Hey there, Marissa here. Creating an online business involves managing a lot of moving parts. So when we begin to create products, a membership or an online program, it can begin to feel overwhelming maintaining everything. And you realize you're not making progress, yet you're busy every day. Where's your time going? Being busy is not always the problem. It's being busy in the wrong things. And we're going to unpack this a little more today on the Resilient Faith Online Show as we talk about the best productivity tip for online creators. Welcome. I'm Marissa Shatter, host of the Resilient Faith Online Show. I'm an online marketing coach and certified copywriter. In this podcast, you'll find a different perspective on the external and internal challenges we face as online creators. Join me for some inspiration and practical tips to create positive influence in the world. To continue the conversation, learn about my private resilient creator community. Go to MarissaShatter.com forward slash community. Hello, hello. Good to be here today with you. We're going to talk a little bit about productivity. And although I'm not a productivity expert, as an online entrepreneur, we need to adopt some productivity practices in order to get things done. Because there is so much that we can potentially do, but we need to choose the right things to do. So being busy is not usually the problem. It's being busy in the wrong things. Now, as I mentioned in the intro, we don't really notice it until we take on a new project. Maybe we're creating a product or a membership or an online program, and it can start feeling really overwhelming because we're trying to maintain the existing things that we were doing. Plus, we're adding more. This is all about not adding more, but actually eliminating to be able to execute deep work by using the power of elimination. So when we talk about being busy, busy is not the problem. We want to be busy on the right things. And we don't want to be afraid of the word busy. Sometimes busy has a negative connotation. But busy simply means by definition, engaged in action, being in use. So when we're engaged in action, that means we're busy. I often say I'm not busy, I'm committed, because oftentimes we're engaged in meaningful action, in things that have purpose and value for us. But when we're too busy and we're overcommitted, now that's a different story. But for the most part, even when it's a healthy busy, when we add something new, it creates more complexity. It stretches us. And at some point, the cup is full. And we need to begin to see what we can eliminate. Now, I know for me, I started thinking about simplicity, and I started thinking about more is not necessarily better, less is more. And I started thinking about content creation and people buying online courses and not even having the time to consume all of it. And then I started looking at the path of simplicity for me as an entrepreneur to give myself the margin to create valuable products and services that are not complicated, that are simple, and they're simple to create, they're simple to execute, and it's simple for the students to go through it and reach transformation. So while I was on this thought of simplicity, I was looking at my calendar and I was working on a membership site and I was thinking, I need to eliminate some things. And this was during, this is probably like three months ago or two months ago, I started thinking about this, and I started eliminating a few things that weren't going to be critical, but really looking at where my time was leaking. And so some of it could have been in an email that I got that a new webinar was coming up or there was a new challenge coming up. There's always lots of things coming up. And when we're focused on something we're trying to produce, say you're focused on creating or growing your email list. That's a good example. If you see a webinar that is part of growing an email list and is going to explain something, of course, naturally that might be something you want to register for because it's definitely in line with what you're working on right now. Or if you're writing a book and you see something related to book publishing and it's related to what you're working on right now, then maybe it's a good idea to jump on that webinar because it will help you execute what you're trying to execute right now. But what happens is there's all this noise, and our to-do list begins to be triggered by fear. We don't want to miss out. We don't want to miss out on a webinar. Say there's a webinar in SEO. Well, maybe that's good to know, but is it good to know right now? You know, we just add more and more to our calendar. And so I began to create these filters and begin to see is it something that's relevant for me right now to be able to jump on and spend an hour, hour and a half in some cases. I even seen some webinars that go longer than that. Is it actually something that is beneficial right now? The same thing with social media, scrolling through social media, posting, following, doing all those things are helpful. There's nothing wrong with that. But sometimes we can get caught in that social media black hole that begins to eat up all of our time. And it's the same thing with looking for the next best tool, right? We see something that looks promising and then we want to see what it's all about. And then we watch a video, we possibly buy it, then we're interested to see how it works, and then we're testing it out. We get totally sidetracked. We're talking about the rabbit