Feeling Disorganized and Overwhelmed? Blueprint to Efficiency

Feeling Disorganized and Overwhelmed? Blueprint to Efficiency

by | Planning-Organization-Productivity

red hair young lady writing Tired of Feeling Overwhelmed? Discover Proven Productivity Strategies for Online Entrepreneurs. Get Started Now!

If you often find yourself feeling disorganized and overwhelmed in your business, it may be time to implement a productivity strategy. You can regain control and improve your efficiency by creating a system and structure for your tasks and responsibilities. I’m curious, friend. Do you want to explore different strategies and techniques to help you overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed and bring order to your business?

You feel like you’re stuck chasing an impossible dream; every day, you turn off your computer feeling disorganized and overwhelmed. What if you’re not chasing an impossible dream? What if you give yourself a road map to achieve the possible?

Everything is doable when you take the right action toward your dream.

Take my hand, sister. It’s time to figure out how to stop being stuck, disorganized, and overwhelmed in your online business.

Here are the productivity strategies I use to keep the day from spinning out of control. Let’s be honest; it happens to us all. You’re not alone.

Tools & Tips: Strategies for Those Feeling Disorganized and Overwhelmed

Write it all down, everything that you do during your business hours. Stay with me here; track what you’re doing during your work blocks. Now, I know what you’re thinking; yes, it is time-consuming to write down everything you do in a day, and it is very beneficial to see where you’re losing time.

This is not a fancy system. Grab a piece of paper and record your time and what you’re doing.

You’ll be amazed at how much time you spend in the ladies’ room. Or the amount of time that you mindlessly waste on social media.

If you want to track your time electronically, Toggl is a great option. I’m tracking my time as I write this post with Toggl. What makes it easy is a Chrome extension.

Toggl for time tracking: https://toggl.com/

Plan Your Week

And now you’re thinking, nope, not going to happen, Michele. I’m a fly-by-the-seat person, not a fan of structure, and I crave flexibility in my schedule. That’s the perk of being an online business owner.

The solution is simple. Instead of coming up with an hour-by-hour schedule, what if you picked the top one to three things you wanted to do by the end of the week?

At the beginning of the week, you should break down those big tasks into small actions you can do quickly without much effort. If you take small actions daily, by the end of the week, you will be able to check off a lot of big things.

If you do not have specific things you want to accomplish and spin your wheels stuck from lack of clarity. I’m guessing this is when you’re feeling disorganized and overwhelmed as a business owner.

Figure out how much working time you’ll have to limit feeling disorganized and overwhelmed

Now, this is an essential time block all your meetings and appointments for the week. After you have blocked prior commitments on your calendar, set aside time to focus on operations, client work, and project planning.

You and I know that unexpected things come up; therefore, this isn’t a detailed breakdown of the exact actions. Instead, you’re creating space in your weekly schedule to work around established time commitments. Spend five to ten minutes mapping out your week.

Make Life Easier

As a bonus, plan out your meals for the week and create a shopping list. Not sure about you, but do you know what caused my feeling disorganized and overwhelmed? One simple and reasonable question is “Mom, what’s for dinner?” Do you want to get ahead of this question too, but struggle with meal planning? I’d suggest the cookbook Cook Once, Eat All Week. https://fedandfit.com/cook-once-eat-all-week/

Oh, girlfriend, meal planning has been a game-changer for me.

This cookbook sparked my desire to create my own eight-week meal plan in Notion. If you’re new to meal planning, Cook Once, Eat All Week lays out all the meal prep to put the meal together in under 15 minutes during the evenings. When you’re short on time this is a blessing.

As a bonus time saver, the mess is made during the prep day, so my kitchen is super easy to clean during the week.

Tackling Time Management: Solutions for Feeling Disorganized and Overwhelmed

Do you want to know the easiest way to tackle time management? By planning your day the day before. 

Block time at the end of each day to plan out the following day; this can be rolled up in your ‘wrap up the day’ time block. Start by blocking out any meetings that have popped up since you planned your week.

Time Blocking

Time blocking keeps like items together. The tasks include writing blog posts, creating social media content, client work, and meetings. This allows you to put a time limit on these otherwise time-consuming tasks.

Set up a full day or time block for certain hours each day in your weekly schedule.

Let me guess, now you’re wondering how long to block.

Double The Time For A Task

If you have no idea how long a task will take, always double the time you think it will require. If writing your next blog post takes 30 minutes, schedule an hour.

Attach Time to Each Task on Your List

Make a list of your tasks for the day and estimate the time it will take them to complete.

If you have 20 things on your to-do list, and they all take 30 minutes to accomplish, that is ten hours. In other words, it’s ten hours of solid work without breaks.

