What Is Business Automation And Why It Is the Biggest Time Saver

What exactly is automation when it comes to your business?

You might have heard this term before and wonder what the heck people are talking about.

Are you supposed to buy a robot or something?

Thankfully, no.

Automation is setting up systems that do things automatically for you so you don’t have to.

It frees you up to concentrate on what only YOU can do and reduces the amount of time and energy you need to spend on our business.

If you don’t currently have anything automated in your business, you could save HOURS of work each week getting certain things automated.

There is a reason there are so many programs and platform functions that automation features; Its key to running a business that actually gives you the freedom you desire.

So where should you start?

Regardless if you have been in business a long time, or are just starting out, the following are the most helpful things to automate:

Email automation( freebies) and funnels.

Imagine if the only thing you needed to do in order to have someone join your email list for a freebie and have them actually get the freebie, is to send them or share a link?

Creating a simple, short landing page with a optin that is linked to your email management program (CRM), that then sends out the freebie for you once they sign up AND adds their email to your list is waaaayyy simpler then it sounds and will save you loads of time.

The first thing you need is a CRM, if you don’t already. This is a program that stores your list and from which you send them emails. Depending on your CRM, you can also create webpages where people will go to sign up for your freebie. Personally, I use Kartra because its a one stop shop for almost EVERYTHING and is reasonably priced. However, if you are new and don’t have the budget, there are plenty of free ones like Mail Chimp and Constant Contact. You will need to link a Landing page program, like Lead Pages however (also free) in order to create sign up pages.

Once that is set up, you will create your landing page (most sites have pre made templates that you can use and seriously makes it super simple), set up the optin with an automatic email that goes out with your freebie once someone signs up.

You can also use an optin page for things without a freebie, like Newsletters, however, not a lot of people sign up for a Newsletter unless they are OBSSESSED with your content. Offering something of value for free typically works better.

On boarding customer and clients

The good news here, is once you have the previous one done, this is pretty much the same idea. You simply set up another opt in page where people can buy your offer and set up another automation where all the necessary information is sent to the new client or customer automatically. This works for digital products memberships and coaching, and even partly for physical products (you’ll have to ship the product yourself obviously…)

Funnels

This may be another term you are not familiar with but its simply a serious a emails that leads your subscribers to your paid offers. Take minute to imagine what it would be like if once someone signs up for a freebie or buys a low priced product, they then receive a series of emails (with real value!) from you over the course of a few weeks that leads them to buy something else…and it all happened automatically! Not only is this a time saver but its going to make you more money too!

There are plenty of other things you can automate as you go, but these are a great place to start and as a smaller business, likely the only ones you will need for a while. Eventually, you can automate things like email campaigns to sell products.

There are also many sites that do just automations of all kinds, like ifttt.com (if this then that) that allows you to sync your various programs and create automations for them. For example: IF someone opts in to THIS freebie, THEN send them THAT document.

Now, I can imagine that if you are new to all of this, you might be seriously overwhelmed! I was too when I first started out but none of these things are all that complicated, most programs are super beginner friendly and there are a ton of people who can help you with this process.

Myself being one of them! I help my clients get their businesses (and life) super organized and set up with systems like the ones I mentioned above so that they can be optimally productive, spend less time working and get back to enjoying life.

If you would like to learn more about how I can help you can go here or send me at jennifer@organizedowl.com. I would love to hear from you and help you achieve your business goals without the 24/7 hustle!

Jennifer

p.s. If you enjoyed this post and would like access to daily free content on all things organization and productivity, you can find me on IG @organized_owl.

How To Prioritize Your To Do List So You Can Get The Important Things Done

Has this ever happened to you?

You make a to do list but at the end of the day you realize you still didn’t get done the things that really needed to get done, so you end up working until midnight?

It makes life feel like an endless hamster wheel doesn’t it? Like you just can’t get ahead and are always working 5 minutes before deadlines.

The good news is its fixable and the even better news is, its not that hard.

What you need to do is prioritize your tasks. As you create a monthly to-do list, weekly to-do list and daily to-do list, you are going to add items in based on urgency and importance.