syndrome, right? And I realized if I eliminated some things, what would my week look like? And so I started eliminating things that even in social posting, and I think in a previous podcast, I mentioned that I will be closing my private Facebook group. And instead, I'm introducing a new private membership that I have that's very low entry for people to engage with me in a place where I'll have live streams and other things for them because it's very noisy and it became one more thing to do. And so I started making decisions about eliminating certain things to be able to give myself the margin to do focused work. It's amazing when you block out time to do focused work. Lately I've been doing it early in the morning and I just block out time to do focus work, and it's so helpful. Plus, it builds momentum and you get excited about it because you're actually getting things done rather than have that nagging feeling that there's things that need to get done, especially if you're doing things like writing, because writing takes a little bit more time. Maybe structuring a program or a membership that takes a little bit more thought and time. And you need that quiet time to think through the process of how you're going to bring your customers in and help them receive that transformation. So oftentimes for me, if I overbook my calendar and I'm grabbing the next webinar and I'm trying to check out the next tool, it really is a signal for me to do some intentional inner work to see if fear is triggering something else that's being added to my to-do list because of that fear of missing out. We've got to take care of our emotional IQ because intelligence, skill, and education will not improve your emotional IQ. You got to figure out why you're doing what you're doing and then go deep with it and ask yourself a series of questions to get to the root of it. And just maintain what you know you need to maintain today. Focus on your moment-by-moment thoughts to uncover what needs to be done today. Because your thoughts could be saying, Oh, I need to do this thing, or I need to go here, or I need to contact this, or I need to find out or research this. Do you? That's what we need to ask ourselves. Do I need to do that right now? Or do I need to just buckle down and begin to work on this one project that I need to complete? And the thing is, we can change the way we think. That's the whole idea behind neuroplasticity. It means that we can change our default thinking. So for me, overcommitment or doing too many things, too many projects, sometimes I have to look and see is that to-do list triggered by fear? And then reframe my thinking so I have more of an abundance mindset than a limiting mindset and move forward. And then I can focus and concentrate on what I need to do right now with no tension and without worrying about something that I missed out. Have I missed out on a few things? Probably. But I know during the summer, it was really important for me to be very mindful about social media, how much social media posting I was going to do. And you know, tell you the truth, I don't even think anybody noticed. So, you know, it's not that big of a deal. We put so much pressure on ourselves that sometimes it's not that big of a deal. It's not the end of the world. And you can always go back and continue with a structure that's going to work for you as well. So, how do we become more productive with this elimination process, right? We don't want to eliminate everything, but we want to be mindful of the things we say yes to and be more intentional about the things we say no to. So it's more about a don't do list than a to-do list. So let me give you a few tips on how you can be more productive. And by productive, let's define it. It means producing benefit or result. So let's see how we can produce more benefit in your life and more results for your customers, your prospects, your community, right? So let's focus on that. That productivity equals producing benefit and results. And first for you, because it's kind of like the analogy of the plane. You know, if you have a child with you, you got to get the oxygen mask on yourself first, then the child. It's the same thing with this. You've got to produce and create things that are going to benefit you and not overtax you and deplete you because there's a difference between being tired and being depleted, right? That leads to burnout. But there's a way to be able to produce things and be productive where it's going to be beneficial for you and it's going to create more excitement and momentum and enthusiasm. And you can't wait to get up and continue working on whatever it is that you're working on as opposed to not wanting to get up. Because if something's not right, they don't want to get out of bed. They want to stay in bed and linger a little longer because they don't want to face the day. So think about that. What keeps you in bed in the morning? Are you one of those people that's so excited? Get started in the day that you can't wait to get up. You think, yes, it's morning. I can continue what I was working on yesterday. I'm so excited about this. So here are the seven tips. The first one to be able to begin the power of elimination so you can be more productive and do more focus work. The first one is to begin to eliminate. Simple, right? Begin eliminating. Look at all the things that you think you need to do. Maybe look at your calendar first. And of course, your hard appointments, that's a given. You have to have those hard appointments. Any personal commitments, you got