Tag Archives: Productivity

Productivity Challenge 2017

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Productivity Challenge 2017The Productivity Challenge 2017 Has Begun!

Welcome to your Productivity Challenge 2017! For the seventh year in a row I am offering this training at no cost in order to serve you as an online entrepreneur. Are you ready?

Before we officially begin I want to make sure you have access to my two previous productivity challenges to give you some idea of what to expect. You may access my 2016 Productivity Challenge, as well as the Productivity Challenge for 2015 here.

Day 1: Think about what you want to achieve by becoming more productive. Are you building a business as an online entrepreneur? Are you writing a book? Write down your goals so that you will have more clarity and focus during the next thirty days. I will share my goals for this Productivity Challenge 2017 – the first one is to finish writing my next book, Rethinking the Work Ethic: Embrace the Struggle to Exceed Your Own Potential. As of today I have my notes and outline and have written six thousand words. The second goal is to create and deliver the most helpful and complete thirty day productivity challenge I have ever done since starting this back in 2011.

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Self-Discipline and Productivity for Entrepreneurs

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Self-Discipline and ProductivityImprove Your Results with Self-Discipline and Productivity

I did not grow up in a disciplined home, so it just made sense that I would not become a disciplined adult. It was just my mother and I from the time my parents divorced when I was three years old, and we had a more relaxed way of going through life each day on our own schedule. This isn’t to say that we did not follow rules, but basically we went to bed when we were tired, got up just in time for me to get to school (although not always on time), and ate dinner whenever we both got hungry.

Until I went to college and became responsible for my life in a different way, I gave very little thought to this aspect of my life. Then it seemed like overnight I was thrust into a world where I was expected to maintain a strict schedule and do most everything at a specific time. I was stressed out, overwhelmed, and exhausted until one of my professors pointed out that I needed self-discipline in my life in order to become more focused and productive.

Self-Discipline and Productivity in Your Life

Now I realize without a doubt that self-discipline and productivity are interrelated and that self-discipline is a learned behavior. Striving for this in your life and business will lead to greater self-confidence, help to reduce temptations, and assist with your time management goals. It also can act as a powerful motivator for the goals you wish to achieve and help you to stay committed to the tasks at hand.

Even though I became at least somewhat disciplined as an adult on my own, old habits have a way of slipping back into our lives. When I left the work force to become an online entrepreneur I was excited at the thought of no longer having a schedule and of choosing what I would do each day in the moment. Of course, this was short lived as I realized the importance of making a strict and structured schedule for myself and adhering to it on a daily basis. I longed for this structure and almost immediate my productivity level increased dramatically.

I continue to believe that self-discipline and productivity are very personal issues, and that we must define what we mean by “self-discipline” in order to benefit from having this as a life goal. For example, I do not set my clock to get up at a certain time each day to begin writing and creating new products and courses. Instead, my disciplined habits lead me to get to bed before eleven almost every night so that I naturally arise sometime around six each morning. Defining what we expect and intend from leading a disciplined life gives us the power and control to change and improve our lives.

And please don’t confuse motivation with self-discipline. I may be motivated to write another book, but that will only take me so far, It isn’t until I dig into my toolbox and find the self-discipline that my book will begin to take shape. Willpower, persistence, and hard work are all important and worthwhile goals, but self-discipline will get you there on a regular basis.

The disciplined life is a rewarding and satisfying one, to be sure. I know that I can accomplish any goal I choose to set for myself because once I make the decision to go for it I have the self-discipline to see it through to fruition. Most people are not running their life or their business in this way, so once you embrace the concept that self-discipline and productivity have this strong correlation you will be head and shoulders above your competition.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. And please be sure to check out my Internet Marketing Six Pack training course.

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Daily Productivity for Entrepreneurs

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Daily Productivity EntrepreneursDaily Productivity: Achieving Your Goals

Since coming online to work exclusively in 2006 I have been obsessed (in a good way!) with my daily productivity. It is my goal to feel accomplished at the end of each day to ensure that my business keeps moving forward. When I mentor entrepreneurs I like to instill this same type of work ethic in them. Over time these small, daily tasks and activities turn into larger projects and goals accomplished, and a larger bottom line. Here are just a few of the ways you can do this as well in your personal life and in your business.