Setting time in a time block will help you manage your time and eliminate feeling disorganized and overwhelmed.

If you still have over half the items on your list at the end of the day, you’ll leave feeling like the day owned you. Or worse yet, you’ll push through and try to finish it.

Make sure you set yourself up for success.

030 | Feeling Disorganized and Overwhelmed in Your Business? Discover the Path to Productivity!

Do A Time Audit

This is different from the above, but you can do it the same way. If you have no idea how much time you spend doing work, it will be difficult to manage your time.
For a week or two, record the time you spend and the items you work on. This can be done by looking at the clock or using Toggl.

Buffer Time

In addition, your day should include buffer time; you may also hear me call it a fire block. Why is that? Well, you can’t sit at your desk all day. You’ll need to get up to move your body. 

Do not overbook yourself. Leave a minimum of 5 minutes between each time block.

In addition, add an hour of buffer time for those urgent, critical things that need to be handled ASAP. Buffer time allows you to plan for the unknown so that you do not cause a further time leak.

 

Know Your Personal Limits

We all have personal limits on how long we can focus, and friend this can vary depending on the time of the day.
In the morning, I can focus on 50-minute sprints with a ten-minute stretch break in between.

In the afternoon, my focus personal focus limit drops to 25 minutes with a 5-minute break.

Figure out what your personal focus limits are. Keep in mind it could be different depending on the time of day.

You can also keep a journal of how effective you were at certain times of the month so that you can see when you’re most focused.

Productivity Hacks to Combat Feeling Disorganized and Overwhelmed

Use the Pomodoro Method. Google it, or here is the Wiki Page for information.

I’ve used an app called Tide on my phone for the Pomodoro Method (which is in Do Not Disturb BTW) with the sound of a cafe. Also, my Mac has the Flow app for this same thing. If you work really well from a coffee shop, try using Coffitivity on your desktop. Here is a link to a blurb about coffee shop ambient sounds and productivity.

Commit To Your Business

Earlier, I wrote a post on committing to one project at a time. I used the example that you wouldn’t stop running one marathon to run another marathon. Er, that’s crazy talk. (Check that post out here.)

The same concept holds true for your business or project commitments.

If you commit to releasing a new offering, don’t work on your new offer and refresh your website at the same time.

The focus will be divided, and it will take twice as long. Focus on one race at a time until you cross the finish line.

Remove Distractions

Set your phone to do not disturb while you are in your time block. Schedule time to respond to phone calls and read emails.

For the love ~ do not leave your email open all dang day. Nothing derails productivity like email. Amiright?

Remember, email is not your to-do list. Answering your email isn’t committing to your business. Before you even get started with OMGoodness, I can’t do that; my clients need a response.

Yes, I agree that you need to respond to your clients’ emails. Last time I checked, metals were not being given out to the fastest email responders. Boundaries, people. If you do not set them, someone will set them for you. Trust me you’ll not succeed with someone else’s boundaries.

Set a response time expectation for your clients. In your business policies, you should clarify this for your clients in your Welcome Packet.

One of my favorite mantras is: Your poor planning does not constitute my emergency. I’ve said this and lived by it for years.

Learn what should be taken off your plate

Have you heard of the Eisenhower method or decision matrix? It assigns importance to your tasks. This will help you figure out your weekly schedule.

They are either

  • Important and Urgent
  • Important but Not Urgent
  • Urgent but Not Important
  • Not Urgent and Not Important

Important and Urgent

Do This – If the task is both important and urgent, do this. This is why you have buffer time in your calendar. Furthermore, it should also be an income-generating task for the business owner. This can only be done or handled by you.

Important but Not Urgent

This should be scheduled on your calendar to get done.

Urgent but Not Important

These items should be delegated to someone else to do. You begin to hand over these tasks to a virtual assistant if you’ve been considering hiring one.

Not Urgent and Not Important

Delete it, cross it off. If it’s not urgent and not important to your business growth why would you spend time doing this?

If you’d like to read more about the Eisenhower method, here is an article by James Clear with more information. Give it a quick read.

How to be More Productive and Eliminate Time Wasting Activities by Using the “Eisenhower Box”

Show Up Consistently—Without Doing It All Yourself

Your Podcast, Repurposed into a Full Marketing Strategy

A done-for-you repurposing service where we turn one piece of content into 5 Days of Marketing Content so you can grow your audience and impact in less time.

