These 5 Hacks Help Me Get More Done and Be More Productive

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Table of Contents

Podcast Description

Ever wish you could get more done without working more hours? 🙋🏻‍♀️

Spoiler alert: It is possible (and it starts by doing less). If you’re always adding to your to-do list and still feeling behind, this episode is for you.

I’m breaking down 5 productivity strategies that help me be more productive without burning out… and yes, automation is a big part of it.

What you’ll learn:

How to identify your real priorities (and ditch the fluff)
Why batching helps you be more productive and save brainpower
Where to start with automation, even if you’re brand new
When it’s time to delegate or outsource (and how to know what to let go)
The flexible way to block out your day that actually works

These are the strategies I use every week to stay on track and make serious progress, even during the busiest seasons.

Links Referenced in Episode:

▶ Productive Entrepreneurs Club

▶ Systems Savvy Society

▶ Taskflow Magic

▶ Weekly Planning in Trello

▶ Episode 28: Tools to Automate Your Online Business: I Use These Daily

Connect with me:

Website | Instagram

Episode Transcript

(Note: This is a formatted AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through, but is not an optimized blog post. Please excuse any spelling or grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

Episode Intro

Hey, I’m Lucy Reyes, your host of the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast, where I’m on a mission to help online entrepreneurs like you focus on all the right things and say goodbye to overwhelm. Here, you’re going to learn strategies that will boost your productivity so that you can scale your online business and impact lives sooner. It’s your time to shine, so let’s get started!

Hey, hey, welcome back to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast! I’m so excited about today’s topic, and I know you are too, because who doesn’t want to get more done by doing less? I’m sure everyone is raising their hands right now because this is something we all want. But at the same time, we’re the ones who keep adding more to our to-do lists.

It’s like, “Oh, we can get more done—let’s just add even more!” Right? But no, that’s not how it’s supposed to work. Even I struggle with this sometimes because, yes, I am an overly ambitious person. So, even I have to double-check my to-do list to make sure I’m not trying to squeeze in too many tasks. Because at the end of the week, I’ll be left wondering, “What did I even get done?” And I know I’m not the only one. Even though I’m the productivity person teaching systems and strategies, I still struggle with this myself.

I have to check myself and think, “Girl, you can’t get all of this done in the few hours you have to work on your business—without any distractions!” So, I get it.

5 Ways to Get More Done By Doing Less

But there are different strategies and methods you can add into your routine and workflows to help you achieve more while doing less. So, let’s dive into these five strategies that I highly recommend. No matter what stage of business you’re in, these can help any entrepreneur.

1. Prioritize

Yes, you have to prioritize. Not everything on your to-do list is urgent, and not everything is high priority. You actually need to be intentional about what you prioritize and focus on the most important tasks based on your goals and the impact they’ll have.

There are things you’ll need to prioritize because they have a specific calendar date and time, like that super important doctor’s appointment or taking your kids to something. That’s important and needs to be a priority. But other things? Not so much. For those, you really want to take some time to think about whether they align with your goals, because otherwise, you’ll just get stuck in the endless to-do list loop and feel like nothing is getting done.

It’s so easy to stay stuck in the cycle of being busy, but when you prioritize intentionally, that’s when you start making progress toward your goals. One method you can use is the ABC method, which helps you categorize tasks into “Must Do’s,” “Should Do’s,” and “Could Do’s.”

This helps you see what you absolutely need to get done, what’s important to get done, and what could get done if there’s time. For example, today, my top priority is recording this podcast episode—it has to go out this week. Then, the next priority is getting the marketing for this podcast done, because, again, it’s going out soon. These are my top priorities for today.

From there, I want to work on the monthly deliverables for the Productive Entrepreneurs Club, but since those aren’t urgent yet, they’re secondary. Finally, if I have time and energy, I’ll work on starting to create an evergreen funnel. But this task will likely get moved to tomorrow.

So, prioritize! If you want more support with this method specifically, check the link in the show notes. But this is the most important one.

2. Batching

I love batching! Batching means grouping similar tasks together and tackling them in one block of time. It minimizes the mental load of switching between tasks and helps you stay focused on one thing at a time. For example, today, I’m batching podcast episodes. I’m recording two episodes back-to-back.