  • Decide in advance what it is that you wish to accomplish. For example, during November and December of 2015 I wrote down my plans to create a series of eight courses for 2016. They would have the “Really Simple” branding and cover the topics around entrepreneurship that I was most proficient in already. Over the next couple of months I refined these plans and made sure to implement my ideas quickly.
  • Know that you do not have to do everything yourself. Once I learned how to properly delegate the specific tasks and activities that I do not know how to do, do not want to do, or that would not be an effective use of my time to others, this freed me up to only work on the things that only I can do in my business. These include writing, teaching online, presenting in person, and mentoring/consulting.
  • Work in time blocks each day. I wrote about this part of daily productivity in detail in my bestselling book on Time Management for Entrepreneurs. Decide which hours of the day are best for the specific activity you need and want to work on, and then block out the time it will take to achieve your goal. For instance, each morning I block out one hour to write a new article such as this one to share with my community. Because I have been doing this for so many years it takes much less time and the results are much better than it was when I began over a decade ago.
  • Leverage your transition time. I define “transition” time as the time it takes to move both physically and mentally from one activity to another. This time can really add up throughout the day and make or break your goals for daily productivity. Look for ways to make the most of this time so that you do not end your day with two to three hours of wasted time.
  • Protect your time with family, close friends, and the activities you most enjoy. Recently I spent almost three hours at my local art museum with close friends for an opening that was of great interest to me. That time brought me great joy and I made sure to block the time so that it enhanced my daily productivity goal instead of detracting from it.

Now you can see that your time can be managed and that being productive each and every day is a doable goal. Over time this will account for your great success and a feeling of well being that cannot be overstated.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. And please be sure to check out my Internet Marketing Six Pack training course.

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Productivity Tips: Triple Your Personal Productivity

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Personal ProductivityTriple Your Personal Productivity and Add More Hours to Your Day

I’ve hosted a Productivity Challenge online every spring for the past seven years. I thought I would share my thoughts on personal productivity with you here in preparation for the next one.

There never seems to be enough time to get everything done. Actually, there is. You’re wasting too much time and spending your time on the wrong things. There are people that run over a hundred companies simultaneously and still have time for dinner with the family each night. They just use their time more wisely than the rest of us.

Make the most of your time and increase your personal productivity:

  1. Learn how you waste time. Even if you’re the best worker at your company, you still waste a lot of time. Determine how you waste time at work and at home. Notice what you do when you’re sick of work, tired, bored, or stressed. Using your time effectively is a key component of becoming more productive.
  • Just for your own education, keep a stopwatch at your desk. Keep track of how much valuable work you do each day. This doesn’t include time spent checking your email, looking out the window, chatting with a coworker, or drinking coffee.
  1. Eliminate distractions. While some people can concentrate with chaos all around them, most of us do best with as few distractions as possible. Control what you can in your environment. The fewer distractions you have, the more you can accomplish.
  2. Prioritize your priorities. If you have 10 priorities, you don’t have any priorities at all. Develop a list each evening of your three top priorities for the next day. Do everything you can to accomplish those three things. Avoid wasting time each morning trying to determine how you’ll spend your day. You should already know when you wake up.
  3. Spend time on the most effective actions. There’s a difference between being busy and being effective. Imagine you’re having a dinner party and your house is a mess. You could be busy cleaning out your bedroom closet, but that’s not accomplishing much in this instance.
  • A more effective action would be to wash the dishes, vacuum the floor, or straighten up the living room
  1. Take regular breaks. You might be able to work hard from 8am to noon, but you’ll have nothing left in the afternoon. Studies have shown that taking a 10-minute break each hour greatly increases productivity over a full day.
  • Give yourself an even longer break every few hours. You’ll stay fresh and find your ability to focus is less-compromised later in the day.
  1. Develop a morning routine. The most successful people are the most productive. And the most successful people also have a morning routine. Get out of bed early and get your day started productively. Have a good breakfast, exercise, meditate, or do whatever else will get you primed for the day.
  • Apply the same concept to work. Have a work routine that addresses those tasks you do each day. Plan them and get them done.
  1. Choose the best time for each activity in your life. Do you buy groceries at the most convenient time, or do you go when everyone else is at the store? You could save a lot of time by going after 7pm in the middle of the week or early on Sunday morning. Save what I refer to as your biological “Prime Time” hours for the work that is most meaningful to you.
  • Consider how and when you do things. Could they be done in a better way or at a better time?

