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Hi there.

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It's Sue.

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And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.

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These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and

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things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.

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If you'd like to submit a topic,

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DME over on Instagram at gift biz,

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unwrapped time is a funny thing.

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Sometimes it passes quickly and other times it drags on and

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on. I meet with a special group of girlfriends on Friday

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nights. Sometimes we go to one of our homes and other

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times we go out to a restaurant.

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Each get together is slightly different,

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but there have been times,

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particularly in my friend Debbie's backyard where one minute it's 10

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30. And I swear a second later,

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it's two in the morning,

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where did all that time go?

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Then there are other times when I'm anxiously awaiting a test

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result or anticipating a delayed flight arrival,

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that's bringing home one of my children.

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And in those times,

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minutes pass like hours and it seems to take forever.

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How can that be?

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I mean,

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every minute is really the same amount of time,

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right? And here's another super aggravating thing.

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How is it that some people get so much accomplished and

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others struggle to do one simple project?

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Obviously there can be extenuating circumstances like interruptions and emergencies,

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or simply the lack of interest or desire to do whatever

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the project is that you're laboring over,

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but that doesn't erase the fact that it still needs to

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get done.

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This happens to me all the time,

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even though one of my superpowers is productivity.

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I know it's one of my strengths for real,

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because I'm classified as a follow-through on the Colby personality profile.

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And people recognize this in me too,

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because I get asked a lot how I accomplished so much.

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Now the truth is,

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as my business has grown,

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of course,

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I'm not doing everything myself anymore.

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I have an amazing team that helps me out.

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Perhaps that's a topic for another tips and talk episode now

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that I think of it.

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But even when it was just me,

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I got a lot done.

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So I thought it might be helpful to share with you

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my secret strategy.

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It's not supposed to be secret.

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In fact,

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I've talked about it before in a couple of my longer

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podcast episodes,

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but it can easily get buried as a minor point within

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a bigger conversation.

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So today I thought I'd bring it front and center and

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specifically highlight what I believe to be my single most valuable

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method of managing through my days to get as much done

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as possible.

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Even the things I don't particularly enjoy,

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because here's the thing it's so easy to stray off.

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Course. Let me give you an example.

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Let's say you're writing a newsletter and you're struggling with that

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next sentence.

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So as you try and figure it out your mind wanders,

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then you decide to take a break and go and get

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another cup of coffee.

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When you get back to your desk,

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it's probably time to check those emails.

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What you're doing here is avoiding a painful activity and rationalizing,

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putting it off by replacing the hard task with other things

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that you're more comfortable doing,

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then an order comes in.

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And of course,

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you're going to fill that afterwards.

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You look at your bookshelf and decide it needs straightening.

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Now, time for lunch.

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After that yummy tuna sandwich,

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you have a few calls to make and on and on.

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Eventually it gets to the end of the day.

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And that newsletter gets bumped to tomorrow,

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too many days like this.

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And the newsletter is completely forgotten,

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substitute in whatever project you'd like,

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but I bet you can admit you've done this too.

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We all do.

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I catch myself trying to do it every day,

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but just because it's a natural human tendency,

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doesn't help get the work done.

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So here's the,

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what's not supposed to be a secret secret tip.

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The first thing I do before I start each day is

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to decide the top three things I need to get done

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that day.

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They can't be just anything they need to be forward moving

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projects. In other words,

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they're significant enough to bring me a step ahead with whatever

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overall goal I'm working on.

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To give you an example.

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If I'm trying to attract new customers projects like recording a

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podcast, posting on social media or having a strategy call with

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my business coach would be projects appropriate for that list.

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What's not on the list.

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Redesigning previously finished graphics because just maybe I'll be able to

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find something I like a little better or adding new products

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to my new gift biz on wrapped Mertz shops.

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So that there'll be more selection that just went up by

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the way,

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you can see it at gift biz,

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unwrapped.com forward slash shop.

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Oh, the thing's not on the important task list are watering

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the plants,

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buying new candles for my home office or reading through all

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my less important emails.

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These things can still be done,

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but they can also be put off for another day and

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it will be fine.

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However, if I delay the other important projects,

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my top three list qualifying projects,

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my business stays stagnant.

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You see what I mean?

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So once I have the three most important things,

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oh, and I should say here that they don't always have

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to be business either.

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Like maybe there's a day when you need to schedule your

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annual physical or something like that.

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But for simplicity,

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let me just stick with business things here.

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So once you have the three things,

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the trick is to stay conscious of what you're doing and

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attuned to whether you're staying on task and not allow yourself

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to get distracted.

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When it gets hard,

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I try to get my daily three done as early in

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the day as possible.

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Then I can move on with easier and more fun projects.

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My brain is best in the morning.

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You may be a night person.

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So your best time for focusing could be totally different.

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When I find myself going off track,

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I catch it.

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And I shift back to the project at hand.

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Sometimes I'll set a milestone for myself,

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like I'll say,

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okay, Sue,

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stay on this one thing until you figured it out.

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Or until you've gotten two more pages written or something like

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that. And then Sue,

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you can go take a break or I'll dedicate 30 minutes

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of uninterrupted time to getting something done.

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Meaning no breaks,

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no distractions,

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single focus.

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And guess what?

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By being strict with myself and setting limits,

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miraculously projects get completed.

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It's such a relief to get past those barriers.

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I feel accomplished and I can reward myself by moving on

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to things that require less effort and are more fun for

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me and my business advances at the same time,

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hearing the strategy probably sounds really easy,

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but in reality,

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it's hard.

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Try it.

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You'll see that staying on task when it's something new or

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uncomfortable or simply something you've been putting off is difficult.

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But by applying the method I just described,

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you can get it done and then guess what?

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It's not hovering over you anymore.

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It is off your desk.

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Completed book closed.

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Remember the feeling of finally handing in a term paper that

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deep sigh of relief that it's over.

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You can experience that weekly when you follow this productivity method,

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because this has worked so well for me,

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I decided to name and document how I do this.

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It's called the power of purpose,

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and I also turned it into a physical tool.

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If you'd like to dive deeper into my process,

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there's a video describing that you can watch for free at

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gift biz,

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unwrapped.com forward slash inspired.

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And the tool I'm referencing is the inspired daily planner would,

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you can read more about on that same link gift biz

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on wrapped.com

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forward slash inspired through the end of the year.

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There's also a special on the planner.

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Get 40% off when you enter the code sale.

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When placing an order,

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whether you're interested in checking out the video or the planner,

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I encourage you to try this technique,

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defining the most important three things that you should do each

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day, not want to do,

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but should do.

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And then self checking regularly that you're staying on task and

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getting them done.

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This will release you from the guilt of not completing those

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difficult projects.

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You'll have a sense of accomplishment and pride and to see

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real results because you're getting done the right work,

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go for it,

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accomplished great things and know I'm here supporting you all the

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way. Okay?

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Now that this is recorded,

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I can go grab myself some coffee,

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see how this works.

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That's a wrap.

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I'm a get to the point kind of girl.

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And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek

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sessions. Now it's your turn go out and fulfill that dream

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of yours.

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Share your handmade products with us.

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We want them and they bring us both so much happiness.