The following 3 questions will help you decide which items should be on whichever list you are crafting.

The first 2 evaluate urgency, the 3rd importance:

Will there be an negative consequence if I don’t do it today/this week/this month?
If I don’t do this today/this week/this month, will there be time to do it before the deadline?
How important is this compared to the other tasks on my list?

Its comes down to this:

If it’s urgent and important, it comes first.

If it’s urgent but not important, you might want to let it go.

If it’s important but not urgent, it comes second if you have time.

If it’s not important and not urgent…well I think you know what to do.

THIS IS IMPORTANT: Once you have made your list, you need to tackle things in order of importance as much as possible. Life has a way of happening as the day goes on and if you wait to do the important things until close to the end of the day, you are far more likely to run out of time and not get them done.

Interruptions, distractions and unexpected things come up no matter how organized you are so if you accept this and act accordingly, you will be able to get far more done then if you keep trying to create the perfect day.

When you start with the most important things, what might not get done are the things that can be rescheduled another day with little to no consequences.

Prioritizing is en essential part of a productive day and now you know exactly how to do it so you can get the things done that move the needle the most.

Jennifer

p.s. If you enjoyed this post and would like access to daily free content on all things organization and productivity, you can find me on IG @organized_owl.

How To Stop Getting Distracted By Your Phone

It’s no secret that our phones have become a huge distraction for us. They are literally designed to attract our attention in hundreds of different ways. They can take our focus from what we should be doing and they are an easy temptation to zone out when we are procrastinating or feeling overwhelmed.

The good news is that there are a lot of things you can do to eliminate the distraction and get back to being productive that don’t include simply getting rid of your phone. In today’s world, where many of us run out lives and businesses from our phones, we need a different solution.

Test 1 or more of these out to see what works best for you. What you use may be different depending on the task, time of day or how you are feeling.

Often times its a multilayered approach that works best so if one doesn’t work by itself, don’t be afraid to add in 1 or 2 more before you right it off completely.

Put phone on Airplane or Do Not Disturb Mode
Turn off notifications for any or all apps that distract
Turn up the sound, turn off notifications for non-urgent things and leave phone in another room.
Remove apps that distract you and only use them on your desktop or laptop.
Sign out of social media apps so they are harder to access.
Remove apps for specific periods of time, like during the work week.
Set boundaries on when and how you can use your phone
Create rule around screen time like your kids are allowed watch tv for an equal amount of time.
Use app that tracks your time on your phone and limits it.
Hide apps that distract on the last page
Set lock screen as graphic with question like, Should you be on your phone right now?
Create a negative consequence for over using.
Leave phone somewhere you have to get up to get to
When you do need to do something on your phone, repeat the task in your head or out loud until it’s done and the screen is locked again.

This list is my no means exhaustive, but it should give you some ideas to start with. Make sure to personalize them to suit your life and personality!

Its worth noting that using a planner on a daily basis is one of the most effective ways to stay focused on what needs to get done. Even if you eliminate your phone as a distraction, if you don’t use a planner there is a good chance you will simply find another distraction. Without a plan to follow, its really easy to wander off course.

Check out the Life Book planner here. It was designed for the ambitious entrepreneur with busy life and big goals. It has some of the most unique but effective features that will get you organized and productive and keep you focused.

Jennifer

p.s. If you enjoyed this post and would like access to daily free content on all things organization and productivity, you can find me on IG @organized_owl.

How To Multitask The Right Way

So you may know by now that multitasking is actually counterproductive most of the time.

(Spoiler alert : We can’t actually multitask. Our brains are simply switching back and forth between tasks.)

When we are trying to do 2 or more things at once that require our focus we are actually wasting more time then we are saving, not to mention we are tiring our brains out like crazy.

(reason number 4847 why parents are so tired…)

Of course, life is life and its impossible to avoid the wrong kind of multitasking 100% of the time. The goal is never perfection, but rather improvement.

HOWEVER, there is one exception to this and that is when we combine a task that requires focus with one that doesn’t.

A mindful task and a mindless task, if you will.