to have that on your calendar. Those type of things that are ongoing, maybe content marketing. If you have a podcast or there's an article that you post every week, those are a given. And then look to see what is it that you have as far as availability? What can you potentially do? And begin to eliminate the other things that will prevent you from using that time wisely. So block it out. And then anything that comes your way, use those filters. Be very protective of that time and begin to eliminate or say no to certain things or people because you are focused and committed to finishing something. Now you can do this very nicely. You can say, can we circle back and reconnect in a couple of weeks? Because I'm working on a project right now. There's nothing wrong with that. You can do that so that people respect your time as well. And that's coming from someone that did not respect her time very well. And I ended up doing lots of things for free that I shouldn't have done. So I learned the hard way. And I don't want you to learn the hard way. So that's number one is begin to eliminate. Number two is to follow the path of simplicity. When you're creating something and you've eliminated and you have said no to things so that you can accomplish this, the last thing you want to do is overcomplicate it and make it a longer process than it needs to be. Follow the path of simplicity. Just think of the project and think, what is the easiest way, simplest way that I can do this? If it's too simple, if it's too basic, then maybe add a little more to it. But start first with simple. What's the simplest way that I can create this without a lot of overwhelm? And chances are you may find a better way of creating it following the simple path and get it done faster, and it will be just as good. So that's number two. Follow the path of simplicity. Number three is set boundaries. Consider what your yeses are going to be and what your no's are going to be. And that's different for everyone. You need to figure out what those boundaries are. And then you can even set boundaries in your home. Maybe the boundaries for a season, maybe in a quarter you're trying to achieve something. Maybe it's to not watch any TV after 7:30 in the evening and go to bed early so you can get up early. Maybe those are the boundaries that you set for yourself. Maybe it's meal prepping so you don't spend too much time for the ladies cooking in the evening. You just meal prep and you heat up a meal. You know, it's like TV dinner, only better because you made it, right? So you can set boundaries and figure out, you know, what is it that I can do and I can't do? And figure out, even ladies, if you're not going to clean every week and clean every other week, it's not gonna kill anything. You know, nothing's gonna grow in two weeks. You can let it go. So you can set some boundaries if that's gonna give you a little bit more margin, maybe to rest or whatever. Because what do women do when they have a day off? They're cleaning, they're doing laundry, they're doing all kinds of stuff. That's not a day off as far as I'm concerned. So set some boundaries for yourself. Number four is to go to war with your calendar. Now, what I mean by that is once you've blocked out that time, chances are you're going to have to adjust a little bit as you actually implement. It's probably not going to be rock solid. So don't get discouraged and say, well, I blocked out this time from seven in the morning till eight in the morning to do this and it's just not working out. And the kids are getting up late and I'm having to make their breakfast later and it's eating up that time, and whatever the case may be, be flexible. Just know that in the beginning, it's gonna take a little bit of flexibility to get to that sweet spot. So go to war with your calendar in the sense that you're gonna dominate the calendar. You're gonna find a way to make it work. And if it doesn't work at seven, then maybe try maybe at um eight o'clock in the morning. Or if you're an early person, start at six. Get up early and start at six, and by seven, you're done. Whatever works for you, or if you're an evening person, maybe try in the evening to do that. The incremental effect of doing a little bit each day is gonna compound and you're gonna see results. So go to war with your calendar by being flexible, tweaking and adjusting so that you can actually accomplish things and don't get frustrated because once you get frustrated, it's like you're losing the war. Okay, don't get frustrated. All righty, number five, find like-minded peers, your own little cohort. It's so great to have like-minded peers that know what your journey is, that are checking with you, saying, How are things going? You know, thinking about you, hope things are going well. Or if you have a question and they can answer it, it's great if you're in a platform where there is community, so you can pop in and say, Oh, I'm working on this piece of my project and I'm stuck here, so you can get a quick answer. That's so helpful, you know, even to share something that you completed because most likely your husband or your kids don't understand what it is that you're doing. And so when you have something that you've accomplished and you've reached a milestone, it's nice to share it somewhere so people can cheer you on and say, Oh, that's awesome. Congratulations. That's great. You reached that milestone. So it's really helpful for our mind and our emotional IQ to be able to have a group of like-minded peers. Number six is crowdsource your