Get more done with the time you have available by increasing your personal productivity. Evaluate how you’re using your time, both productively and unproductively. Find your weak spots and develop a strategy to improve your behaviors and your approach. The key to productivity is using your time as wisely and efficiently as possible. And be sure to watch for my next Productivity Challenge coming up soon.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, online marketing strategist, bestselling author, and international speaker on the topics of entrepreneurship and inner game mind shifts. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future. And please be sure to check out my Internet Marketing Six Pack training course.

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Your Productivity Plan as an Entrepreneur

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Productivity PlanDo You Have a Productivity Plan?

When I came online over a decade ago I soon realized that I was a natural when it came to time management and productivity. I’ve written a bestselling book on this topic (Time Management Strategies for Entrepreneurs), as well as mentored more than three hundred twenty-five entrepreneurs on how to increase their work output to increase their bottom line by implementing a productivity plan.

I thought that I would share with you the five activities I do each morning before I do anything else.

Productivity Plan (You Decide What Time Each Day)

1) Write from five hundred to a thousand words. Sometimes this is for a new book and others it’s for my blog(s). This is what I wrote and published at the beginning of this year (2017):

http://hugeprofitstinylist.com/think-like-a-publisher/

http://connieragengreen.com/repurposing-content/

Each of these articles was also published on Medium and on LinkedIn for increased visibility. At this point I am publishing about five articles each week on one or the other of my two blogs.

2) Write and send an email to my community. Over the years I have sent thousands of email messages to my community. It is the way to stay in touch with those who trust you to provide them with the latest information about the topic or topics they are interested in learning more about.

3) Go over my daily, weekly, and overall goals for my life and business. Your goals must be specific and in written form for best results. Also, reviewing them lets you know when you need to change or at least alter them. This piece of your productivity plan is crucial!

4) Read at least twenty pages from a book that will increase my knowledge and understanding of
business and the world around me.

Today I’m reading “Be the Elephant: Build a Bigger, Better Business” by Steve Kaplan.

See my 2017 Reading List at:

http://hugeProfitsTinyList.com/reading-list/

Also, my bestselling book The Transformational Entrepreneur: Creating a Life of Dedication and Service is a free download today. Click the title to go there directly.

5) Work on a new product or course or event. Today I’m making additions to my next live event in Los Angeles during the first week of March. Check it out at:

http://weekendmarketerLive.com
(Code LIVE brings it down to $99)

So, how can you do this five activities in conjunction with your own productivity plan?

I recommend using a professional Planner like the ones I purchase from Nicole Dean and Melissa Ingold at Coaching Sticky Glue. The topics include:

* LinkedIn Planner
* Passive Income Planner
* Email Follow-Up Planner: Turn Leads into Clients
in 7 Days
* Your Amazon Author Page Monetization Planner
* How to Host an Off the Charts Book Signing Event
* Book Brainstorming Planner
* Cash Calendar: Your 12 Month Marketing Profit Plan!
* Your Keynote + Presentation Speech Planner
* Your Story. Your Brand: Embrace your Unique Story
to Create a One-of-a-Kind Business

…and many more.

Right now they are only $20 each at:

http://connieLoves.me/CGPlanner
(Use Code 2017 to Bring Them Down to $20)

And f you don’t yet know the Coaching Sticky Glue folks, start with a free download at:

http://coachingStickyGlue.com/

There are twenty in all, and if you’d like my recommendation I would say to purchase the one on “Your Story” and the one on “Passive Income”. Then your 2017 will be off to a fantastic start. Your Productivity Plan is only as powerful as you set it up to be, and as an online entrepreneurs you can achieve great things simply by increasing your productivity.

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Time Management and Productivity for Optimal Success

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Time Management and ProductivityTime Management and Productivity

If we all have the same twenty-four hours each day, why then are some people able to accomplish so much more than others? That is the eternal question, and I believe each of us has the ability to answer it on our terms when it comes to time management and productivity.

When I set out to write a book on this topic (Time Management Strategies for Entrepreneurs), I took a hard look at my own life experience around these concepts of time management and productivity. After careful examination it seemed to me that I only became expert in these areas after coming online to start my business in 2006. Up until that time in my life I struggled with finding the time to do what I needed, being as productive as I wanted, and being able to honestly say that I had the time to do some of the things that would bring me joy in my life.

Perhaps the responsibility of becoming an entrepreneur later in life was part of the story in my case. After floundering for my first couple of months online, I created a strict schedule for myself and developed the discipline necessary to stay on task each day. This schedule called for working seven days a week, with two of the days – Wednesday and Sunday – being more like half days. Before I went to sleep each night I had already written out my tasks and goals for the next day on a mini legal pad I kept next to my computer. This was where I wrote out what needed to be done and who should do it as a “dynamic to-do list”. This enabled me to hit the ground running when I began each morning.