So things like walking and listening to a podcast, or folding laundry and watching a training.

You might notice a common theme with the mindless activities in that they are almost always movement of some kind, something thats physical, rather then mental.

In fact, some studies show improved cognition from doing something physical when trying to learn.

So that treadmill desk is good for you for another reason!

And thank goodness this type of multitasking is good because otherwise I don’t think I would ever find the time to listen to all the podcasts the I do!

One of the easiest ways to avoid multitasking is by making a plan each day. The Life Book planner has all the unique features you need to do just that, including a complete goal planning section, master to-do list, important dates, meal and exercise planing, bullet journal, weekly and monthly to-do lists, deadlines and more. Check it out here. Or head on over here to try out the mini 1 month version for FREE!

Jennifer

p.s. If you enjoyed this post and would like access to daily free content on all things organization and productivity, you can find me on IG @organized_owl.

How To Plan Your Day

Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution – Brian Tracy.

Even if this is partially true, and I am inclined to believe its mostly true, imagine the time you could save over a life time if you started planning?!

I honestly believe this is one of the main reasons why I seem to get so much done compared to a lot of other people. I don’t think I’m a harder worker or have some special talent other don’t, I simply take time to plan things out.

My husband is one of the hardest workers I know and since he doesn’t plan very much (yes, I get the irony…) his days are often a hectic mess and he loses a lot of time to things he might have foreseen if he had done some more planning.

Goal planning, yearly planning, monthly planning, event planning, occasion planning and yes, day planning.

It all adds up to a heck of a lot of time saved and headaches avoided.

Today I want to share the 5 step process I go through to plan out my day so I can be prepared, organized and optimally productive.

Just before we get started, make sure you have a good planner to do this in. I use the Life Book planner, which I created myself because I couldn’t find one that worked well for me. So many planners lack the necessary space to plan properly. You can check out the Life Book here, or download the free mini version here to test it out.

1-Whats already scheduled

Look at your monthly calendar and see what is already booked or scheduled for today. Write that into today’s schedule.

2- Non-negotiables

These are the things you do, often daily, that take time and must be done. We often forget about them when planning our day because they are part of our normal routine but we have to take them into consideration before we create a to-do list so we know exactly how much time we have. So add in any non-negotiables, like school drops off, kids sports practises or meal preparation.

3- To-do List

Looking at how much time you have left in your day, create your to-do list. Look at your weekly, monthly or Master to-do list and decide what should be done today. Start with the most urgent items and add in whatever else you have time for (2-4 items max). If you want, identify any other task you will do IF you have time.

4- Identify your frog

Brian Tracey coined the term Eat That Frog which basically means you should identify and do your most important task of the day first. There are a few reasons for this; 1, since the longer the day goes on the more likely life is to get in the way, it ensures it actually gets done; 2, getting done the task that is the most important first takes off the pressure and makes you more productive the rest of the day. So figure out which task that is and schedule that in first or as early as possible.

5- Loosely schedule in the rest

Lastly, schedule in the remaining tasks on your list at the general time (morning, afternoon or evening) you plan on doing them. Being too rigid with your schedule by putting everything at super precise moments puts a lot of pressure on you to have the day go perfectly and if there is one thing we know, perfection is a myth. You are setting yourself up for failure by doing this because you will likely get off track, get overwhelmed and stressed because things are not going according to plan. So just pick a general time.

Bonus tip:

Start this the evening before so that you have time to prep anything necessary in advance. This is actually a super important step. I get asked all the time if we should plan in the evening or the morning of and I always say both. Start the day or evening before and then finalize it the morning of.

This may all seem like a long process but I promise you, once you get used to doing it, it only take 5-10 minutes tops! Especially if you have already started planning for your week on Sunday, which I also recommend.

If you would like more great content like what you read here, make sure to follow me on IG @organized_owl or on FB @organizedowl.

Happy Planning

Jennifer

How To Avoid Decision Fatigue

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

If you are human, you have experienced decision fatigue.

Every tiny piece of information or data our senses pick up on throughout the day becomes a decision. Your brain has to decide what to do with each one, even if that’s to ignore it.