ideas. Again, if you're in a community, you can say, Well, I'm thinking of doing this. What do you think of this idea? Maybe it's an idea for a lead magnet and get some opinions, right? Because oftentimes we're too close to our own work. And maybe it's the name of the product, or maybe it's the name of the mastermind, or maybe it's the content you're going to provide in a membership. Throw it out there, crowdsource and get some feedback. It's so helpful to get feedback as you're creating something. And then number seven is ask a lot of questions. Even if you have to talk to yourself and ask questions out loud, I do that a lot. I ask myself a lot of questions. But whenever you can, ask questions. Ask questions when you're in front of your market, ask questions with peers, ask questions because questions become your keys to success. Be very, very inquisitive. And as you're creating something, if you're inquisitive, it may prevent you from going down a rabbit trail that's going to extend the amount of time it takes to create something because you've discovered something simply by asking a question. So I know I did that when I was creating my membership site. I asked some questions to some people and I had like three people in mind that could give me some feedback. And I just reached out to them and I asked them about membership sites. I had one specific question. I asked all three of them the same question, and I got great feedback. I mean, different perspectives, but it was a thumbs up for me because that was the overall takeaway from the feedback I got. And so that gave me confidence to continue to work and finish that project. And I felt like I was more productive because I had asked those questions. So ask a lot of questions. And sometimes it may be it's getting on a Zoom call and asking someone that could be a potential customer, maybe just asking and just say you would love to do a little discovery call, offer some coaching tips. In exchange, you would love to ask them some questions. So that can be very helpful too. So here are the seven ways that you can be more productive by using the power of elimination. Number one is begin to eliminate. Number two, follow the path of simplicity. Number three, set boundaries. Number four, go to war with your calendar. Number five, find like-minded peers, a cohort. Number six, crowdsource ideas. Number seven, ask a lot of questions. In a lot of these, you are eliminating. Like number one is a given, you're eliminating number two, follow the path of simplicity. You're eliminating complexity, right? Set boundaries, you're eliminating those outside interruptions that can throw you off guard because you've already set boundaries. You already know what you're saying yes to and no to. Go to war with your calendar, same thing. Number four, you're eliminating things from interfering with the time you want to spend on a project. And finding like-minded people, you're eliminating the voices in your head that are saying something negative. So that's why it's wonderful to be with like-minded people. And then crowdsourcing ideas, you're eliminating confusion, you're eliminating the fact that you're not feeling confident because you're stalling and you're looking at something over and over again because you're too close to your own work. And then asking a lot of questions, you're eliminating the chance of failure because you're asking good questions. So all of this has a component of eliminating things so that you can be more productive. The power of elimination. Now I think you've heard a little theme here about community. I think community is really important, which is why I created a membership, really low entry membership. I'm telling you, this is not much to get into this membership right now. The price will go up later on, but right now it's at a great, great affordable price. Everyone can afford it. Everyone, I don't care if you're starting, um, everyone can afford it. And the value of community is so important. There's a lot of perks in there, but I'm emphasizing community because we are better together. And community helps us protect your God-given assignment. We each have a God-given assignment, and community helps us protect that. That's why God created the church. That's why it's called the body of Christ, right? Community is powerful. Community is what helps us get to the other side. Growing a business isn't easy. Community makes it better and support makes it possible. And I know many of you can struggle sometimes with confidence. We all do. You may feel like an underdog, but I'm here to tell you that you are an unsung hero because you are creating something wonderful to create positive influence in the world. And I commend you for that. I think that's really important. Michael Hyatt said once, play a game, you can win. You can't win if you're overwhelmed. You can't win if you're trying to do it all. You can't win if you have a fear of missing out. You can only win when you begin to implement some of these steps that I mentioned and use the power of elimination and begin to do focus work and set yourself up for success. Because I'll tell you, when you complete projects and you launch products and services or memberships, whatever it might be, it's so fulfilling because you're engaging with people and you're helping them get on the other side. So I'll leave you with that. It's time to eliminate, focus, get some things done, really complete things in this next quarter, and position yourself for success without the overwhelm. So until next time, take care. Bye bye.