Will this strategy work for you? You won’t know until you try. I suggest that you first make a list of everything you need to do over the next several days. Then prioritize your list. Now look to see which items on your list can be better accomplished by someone else, at least this time. Then decide what actually doesn’t need to be done this week at all. The items you are left with are the ones that only you can do and must become your primary focus for the day until they are completed.

Over time you will learn how to keep this dynamic list rolling right along without as much effort. Experience and consistency with this system will turn you into something of an expert on time management and productivity. You will also be able to accomplish tasks more quickly if you are organized in this way. For example, it used to take me an hour and a half to write an article or a blog post. These days I can easily do this every single day in less than half of that amount of time. I’m also more skilled at delegating tasks and activities I simply do not need to be a part of, such as shopping for dog food or going to the post office. Learn to manage your time and work more efficiently and anything is possible in your life and business.

I’m Connie Ragen Green, bestselling author, international speaker, and online marketing strategist. Let’s connect to see how I may best serve you in the near future.

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Save Time and Increase Productivity with Keyboard Shortcuts

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Keyboard ShortcutsKeyboard Shortcuts to Save Time

I’m all about productivity and time management in my life and my business. Recently I was searching for some information on this topic and came upon an article on the Reader’s Digest site about making web browsing easier using keyboard shortcuts. Before I share some of their tips, let’s discuss what shortcuts are and how they work.

In computer language, a keyboard shortcut is a series of one or several keys that invoke a software or operating system operation (in other words, cause an event) when triggered by the user. The meaning of term “keyboard shortcut” can vary depending on which type of computer you are using (PC or MAC) and which operating system for that type of computer.

The Reader’s Digest shared a number of keyboard shortcuts that make everything you do much easier. Here’s one I wish I had known about long ago:

Type too small on a given web page? CTRL + Plus zooms you in, while CTRL + Minus zooms you out.

Actually, I needed this one recently and it was the amazing Kelly McCausey who helped me out. The text on my other main site, Huge Profits Tiny List somehow shrunk overnight. Knowing about this Control Plus or Minus saved the day.

You’ll also save time with this one:

Don’t be a slave to the scroll wheel: the next time you reach the bottom of the screen while reading a long article, hit the space bar to jump one screen-length down. Hit the space bar by accident? Just press shift + space to scroll back up to where you were.

I’ll admit that I played with this one on several sites before adding it here. This truly makes a difference when you are writing and researching simultaneously.

And if you are a multi-tab browser like I am, this keyboard shortcut will be a lifesaver:

CTRL + shift + t instantly reopens the last tab you closed (the more you press it, the older the tabs you’ll dredge up).  If you usually have more than one tab open while you browse, this trick can be a life-saver. Try it now, and never forget it. If you want to open a new tab altogether, just hit CTRL + t.

No more pulling your hair out to find the sites you wanted to read. If you’re a multi-tab browser like I am this will definitely save your time and make you more productive during your workday on the computer.

By now you can see that many keyboard shortcuts are available for both PCs and MAC. Be sure to read through all of the article I referenced above to see what else will save you time and increase your productivity.

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Productivity and Your Brain

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productivity and your brainIf you’ve noticed a connection between your productivity and your brain power, you’re not alone. Brain fog and a feeling of lethargy can spell trouble for anyone, especially entrepreneurs who need to stay sharp and focused in order to achieve their goals.

If it’s true that we are what we eat, then it only makes sense to fuel our brains for maximum productivity. For most of the years I worked as a classroom teacher I ate a sugary, processed cereal with milk for breakfast and had something sweet during my recess break around ten in the morning. I usually included a banana and with my limited knowledge of nutrition I honestly believed that I was eating a balanced and healthy diet, at least until lunch time rolled around. No wonder I was exhausted by noon and irritable, too.

Recently I have begun working with a nutrition coach, Cheryl Major CNWC and she has taught me so much about this topic of productivity and your brain function. In a recent post entitled Eat for Productivity – You’ll Be Surprised at the Difference it Makes she wrote:

“Our brains need glucose to stay alert and to function well.  That’s why it’s hard to concentrate when we’re hungry; our glucose levels are low, and our brains are “running on empty”.

