How I Plan for Maximum Productivity
Hi!! it’s Remi here!
Blogging is my bread and butter — I’ve been doing it for more than six years.. I never thought I’d launch my own program, but last month, Nate and I took the leap. We launched a subscription-based workout program called HomeBodies!!
And so far, it’s been incredible. I’m so grateful and excited to have this new way of impacting people and helping women and men just like you get fit at home. But it’s also been a major learning experience. I’m now running two businesses, and I’ve definitely experienced some growing pains, especially since Nate and I do everything. We create the workouts, design marketing, spend time editing and uploading videos, interacting with clients, and doing everything else that goes into running a business.
To keep everything running without getting overwhelmed, I’ve had to get very organized and learn how to keep track of both the big picture and everyday tasks. I’ve needed to figure out the best way to schedule my time and restructure my days to get everything done. It hasn’t always been easy, but I’ve learned a lot over the last month. Now, I’m more productive than ever, and I feel GOOD!
Of course, I’m still learning, growing, and tweaking things as I go along. I think that’s the beauty of this — We’re always evolving, right? My organizational strategies never stay the same for too long, but right now, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good system down.
Along this journey, I’ve picked up some valuable tips I want to share with you today. These tools and strategies will help you maximize your productivity so you can pursue your passions, avoid wasting time on busywork, and still have a life. I promise you can learn to see the bigger picture and maximize your time just like I did! And remember: These tips work for me, but you may have to experiment a little to see what works for you. Feel free to tweak any of my advice to make it work for you! Let’s go!
Yearly Calendar: Plan the Bigger Picture First
The first thing I do is fill out my calendars for the whole year. I like to print out these free and super simple quarterly calendars and fill them out one at a time with important birthdays, trips I’m taking, and other personal dates.
Productivity Tip #1: Never Push Your Life to the Side for Your Hustle
When you’re filling out those quarterly calendars, always include these important personal dates FIRST. You never want to push your life to the side for your hustle. This is all about maximizing your productivity so that you can get work done and still have a life! What dates are most important to you? Maybe you want to remember your sister’s birthday or a vacation you plan to take. Whatever important events are coming up in your life this year, I recommend marking them down on your calendar first so they remain a top priority.
Once you’ve added all those important personal dates, it’s time to start thinking about the big picture. What are your big goals? Do you want to launch a new business? Write your launch date on that quarterly calendar. Do you want to open an online store by a specific date? Mark it on your calendar. Make sure to plan dates for all the important big-picture things you want to accomplish. From there, you can start working backward.
Productivity Tip #2: Work BACKWARDS to Accomplish Your Big-Picture Goals
When you’ve planned your specific dates for your end goals, start working backward to give yourself time to work toward those accomplishments. Make a list of all the things you need to do to accomplish your goal by the date you’ve set — make a website, take photos, plan your email marketing, etc. Then, try giving yourself a week for each task and mark that time on your calendar. You’ll be sure to plan enough time to be fully prepared when your launch date arrives!
Remember: Start with a yearly or quarterly calendar. Make sure you write down personal dates first, then mark any dates that are important for your big-picture goals. From there, work backward, and make sure to schedule enough time to do all the work you need to do to be ready for those big dates! Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to move into your weekly calendar!
Weekly Calendar: Accomplish Your Tasks in BATCHES
After you’ve planned out all your important dates, you can start scheduling out your weeks. I like to use this Passion Planner (or this one, if you like the pretty color and design!), but you can also use this great planner from Amazon. Whiteboards are also great. (I used one in my vlog!) And don’t forget to pick up some dry erase markers!
When I’m planning out my weekly schedule, I like to see two weeks ahead. That way, I have a basic idea of the sponsored posts and HomeBodies launches I have going on as well as other due dates, meetings, dinner dates, friend dates, and other things I have coming up.
I also like to color-code everything. I have a color for IG posts, a different color for YouTube videos, and one for business like launches and marketing. That way, I can visually see everything I have going on in each category.
When I’m in this weekly planning stage and thinking about what work I’m going to get done each day, I LOVE doing something called batch working.
Productivity Tip #3: Complete Your Tasks in Batches
Batch working is where you complete separate tasks in complete batches all at once, instead of breaking them up into small pieces and spreading them throughout the week. By working on only one task at a time, I can get in the right mindset for that specific work and stay there for a longer time. That helps me to maximize the most productive hours of my day to get work done!
Here’s an example: I used to do a little bit of filming, a little bit of blogging, and a little bit of admin work every day. The problem with that was that I was constantly shifting my mindset and giving myself busywork when I should have been doing really productive work to accomplish my goals.
Now, I assign each task to a specific day — You can try this too! Let’s say you assign filming for Tuesdays. You get up early on Tuesday and spend all day filming videos. Then maybe Thursday is dedicated to editing. Maybe you have another day dedicated to business work, and another day just for writing blog posts, captions, and emails.
I love doing batch work because I am most bright and aware and locked-in during the morning. Every day, I get up and spend the next several hours working on one task. I get in the right mindset for that thing, I focus in on it, and I get a lot of work done. Then, in the afternoons, when I’m tired after lunch, I usually schedule a couple of hours of admin busywork. By scheduling myself to do batch work like this, I avoid wasting my productive mornings on mindless busywork, and I maximize my best hours to make progress toward my goals.
Try scheduling your weeks in a planner like this one or on a whiteboard. Batch-working has really helped me maximize my productivity so I can maintain a focused mindset and make tons of progress toward my goals.
Now, let’s move on to how I structure my daily calendar!
Daily Calendar: Breakdown Each Hour
Your daily schedule is where a Passion Planner becomes really helpful. If you check out my video, you’ll see that this planner has an hourly breakdown of each day from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM. I like to write the theme of the day at the top — This could be “Shoot Day” or “Writing Day.” Then, I write down every single thing I’m going to do.
Productivity Tip #4: Be as Detailed as Possible When Planning Your Day
When you’re planning out each hour of your day, it’s important to be as specific and detailed as possible. For example, I get up at 5:30 AM and make a matcha. I don’t write that on my weekly calendar, but I make sure to put it on my daily calendar. Then, at 7:00, I start filming for HomeBodies. And by 8:00 AM, I’m sitting at my computer and getting into the bulk of my business.
The less detail you leave out, the better! When you write down all the little things you have to do — even things like eating, showering, and taking the dogs out — you can hone-in on where you actually have time during the day. Then, you can start using that time to be more productive.
Try creating a theme for each day, and then write down every little thing you do hour by hour. Make sure to remember all the details so you can maximize your time and get everything done!
Make the Most of Your Time!
I hope these tips helped you out today! Before I go, let me sum up everything so you can easily start planning out your time and maximizing your productivity:
Start with a yearly calendar, and make sure you plan out important personal dates first. Then, plan for your big-picture goals. Schedule launch dates, and make sure to plan the time you need to work toward those goals.
Then, move on to your weekly calendar. Use a Passion Planner or a whiteboard and try to plan two weeks in advance. Schedule all important events, meetings, and posts, and plan to work in batches. Designate specific days for specific categories of work so you can prepare for your mindset and get the most out of your productive hours!
Finally, plan out each day. Write out everything you’re going to do hour by hour, and include as much detail as possible. That way, you’ll find time during the day where you can hone in on your goals and be as productive as possible.
Thank you so much for reading this post! Definitely check out my vlog to see the different calendars I use. And make sure to tag me on Instagram @rrayyme to share your best productivity tips!
LOVE YOU LOTS!
