4 Simple Shortcuts To Power Up Your Productivity

By Amber De La Garza

There’s no denying it. Productivity is an essential part of a thriving business. It streamlines your success because being productive means intentionally putting your time, energy, and focus into working on the high-value activities that generate revenue and grow your business. Being productive also has personal benefits because it frees up your time to spend on what matters most, whether that’s your family, friends, traveling, community service, or hobbies. Many people know they should work on improving their productivity but are intimidated by the thought, thinking it’s a long, drawn-out, daunting process. It doesn’t have to be! There are simple shortcuts you can take to power up your productivity and get on the fast track to success. Take advantage of these powerful productivity hacks to get the results you desire in your real estate business: 

4 Simple Shortcuts To Power Up Your Productivity

#1 Rapid Fire Power Hour  

Set aside one hour at the end of each week to work quickly on simple, one-off tasks that may otherwise fall through the cracks. Your Rapid Fire Power Hour might include such tasks as paying a bill, making a phone call, reviewing a document, and ordering supplies. It is the absolute best way to knock off tiny tasks, gain momentum in your work, and clean your slate so you can start fresh the following week. 

Deciding which tasks to put aside for your power hour is simple. If any task you come across in the scope of your work will take less than five minutes to complete and there would be no repercussions from waiting until the end of the week to complete it, add it to a virtual folder or box labeled Power Hour. You can then easily retrieve those tasks when it’s time. Repurposing just one hour each week to power through your quick tasks will help you focus on your high-value activities during the week, set you up for success the following week, and aid in not letting important tasks get lost in the shuffle.

#2 Batching Tasks 

The benefits of batching tasks are numerous. It helps you get into a rhythm, creates efficiency, reduces time lost having to switch gears from one task to another, keeps your energy level up, and prevents one-off tasks from slowing you down. Almost anything you do on a recurring basis like emailing, making phone calls, creating content, graphic design, lead generation, meetings, and following up with clients can be batched. 

If you’re currently checking your emails throughout the day as they come in, you’re likely cherry-picking which ones to respond to, which results in decreased productivity and a hot mess of an inbox in which important emails may not get replied to. Instead, use batching to process your emails two or three scheduled times a day; this will help you successfully manage and maintain an organized inbox. You can also try batching errands by location and meetings that require similar energy levels. The possibilities are endless. 

#3 Planning Your Days 

Staying on track throughout the day can be tough, especially when the unexpected keeps occurring and that one eager client keeps calling to see yet another house they found online that has no chance of passing inspection. Planning your day the night before can prevent you from losing an entire day due to unforeseen circumstances.  That’s because if you’ve at least laid the tracks for where you want to go, you’ll be able to quickly get back on track when the unexpected pops up and threatens your productivity.

Before each workday comes to an end, utilize the 5 Daily Planning Pavers to plan your following day. Refrain from planning your day that day because you’ll more easily succumb to feeling tired or a lack of motivation and be less ambitious than you would otherwise. The 5 Daily Planning Pavers include reviewing your current day, previewing your following day, performing a mind sweep, prioritizing, and time blocking. Make planning your day a habit so you will always have a plan of attack to conquer your next day with ease. 

#4 Saying No 

As big as your heart, loyalty, or pocketbook may be and as uncomfortable as it may be to say no, sometimes it’s necessary. No matter how hard you try, you simply can’t be all things to all people in all places. There’s an abundance of power in saying no because it frees up time to spend on the activities that really matter to you and your business. Work to achieve clarity on how you want to be spending your time and relay those boundaries to others, both in your professional and personal life.

There are three main ways you should be saying no and whether or not you should all boils down to whether that activity aligns with your goals and vision of success. You can say no to new requests of your time such as “coffee” meetings to pick your brain, and industry workshops, which wouldn’t provide much value. You can say no to things you’ve already said yes to such as projects, processes, and marketing ventures that no longer serve you. Finally, you can say no to yourself, which might entail exercising self-discipline by getting a good night’s sleep instead of pulling an all-nighter to binge-watch The Mandalorian once you finally cave into the peer pressure and buy Disney+. Saying yes to low-value activities means pushing your own priorities further down your plate while saying no to such activities is like saying a resounding yes to your own priorities and success. 

Everyone loves a good shortcut because we always feel short on time. Driving shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts. Microwaves. Velcro on kids’ shoes. Dry shampoo. Yes, please! There’s nothing wrong with a shortcut if you still obtain the results you want without breaking your moral code, the law, or your bank. Take advantage of these more direct paths to reaching your goals and maximizing your productivity to achieve greater success.

Find out how to STOP Screwing Your Productivity to increase your profits by downloading Top 10 Ways You’re Screwing Your Productivity

About the Contributor

Amber De La Garza is The Productivity Specialist! Amber is a sought-after coach, trainer, speaker, writer, host of the Productivity Straight Talk podcast, and creator of S.T.O.P.! The Entrepreneur’s Success Solution. She helps driven real estate professionals execute actionable solutions to maximize profits, reduce stress, and make time for what matters most!