Take 5
5 Pro Hacks That'll Make You More Productive Than Ever
with Amber De La Garza
TRT 4:52
Transcribed



Amber de la Garza directly addresses camera:  Being productive has numerous benefits, the most important one is being productive streamlines your success and your business and frees up time to spend on what matters most, whether that's your family, friends, traveling, community, or hobbies.

But don't you wish there were easy things you could do to power up your productivity and get on the fast track to success?

Hi! I'm Amber De La Garza, the productivity specialist. I'm a coach, trainer, speaker and host of the Productivity Straight Talk podcast. Let's take five minutes to discuss improving your productivity. It doesn't need to be a daunting process if you take advantage of simple but effective productivity hacks that get you your desired results. Here they are:

First, schedule a Rapid Fire Power Hour.  Doing a  Rapid Fire Power Hour is the best way to knock off tiny simple tasks, gain momentum in your work and clean your slate so you can start fresh the following week. Set aside one hour at the end of each week to work quickly on simple tasks that may otherwise fall through the cracks.
During the week, add these small to-dos to your tasks list and mark them as Power Hour. Repurposing just one hour each week can diminish Monday blues and set you up for success the following week.

Number 2: Batch your tasks.  You can batch anything you do on a reoccurring basis like emailing, making phone calls, processing paperwork, marketing, lead generation, lead follow up and meetings. Batching lets you get into a rhythm, creates efficiency, reduces time lost having to switch gears from one task to another, keeping your energy level, and prevents one-off tasks from slowing you down.

Try using batching to process your emails only two to three times a day instead of checking your emails throughout the day. You could try batching errands, meetings that require similar energy levels, and meetings by location. The possibilities are endless.

Number 3: Plan your days.  Even when something unexpected pops up and threatens your productivity, if you've at least laid the train tracks for where you're supposed to go, you're gonna be able to quickly get back on track and keep progressing toward your goals instead of losing an entire day due to unforeseen circumstances.

Before each work day comes to an end, plan your day with what I call the 5 Daily Planning Pavers. The planning pavers are 1. review your current day, 2. review tomorrow, 3. perform a brain dump, 4. prioritize, and 5. schedule your tasks. 

Number 4: If you're used to saying yes to everything, just say no! No matter how hard you try, you simply can't be all things to all people in all places. As big as your heart may be and as uncomfortable as it is to say no, it's absolutely necessary. 
There are three main ways you should be saying no. Say no to new requests of your time for any activity of low value such as certain coffee meetings, networking events, and industry workshops that do not provide value. Saying yes would mean pushing your own priorities further down the road. Filter every opportunity that comes your way and every request of your time against your ultimate goals and vision of success. 

Also say no to things you've already said yes to such as projects, processes, and marketing ventures. You have to be ruthless with the time you invest and what you invest it in. 
Finally, say no to yourself. That means exercise your self-discipline and say no to staying up late to binge-watching Netflix or indulging in a highly caffeinated beverage late in the evening.

And Number 5: Use templates for frequently-written messages.  Every minute you spend rewriting words you've already written is a minute wasted. When beautifully created and properly used, templates can be a powerful productivity tool. They enable you to move faster through your emails, projects, tasks, marketing, and offers. In fact, pretty much any repetitive task you do over and over again can be templated.

We naturally love using shortcuts because we always feel short on time. Driving shortcuts? Keyboard shortcuts? Yes, please! Take advantage of these more direct paths to reaching your goals and maximizing your productivity to achieve greater success.