The most productive women aren’t efficient by accident or because they have a high energy level. They have methods, systems, and habits.
You don’t have to “have it all together” before you can adjust a few habits that will transform your productivity level and create better flow in your day. Even one intentional adjustment can make a difference in your efficiencies this week.
Ten Daily Habits of a Productive Woman
- Morning routine – it doesn’t have to be complicated, but getting up at a consistent time each day and setting the stage with self-care, starts the rhythm off right. Set a time for when your work day will begin and calculate backwards what time your alarm needs to go off.
- Allow for transition time – you can’t expect to wrap up a work call at 3p and pick up your child at 3p. Allow for margin and transition time between tasks and appointments. If you have bonus time, you can always unload the dishwasher or file a stack of papers.
- Process emails – don’t check your email inbox mindlessly throughout the day (big time suck!). Have a set time to process them. Have a filter to eliminate the junk and clear method or folder to identify what requires action.
- Triage papers – process your papers into general categories as they come into the house. Life is smoother when you have baby steps for paper flow. At minimum, have a landing zone for mail and a sorting trays. When paper processing day comes (yes, you should schedule it in), you’re set to conquer the action bin.
- Have a focus list – days get hijacked and don’t go as planned; be sure to have the top four essentials written down for the day so you can easily refocus when schedules don’t go as planned. Prioritize based on urgent vs important.
- Time block – when you work from home or have a non-traditional job, it’s difficult to have work boundaries. Block time on your calendar for when you work, when you’ll have kids’ activities, when you do on-work related tasks, etc. Batch errands so you are efficient in your drive time.
- Wrap up the day completely – don’t leave loose ends at the end of the day. The success of tomorrow is based on how you wrap up today. Don’t leave a task half done; put desk items away; reassess to-do list so you know the first task you need to do tomorrow.
- Prep the night before – write out your top to-do on a sticky note, lay out clothes, prep meals, pick up floors, clear counters, look at schedules, reset things that didn’t go as planned. Mornings are smoother when you have the essentials already in place. (If you are a super morning person, you could intentionally do some of this in the morning.)
- Pick up Ten – spend ten minutes getting the desk cleared off, main floors and surfaces cleared from the day’s activities. Enlist others; everyone is responsible for their own messes.
- Self-care – building in time to read, meditate, exercise, coffee house, date night — fuels mental and physical energy that propels you to get more done. White space in life is a treasure.
Remember: There is No One Right Way
There is no one right way to be “the most” productive. It’s a measuring stick that’s different for everyone, so I encourage women I work with to: NOT USE their friends’ ruler. Determine what you want/need for your day to be more efficient and make small adjustments accordingly.
NEXT STEPS:
Implement one habit a week and build on each one. Don’t try to overhaul all habits at once or it won’t be sustainable. Ask for accountability, and when you fail, reset and start again. (it will happen) Consider your strengths and challenges and add habits based on what you know about yourself. Be Realistic.
Not sure how to find solutions that are ideal for you? I’d love to be your champion and guide to adjust habits and lean into your strengths to reach the level of productivity that you desire–at home or the office. Contact me here or schedule a strategy session below.
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