Okay, it may not have happened exactly like that, but I am sure it was close. I confess to being the queen of working on way too many projects at the same time, however I do not work on all those projects at the same time. “What? You just contradicted yourself Susanne.” you may be thinking. Let me explain why that is not true.
Think about how your brain works. You are writing your newsletter and your phone rings. It is your mother inviting you to go shopping. You sort of listen to her as you continue writing your newsletter. As your mother wraps up the conversation, you realize that somewhere in the conversation with a distracted “Uh-huh” you agreed to take her and four of her friends to the outlet mall on Saturday. When you hang up and read your newsletter you realize what you wrote while “talking” to your mother does not make much sense and is full of misspelled words.
Our brains are not wired to work effectively on more than one task at a time. Although you may have several tasks to do on any given day, prioritizing and blocking similar tasks together enables you to work more productively.
I am currently creating new marketing images for 100+ blogs, updating materials for 18 workshops, writing bi-weekly blogs, writing my third children’s book, rebranding and probably five or six other projects that did not immediately pop into my head. I am at various points on each project from the one page I have written in my children’s book to the 50+ new marketing images I have created for my blogs.
I set time aside to work on each project individually, without distractions. I work on my children’s books on Sundays because I do that as a hobby. Since I have had some very severe health issues since February, I have spent a whole lot of Sundays in bed, not working on my book. (Hence, the one page.)
When I write a new blog (today) I create a marketing image to use to promote it. Since I already have the program I use open and I am in that mind set, I open six past blogs and create images to go with them. It will probably take me until August to finish my 100+ blogs, but I am not in a hurry and this system is working for me.
I have several clients for whom I manage email marketing. Mondays and Tuesdays are email days for my business. Because I edit and program emails one client after another I stay in the email mindset and finish quicker. I will be recording a video series near the end of the summer. I am creating the subjects and outlines now so I can record all the videos in just a day or two.
Take a look at how you structure your days. Are you trying to do all your tasks at the same time? Prioritize your projects and schedule the time to give them distraction-free attention.
Until next time…
Have a great day,
Susanne
Check out my upcoming workshops here!