Instead of recording one episode, editing it, doing the marketing tasks for it, and then recording the second episode, I’m grouping similar tasks together. I’ll record both episodes, then edit both, all in one sitting. When you do this, you get into a rhythm, and the tasks just become easier and faster to complete.

You can batch tasks like writing all your social media captions for the week or even for the month, or writing and editing multiple blog posts at once. Batching helps you save time by getting into a flow, so you get more done faster.

3. Delegating / Outsourcing

If you’re wearing all or most of the hats in your business, I want you to know—you don’t have to do everything yourself! Delegating is a great way to get tasks out of your zone of genius or tasks that drain your energy and give them to someone who’s better or faster at them. That frees up your time to focus on high-priority tasks that only you can do as the visionary of your business.

I know some of you might be thinking, “I can’t afford to outsource,” and that’s totally fine. But even though there’s an upfront cost, outsourcing can bring ROI over time. If you outsource tasks that drain you, your business will still likely grow because you’ll get more done in less time and focus on the things that truly move the needle.

If you’re not ready to outsource just yet, that’s okay, but it’s something to keep in mind.

4. Automating

Oh my goodness, the amount of tasks you can automate is incredible! You’ve probably already started automating things, but if you haven’t, there are many tools you can use to automate, even if you’re just getting started. You don’t have to wait until you’re a big company to start automating—tools like free ones can help you.

For example, you may already have an automation set up for when someone subscribes to your email list and automatically receives a welcome email. That’s an automation! It’s a simple setup, but it’s saving you time because you don’t have to send that email manually.

I have hundreds of automations set up across my Trello boards, doing things like removing labels, marking cards complete, or adding myself as a member. These small tasks only save a few seconds, but those seconds add up to minutes, then hours, and it saves me tons of time each month.

5. Task Blocking

Task blocking is a strategy where you block out specific time in your day for certain tasks or activities, but it’s not tied to a specific hour. It’s different from time-blocking, which I don’t use personally. Time-blocking works for some people, but for me, task blocking is a better fit.

With task blocking, you organize your tasks in a certain order—first, you work on this task, then this one, and then the next one. You know how long each task will take, so you can allocate your day accordingly.

Task blocking helps you stay focused and prevents tasks from spilling into other parts of your day. It also helps you use the strategies we’ve already discussed—prioritizing and batching. You can block out time for prioritized tasks, and within those blocks, you can batch tasks for even more efficiency.

How Taskflows Can Help

Here’s the thing: Taskflows are what make task blocking easier. If your systems are a hot mess and you don’t know what needs to go into your task blocks, that’s a problem. But when you have task flows in place, you know exactly what steps to take and how long each task will take.

For example, today, I have a task block for working on the monthly deliverables for the Productive Entrepreneurs Club. When I click on that task block, it takes me to my task flow board in Trello, where the steps are broken down in checklists, with all the details I need. Task flows ensure you have a step-by-step plan to move through everything without getting overwhelmed.

Conclusion and CTA

So, we’ll dive deeper into taskflows in the next few episodes, but for now, know that these five strategies will help you get more done by doing less: prioritize, batch tasks, delegate or outsource, automate, and task block.

I hope this episode helped you realize that not only do you not have to do everything yourself, but there are ways to tackle your never-ending to-do list without overwhelming yourself or burning out.

Which of these tips resonated with you? What will you try first? Take a screenshot of this episode, tag me on Instagram @cheerstoproductivity, and let me know which tip you’re going to implement.

If you enjoyed today’s tips, I’d love for you to leave a review. And if this is your first time listening to the podcast, I’m so glad you’re here! Make sure you’re following the podcast so you don’t miss upcoming episodes where we’ll dive deeper into taskflows and how they can be a game-changer for your productivity.

Until next time!

Thank you so much for listening to the Cheerful Productive Chats Podcast with me, Lucy Reyes. To view the full transcript and all the links mentioned in today’s episode, visit cheerstoproductivity.com/podcast. And before you go, make sure you follow or subscribe wherever you’re listening so you know when the next productive chat is released. Talk soon and cheers to your productivity and success!