5 Days of Content from 1 Podcast Episode

  • 2 vertical video clips
  • 1 Carousel post graphic and caption
  • 1 Quote/Static post graphic and caption
  • 1 Graphic and caption to specifically promote the podcast episode
  • 4 Additional Social Media Captions
I Want This Done for Me

Wow, this was a long one; let’s wrap it up with a quick recap:

  • Start tracking your day
  • Plan your week and day ahead of time
  • Time block your weekly schedule or calendar
  • Double the time you think it will take
  • Attached time to everything on your to-do list
  • Audit your time
  • Add buffer time to your daily and weekly schedule
  • Figure out your focus time
  • Commit to one project at a time
  • Remove distractions
  • Try the Eisenhower method to figure out what you should do immediately, what you should schedule, what you should delegate, and what you should delete.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret, if you do these things repeatedly every week, you’ll have a planning SYSTEM. See how simple a system can be created. 

Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate you and I hope you have a wonderful week. 

From Good to Great: Midyear Review Boosts Your Online Business

From Good to Great: Midyear Review Boosts Your Online Business

by | Goals, Planning-Organization-Productivity

Taking charge of your online empire a midyear review

Oh my goodness, online business owner, can you believe how important it is to stay ahead of the curve? I mean, seriously, taking the time to evaluate your progress and make necessary adjustments can be the difference between a good year and a great one. That’s where a midyear review comes in. It allows you to take a step back, evaluate where you’ve been, and if you’re on track to hit your goals. It’s like your secret weapon to success.

How can a midyear review benefit you? 

First off, improved decision-making. When you take the time to evaluate your business’s performance, you can identify areas that need improvement and make informed decisions about your online strategy. It’s all about analyzing your strengths and weaknesses and then making adjustments to reach your annual goals.

​

Next up, increased productivity. 

By evaluating your progress and performance, you can pinpoint areas of your business that are not doing great and make the necessary adjustments. This will ultimately make you more productive and efficient in the long run. Who doesn’t want that?

 

And let’s not forget about better financial management. 

A midyear review is a perfect opportunity to review your financials and see where you can save money or increase revenue. It’s all about making those informed decisions and staying on track to meet your financial goals.

How to conduct a midyear review. 

Midyear reviews are something that I work through with my clients as an online business manager. I want to share with you key questions to ask yourself at midyear to gauge if you are on track to reach your goals. Be sure to get your hands on the free Mid-Year Review Download! 

Now that you know a few of the benefits, let’s chat about how to conduct a midyear review. 

First things first, set aside some dedicated time for the review. Now, this is important; please schedule time for a mid-year review. It is up to you to honor your desire to achieve your goals. 

A mid-year review will not magically happen if you’re not mindfully setting aside time.

Block off a few hours on your calendar and make sure you won’t be interrupted. This is your time to focus and give the review your full attention. Hey, book yourself an Air B&B and make it a business retreat, if that’s possible.

EP-024-Miss Task-Midyear-Review-Leve -Up-Your-Online-Business

Celebrate your Accomplishments

With the hustle and bustle of running your business and always striving for the next thing, accomplishments don’t always get the celebration they deserve. Take a few minutes to celebrate what you’ve accomplished thus far; goal achievement takes discipline. Big or small, don’t overlook what you’ve achieved so far this year. They all add up to success. 

The first question to ask yourself mid-year is: 

What am I celebrating in my life and as an entrepreneur? 

Look Back to Move Forward

It’s time to reflect on how the year is going for your business. This is done by looking at your numbers. They do tell a story of your success and what may need a little TLC. 

Analyze your business’s performance. Take a look at your sales data, website traffic, and social media engagement. Look for trends, patterns, and areas of growth or decline. This will give you a clear picture of how your business is doing so far.

From there, identify areas for improvement. Take note of the areas that are not performing as well as you’d like and try to understand why.

Are there any changes you can make to your system that might improve these areas? It’s all about finding those opportunities for growth and making the necessary adjustments.

Evaluate Your Goals

Are you still on track to achieve the goals that you set at the beginning of the year? Also, ask yourself if those goals are still relevant to you and your business now. 

With a clear understanding of your business’s performance and areas requiring more attention, it’s time to set new or readjust the current goals. 

Traditional goal setting uses the SMART acronym. During my coach certification, we studied the version of the SMART acronym modified in the field of NLP. They have a bit of a spin to set achievable outcomes. To be the most successful, make sure your goals are: 

  • S – Specific, Simple, See Yourself Achieving The Goal
  • M – Measurable and Meaningful to You
  • A – As if Now, Achievable, Attainable, Actionable, All Areas of Your Life
  • R – Realistic, Responsible
  • T – Timed, Time-Bound, Toward What You Want

This will ensure that you’re setting yourself up for success and have a clear direction moving forward.

​

Show Up Consistently—Without Doing It All Yourself

Your Podcast, Repurposed into a Full Marketing Strategy

A done-for-you repurposing service where we turn one piece of content into 5 Days of Marketing Content so you can grow your audience and impact in less time.