And in today’s world, where we are bombarded with hundreds of thousands of bits of information daily, most of us experience decision fatigue every day.

Consciously we might not realize why it is that it can be so hard to decide what to eat for supper but often it’s because your brain is simply tapped out.

And if you’re an enneagram 9, this happens even faster, amaright fellow 9s?

So how do we get around it with the seemingly unavoidable stream of data coming our way?

Like this: by doing the following to reduce the amount of decisions we need to make each day.

1-Protect your focus

Remove or reduce the amount of technology around you when you are working. Constant dings and notifications are not only tiny decisions you have to make, they are a huge distraction.

Wait until later in the day to catch up on news and scroll social media. Delay taking in new information as much as possible until the bulk of your work is done.

2-Plan in advance.

Planning is simply making decisions in advance. Plan out your months, weeks and days in advance so that the amount of decisions you have to make in the moment are greatly reduced. Its also far easier to make decisions in advance then it is in the moment because the pressure is off. With a solid plan you can move through your day smoothly, simply following what you mapped out.

The absolute easiest way of doing this is by using a great planner. Check out the one I use here. You can also get a free mini copy here to test it out first!.

3-Habits.

You never have to decide to do something that is already a habit because its automatic and that’s why habits are so powerful. Create habits of things you do regularly so they are one less decision to be made.

The key here is for these things to be true habits. Meaning, you truly do them without thinking for the most part. If you still have to consciously get yourself to it, its not a habit yet. Building healthy habits can take some time and its important not to try creating too many at once. Start slowly, using habit stacking and one at a time, automate those things you do daily so they take less energy and mind power.

If you experience decision fatigue on a regular basis, you now know what to do to about it! Of course, its going to still happen from time to time because #life, but the goal is to avoid it occurring on a daily basis because its tiring and wastes a ton of time.

Jennifer

How To Be Consistent

You need consistency to be successful…but what do you need to be consistent?

We often talk about consistency as if it’s this singular thing you can ‘get’ or just start doing, but we don’t often talk about what helps you create consistency.

And if it’s the so-called key to success, it’s important to know what it is that actually helps us be consistent!

I believe these are the 3 most important things:

Mindset

Yup, mindset again. Your mind is your most powerful too. So first you need to make sure your beliefs support what you are working towards. If you don’t believe its possible for you to achieve this goal for whatever reason, you are not going to be able to stay consistent.

Organization

You can’t be surprised by this one, lol. It’s dang hard to do anything consistently if you are a hot mess day after day. Consistency requires having your life organized, so you actually have the time and space to do what you need to do.

Habits

This is the one that makes being consistent almost effortless. When something is a habit, it requires very little energy to do. Chances are you have been consistently brushing your teeth for years. Doesn’t require much energy or self discipline does it? That’s because it’s a habit. So create habits that either support what you want to be consistent in, or are actually the thing you want to do consistently.

Bonus tip

Use a planner to help with number 2. It’s such a simple and inexpensive, but massively powerful tool in helping you to have an organized life.

If you don’t have one you love check out the Life Book planner. This planner made for the multi passionate, family manager who has big goals and a full life.

Interested in more tips and tricks on how to stay organized and productive so you can reduce your stress and overwhelm while still achieving your goals? Follow me one IG or FB for daily free content!

Jennifer

How To Get Your Computer Files Organized

It matters how you save files on your computer or phone!

Be honest, how much time have you lost looking for a file because you can’t remember where you saved it, or its name?

And as an online entrepreneur I’m guessing you have hundreds of posts, photos and graphics by now. I’m also guessing the whole mess overwhelms you and you don’t even know where to start. Unfortunately, as much as I can help you with getting organized and productive, I can’t do this for you unless you want to ship your computer to me…

So I’ve broken it down for you in a simple step by step process which should help get the ball rolling:

Save all documents a file sharing app or program like Google Docs, Apple files, Dropbox or Notes so you can access everything from both your computer and your phone.
Create the categories and subcategories. Start with Business and Personal and work from there, creating the subcategories you need. Don’t get too hung on this step if you are unsure of the subcategories. You can create new ones as you go through the files.
Start sorting. One file at a time, modify the name in a way that makes sense to you. A great way is to use the subject and then date the file was last used. (this is great for content creators)
Once the name is modified, transfer that file to the appropriate file folder (Business or Personal). Once all files are sorted to one of those 2, sort the files into appropriate subcategories. Do this as many times as you need to, depending on how many sub categories you need.

