all? More importantly… how can YOU do it
all? Here are my five time management tips for the pet blogger or wannabe pet
blogger:

1. Prioritize your to-dos. What is important
   to you? Blogging? Your full time job? Your family? Exercising? Building
   your pet speaking expertise? All of it? I know what it means to want it
   all and it is possible, you just need to chip away at all of it a bit at a
   time. Schedule your time wisely. If you have an hour to blog use the
   entire hour and write several blogs and schedule them for the future.
   Imagine that! And the next time you sit down for your scheduled blogging
   time you won’t feel the pressure and you will be able to schedule your
   posts even further out!
2. Work
   smarter, not harder. Admit it, you can’t do everything and give it 100%
   can you? If so, please tell me how. Choose the items that you know you can
   give 100% to and focus on those. If you don’t have the bandwidth to “do it
   all” you may have to let some of it go until a future time when your
   lifestyle allows you to add more tasks.
3. What can
   you “bundle”? Do you spend time commuting? Sitting at your children’s
   soccer match? Kill time while Fifi is at the groomer? Use that time to jot
   down blog post ideas or search the internet on your smartphone for new
   sites on which you can guest blog. Manage your time and bundle your
   activities in a more efficient manner. This can go for running errands.
   Rather than running five errands at five separate times a day, run them
   all at once – you’ll be surprised with the time you save.
4. Track your
   time wasters. We all have them, so ‘fess up. My time waster (currently) is
   Words With Friends! I hear the distinctive sound of those little tiles
   populating and it takes me away from the task at hand. I know that to be
   productive I need to sign out of Facebook and stop my email notifications.
   I get too easily distracted by Bright Shiny Objects and it impacts my
   productivity. Social media and blog post promotion can also be a black
   hole of a time waster – a necessary task, but one that can take up more of
   your day than you’d planned for. My advice? Set a timer. Allow yourself a
   15 minute Time With Friends break, but once the timer goes off, it’s back
   to work!
5. Learn to
   let go. Yes, letting go and saying no are two of my biggest productivity
   enhancers. If something doesn’t suit my business plan or move my business
   forward or doesn’t fit into my idea of community service or personal
   growth… why am I doing it? I’m not. Remember too, if you don’t get through
   everything on your to do list, the world won’t come to an end, but you may
   need to rework your tasks so that you can be and feel more productive. I’ve
   found that productivity breeds productivity.

What are your steps for getting it all done? In
what areas do you find yourself falling behind?