3 Goals to Be More Productive in 2023

By: Ashlyn Rochester, ACN Communications Specialist

Most freelancers and entrepreneurs are always on the go and always busy. Activities like checking emails or managing your calendar are examples of busy work, where you’re “busy” but not really productive. And if a goal for 2023 is to be productive, we have some tips for you!

1. Automate what you can.

Stop wasting time doing redundant tasks that can be automated. Using content scheduling platforms like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your content in one place. There are several time-tracking apps to help you manage your time and create reports for clients like Toggle or Clockify. Use a project management tool like Trello or Monday.com to help keep your projects organized, and an automated meeting tool like Calendly to manage your meetings. IFTTT and Zapier are highly praised for their automated workflows to make cross-off items on your to-do list.

2. Make better to-do lists.

Look at your to-do list right now. Is what’s on there actually necessary? Or do you only think it’s important? We live in a busy world, but it doesn’t mean busyness is a marker of success or importance. To find success, you need a to-do list that has the necessary tasks on it to complete your work and maintain your productive spirit.

Importance is another item to tackle on your to-do list. If checking and engaging on social media is taking a huge crunch out of your day, do a little ROI assessment to see if that task is worthwhile. Are you seeing new clients or gaining new opportunities or leads? If not, then cut back and redirect that time to a task that will have a high return on investment. Look at what is already creating results and invest more time there.

3. Stop multitasking.

While everyone thinks multitasking is saving time, in reality, it’s ruining your productivity and takes more of a mental toll on you. Constantly switching between tasks takes a lot of willpower from your brain, compared to focusing on the one task at hand. Instead, work on finishing tasks in time blocks or batches. Dedicate one hour to emails, one or two hours to clients, one or two hours to creating content, etc.  Set a timer, or time box, as Your Nerdy Best Friend recommends. Time Boxing is a productive technique where you incorporate your to-do list into your calendar, so each task has a time, date, and time limit. Try software like Plan, Trevor, or Hold X for time boxing.

With these 3 goals in mind for 2023, we wish you a happy and productive new year!