Nearly everything we eat during the day is converted into glucose by our bodies.  The tricky part is that not all foods are processed at the same rate.  Foods like breads, pasta and sugary foods are processed quickly which gives us a “glycemic bump” only to let us down shortly after that which is why you get a burst of energy after eating something that your body processes quickly and then feel tired shortly after.  Other foods that are high in fat, like hamburgers and pizza, are processed more slowly, but our digestive systems have to work harder to process them.  When this happens, oxygen levels in the brain are temporarily lowered which also makes us feel sluggish.”

Cheryl suggested lots of fresh veggies and some nuts for me to snack on during the day, and to start my day with some protein. I only eat a banana about twice a week these days and have included Greek yogurt and some other protein rich foods into my morning routine. The result is that I have more energy, feel less bloated, and definitely sleep better than I did just a few months ago. I’m also more alert throughout the day and feel like I make better decisions more quickly. This is part of your “inner game” that you can control and optimize through proper dietary habits.

She also says:

“To be an entrepreneur requires discipline and a plan.  That plan should include how to eat right to keep you brain healthy and your mind sharp!”

As an online marketing strategist and mentor I help my students with the discipline required to be successful online. Cheryl helps us with the plan for productivity and your brain to make sure it all comes together.

 

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Productivity Challenge 2016 – Please Join Us!

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Productivity Challenge 2016Productivity Challenge 2016

It’s that time of year again! Yes, I’m back for the sixth year with my Productivity Challenge, and this time I am anxious to bringing you the very best challenge you can imagine. Whether you are an aspiring online entrepreneur or a seasoned one you will find this year’s productivity challenge 2016 to be both meaningful and a worthwhile use of your time and efforts. This time it will be a 30 day challenge so that you will get the most from it during the next month.

Day 1 – Today I want you to make a list of your digital assets. By this I mean anything you have created out of electrons that is available on the internet for others to see, use, learn from, purchase, or recommend. For example, a list of my digital assets would include:

  • Books for sale on Amazon – I have more than a dozen non-fiction books (paperback and Kindle) I have either written or contributed to, as well as one in a different genre that was completely outsourced. All of these books bring me regular income, build my list, and increase my credibility and visibility in the field of online marketing.
  • Information Products – I have more than fifty of these currently and increase them regularly. During this challenge we will discuss how to quickly create products to add to your online inventory.
  • Online Training Courses – These are my favorite to create and teach. Because I was a classroom teacher for twenty years I’m always looking for ways to share my knowledge and expertise with others. This year I started my “Really Simple” branding and product/course line and committed to creating eight new online trainings during 2016.
  • Podcasts – I have two series, one where I interview others and one where I teach various aspects of online marketing. Both are available as subscriptions on iTunes.
  • Niche Sites – These are sites on various topics that recommend affiliate products.
  • My Mentor Programs – I offer an Online Marketing Incubator, as well as a Platinum Mastermind Mentor Program.
  • Live Events – Twice a year I bring people together for a three day live event on some aspect of online marketing. Most recently these have been branded as “Weekend Marketer Live!”
  • Affiliate Recommendations – I have thousands of links to affiliate offers within the content I publish regularly.
  • Your own affiliate program – I have about two hundred affiliates recommending my products, courses, and events regularly. Let me know if you are interested in becoming my affiliate.
  • Short reports, blogs, teleseminars, webinars, press releases, social media profiles, slide presentations, and more – This is content you have available online for your prospects to find, primarily by keyword but also through connections and relationships. This builds your credibility and visibility over time.

I’m not including physical products in this list, primarily because the Productivity Challenge 2016 is geared towards digital assets, with the exception of my books that are also available as paperback editions.

Are you surprised by how much or how little is on your list of digital assets? Commit to increasing this exponentially over the next thirty days.

Productivity Challenge 2016

Day 2 – What’s for sale? This is the magic question I ask my students regularly. You must fill your virtual shelves with digital inventory, and you own products, courses, programs, and events will always serve you most effectively. Think about what you currently have available for sale online, and what you would like to offer during the next month, six months, and within a year. How will you get from where you are today to closer to where you would like to be? Who and what do you need to make this possible? Are you as productive each day as you would like to be? Why or why not?

Day 3 – Are you working with a Mentor? I had a mentor during my first year online, and even though we were not the right fit for each other I saw the value in this concept. I went on to work with several mentors over the years, and currently I work with two – one is an online marketing expert and the other is a venture capitalist. What is your position on this topic?

Please join us with Productivity Challenge 2016 by leaving a comment below about anything I’ve discussed so far.

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