I recommend starting with the files already in your documents folder and then tackling the download folder (cuz I know ya’ll have waaaayyy too many files in there), desktop and so on.

Block out a couple of hours in your planner to tackle this and get it done or, if there is too much to do all at once, set a goal to do 20 files a day until it’s done.

Interested in more tips tricks on organization and productivity? Follow me in IG @organized_owl or FB @organizedowl.

Happy sorting!

Jennifer

How To Create Business Systems To Save Time And Energy

Systems make life easier.

Its that simple. It may not be glamorous or it may seem boring to you, but if you take the time to implement various systems into your business, you are going to save a ton and time and energy.

And more time and energy for enjoying life IS fun and glamorous!

So here’s what you do.

Figure out where you need them

What areas of your business seem to take more time then they should? Or where do mistakes or confusion happen often? Basically, you are looking for the problems areas. The things that take too much time, don’t get done efficiently or don’t get done well.

Create the system

Now its time to actually create the system. If this is something you do often, then this won’t take a lot of time. Just make sure you are thorough and don’t forget any steps. It helps if you do this while actually doing the task.

List out all the things and/or steps included in this task.
Put these things in order in which they should be done.
Look at each step and see if there is a short cut or quicker way of doing it. If you need to, ask experts, business friends or do some research.
Look at each step and see if there is anything that could be done in advance (planning) to make things more efficient.
Rewrite the order of the steps with any new changes from step 3 and 4, being really specific about how to do each step. Create, set up any new things you need to in order to be able to follow your new system. (ie: file folders, documents, memory aid, planning space, etc)
Keep this list to refer to whenever you do this step until it’s memorized as well as to use as SOP should you hire someone to do this in the future.

And there you go! You might have to modify or add things in after a couple of times through because its normal to forget the little things sometimes.

You can create a system for almost anything you do in your business, should you feel the need but some of the first or most common ones are:

Content creation
Social media posting and engagement
How and where files are saved and used.
Quick access to commonly used links, lists and other information.
Graphic creation

And lastly, a planner system. This is probably the most important one to create as it is the secret sauce to staying organized, managing your time and well and being able to prioritize and stay focused on what matters. The solid foundation to a great planner systems is a well designed planner.

And I don’t mean pretty design, I’m talking useful features and an effective layout. A planner that has what you need as well as the space to be personalized is the golden standard and the Life Book planner has both. Check it out here.

Systems are meant to make life easier but sometimes they can seem overwhelming to put in place. Head on over to the work with me section if you would like some help!

Jennifer

5 Bad Habits That Are Preventing You From Achieving Your Goals

Sometimes it’s not the lack of good habits or intentions, but the presence of bad habits that’s causing us to fall short on you goals.

The point is not perfection but when you know better, you can do better. So if you are doing any of these, it’s time to do what you can to kick these habits to the curb.

Over consuming new information without taking time to implement it. You are essentially wasting all the good knowledge if you never actually use it!
Goal tasks being your last priority each day. The laundry will eventually get done, do your goal related tasks first as often as you can.
Trying to manage your goal setting and planning in your head. Get it down on paper and schedule tasks into your day planner.
Waiting to have ALL the information first or for something to be perfect before going forward. Perfection is practiced.
Hustling all the dang time. Or anything other habit that negatively affects your health. Take breaks, get enough sleep, eat well and move your body.

Which one do you need to ditch?

If number 3 is your nemesis, get yourself a planner like the Life Book that allows you to do all of your goal planning and managing in the same place where you organize the rest of your life. This planner is a game changer because it keeps your goals and goal related tasks front and centre in your day planner so things actually get done! Check it out here.

Not ready to commit,? Try out the free mini version here!

Jennifer