Tips for How To Have A Super Productive Week

2019 was a year where productivity became extra important as my schedule started to fill up. As an owner of a small business, a lot tends to fall on my shoulders and, if you're like me, you are a control freak and delegating is not your strength. Developing a productive schedule is a constant work in progress but so important to keeping a business and life in general running without getting burnt out. Below are my top 5 steps for planning to your most productive week.

I absolutely hate when I feel like I don't have direction. It makes my brain feel all over the place and I can't settle down to get even one thing done. Setting goals is a very key step in ensuring your week is guided in the right direction. If you ever feel lost, you can just refer back to those goals to get you back on track.

I set goals for each week for sales, business growth, checking off my to-do list and more. Here is an example of a sales goal: I'd like to sell 3 shirts this week and I'll be focusing on driving sales through social media with an unboxing video, the website by making sure those new arrivals are up on the site, and through staff training on the new product!

I've given myself three actionable items to provide results towards my sales goal. At the end of the week, even if I don't hit that number, I've made progress towards a larger, longer-term goal.

When it comes to goal setting, I feel some work better with huge stretch goals and some work better when goals are achievable. I personally work well with stretch goals and I really GO for it! It's important to know what is right for you because you want to keep yourself positive and motivated! 

Most of us don't have just one task we are responsible for; we wear many hats. This tends to leave us feeling overwhelmed with a to-do list that never ends. Well, I got news for you. You will always have a to-do list. Every. Single. Day. Of. Your. Life. So instead of letting that to-do list run you down, decide what hat you'll wear each day.

This is my real life example of a weekly breakdown (It's just more fun with fancy titles). On Mondays, I wear the hat of Marketing Exec, and on Tuesdays I am the CFO and you take a hard look at the books and pay bills (I hate this day). On Wednesdays I am the Creative and flesh out all those ideas I have for new projects, Thursdays are specifically dedicated to Website Development, and Fridays are dedicated to shop tasks like Merchandising and Saturdays are Content Creation days (i.e. Photoshoots, Video Shoots, etc). Sundays are (supposed to be) for rest. Once you've decided on your "hat" for the day, you'll be closer to having one of your most productive weeks. 

Creating a system can help you get things done faster and more efficiently. I like to create checklists so that I can just run through each task quicker without forgetting anything; it also creates consistency for me and whoever needs to take on the task in the future (that's for when I actually learn to delegate!). 

I have created checklists and templates for my bookkeeping, email blasts, event planning, Instagram posts and more. 

In my personal opinion, this is a truly important step and one that I think a lot of daily planners out there miss! Maybe it's because I'm a history major and you know that saying "History repeats itself."

Recapping the success or learning moments from the week are important in knowing how to grow going forward. It allows you time to analyze what happened and why. If something went well, you do a little happy dance and then write down why it went well. This keeps you from making the same mistakes over and over and gives you a written record to refer to in the future. Now if your future self decides not to listen to that, it's really all on you, girl!

Not gonna lie! This is the absolute hardest step for me. Growth typically takes discipline and consistency. Each week can seem like an endless cycle so taking that rest time is super important to keep you from burning out! Also - don't be so hard on yourself. 

Now I hope you are ready to take on 2020 and each week will be your most productive week ever!

XO,

Camille