5 Days of Content from 1 Podcast Episode

  • 2 vertical video clips
  • 1 Carousel post graphic and caption
  • 1 Quote/Static post graphic and caption
  • 1 Graphic and caption to specifically promote the podcast episode
  • 4 Additional Social Media Captions
I Want This Done for Me

​And You Must Take Midyear Review Action

Once you’ve completed your midyear review, it’s time to take action. Prioritize your goals based on your review, develop an action plan, and break down your goals into smaller, actionable steps. And remember, if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask for it. You can hire freelancers, consultants, or employees to support you in achieving your goals and taking your business to the next level.

Time to Wrap This Up

Ongoing review and evaluation are vital for business growth. A midyear review is a powerful tool that allows you to analyze your progress, make informed decisions, and optimize your approach. So, online business owner, let’s make this year not just good but absolutely great. It’s time to take action and achieve those goals!

What to read more articles on midyear reviews? Check out this blog posts: 

https://misstask.com/mid-year-review-questions/

https://misstask.com/mid-year-review/

Are You Ready to Supercharge Your Business's Success in the Second Half of the Year?

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Don't let the year pass by without taking a purposeful pause to assess your progress and make necessary adjustments.

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What do you use for cloud storage?

What do you use for cloud storage?

by | Planning-Organization-Productivity

The content you’re creating in your business is important and ought to be safeguarded. In order to prevent data loss, what type of cloud storage do you use?

Are you struggling to keep your business content organized and safeguarded? As a business owner, your content is valuable and should be protected from data loss. But how can you do this without wasting too much time? One easy solution is cloud storage. By utilizing cloud storage, you can safeguard your content and prevent data loss without the hassle of backup methods from the past. You know, those external hard drives and thumb drives with limited storage sizes. Or worse yet, are you not backing up your content to the cloud? Let me ask, what are you using for cloud storage? It’s time to start protecting your business content and ensuring your hard work isn’t wasted.

Cloud Store for your digital content

Are you looking for a reliable and efficient way to store your digital content? Cloud storage solutions have been around for a hot minute. However, I’m always surprised when I come across a client whose only means of saving content is on a local computer. 

Is this you? I encourage you to find a digital storage solution ASAP. By implementing cloud storage, you’ll not only have the benefit of backing up to the cloud, but it will also make it very simple to share with your team. Even if it is just you right now, this will set you up for success when bringing on your first hire in your online business.

By the way, yes, I 100% consider your cloud storage a content system. It is a system that safeguards all your hard work.

The importance of protecting your business content

Why it’s important to back up your content in one consistent place for your online business. With many options today, your content will back up automatically to the cloud. As a bonus, it will look the same on your computer as it does in the cloud. 

Why is choosing one consistent place? Using one place prevents you from losing files and searching in multiple drives to find your content. It goes back to the confused mind. 

One storage system.

What are your options for cloud storage?

There are several popular cloud storage options for online businesses, each with its own unique features and benefits. Here are some of the most popular ones:

Google Drive: One of my business solutions is Google Workspace includes Google Drive. When I began in 2016, it was an easier option than paying for a Microsoft license. What is great about Google Drive is it allows you to integrate seamlessly with other Google apps such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Plus, it works well with Canva.

Dropbox: I’ve had a handful of clients use Dropbox as a cloud storage platform. They provide businesses with a secure and reliable way to store and share files. They have various pricing plans and features such as file recovery, version history, and team collaboration tools.

Microsoft OneDrive: OneDrive is a cloud storage service provided by Microsoft. It offers businesses a centralized platform to store and share files, collaborate with team members, and access files from any device.

Amazon S3: Amazon S3 is a cloud storage service that provides businesses with a highly scalable and secure way to store and retrieve data. It is designed for large-scale businesses requiring a high-performance, flexible, cost-effective storage solution. Amazon is not one that I’ve worked with in the past. 

iCloud: iCloud is a cloud storage service provided by Apple. It allows businesses to store and share files, photos, and documents across multiple Apple devices, including Macs, iPhones, and iPads. Since I have all Apple devices, yes, I also have iCloud as a backup to my backup. 

Box: Box is a cloud storage and collaboration platform that offers businesses a secure and scalable way to store, share, and collaborate on files. Protecting your sensitive file is a top priority. Box has e-signatures for all your contracts and agreements. It offers workflow automation, advanced security and compliance, and custom branding features.

Ultimately, the choice of cloud storage provider for your online business will depend on the size of your business, the type of data being stored, and the specific features and capabilities. As they all seem to have their own little niche in the marketplace.

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