A Step-by-Step Guide to Mastering Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Systems
As a female entrepreneur, you know how challenging it can be to balance all the responsibilities that come with running a business. With so many tasks to take care of, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, and fall into procrastination and perfectionism.
We’ve all been there!
In this blog post, I’ll be sharing my personal productivity system with you. This has literally been battle-tested and proven to help business owners like you, achieve their goals using simple monthly, weekly, and daily productivity principles.
These systems will help you focus on what’s important, stay motivated, and achieve success without getting to the end of another week feeling exhausted and unaccomplished.
So, grab a pen and a notebook, and let’s get started!
STEP 1: YOUR MONTHLY PRODUCTIVITY TOOLKIT
The first step in your productivity system is to give yourself clear monthly goals to focus on. Working from one massive To Do list is NOT an effective way to work.
Having clear and specific monthly goals (which should align with your bigger lifestyle goals), gives us direction and focus. It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day tasks, but without a clear direction, we may find ourselves working hard and getting nowhere.
I usually set 1-2 business goals and 1 personal goal every month. When I give myself this level of specificity everything feels so much easier and ensures I keep the business moving in the right direction rather than just fire fighting.
I always set a personal goal because we know as business owners that they go hand in hand. The more I look after myself, the bigger the potential for my business. I am available for THAT!
To set effective monthly goals, start by identifying the most important areas of your business. Are you looking to increase sales, expand your audience, create content, or maybe you want to launch a new product? What’s your priority at the moment?
Here are some tips:
No vague goals allowed.
No should goals allowed.
(Should goals = things you think you “should” tackle. Instead, follow what feels exciting and scary and gives you goosebumps…..)
What would you love to have achieved by the end of the month?
TIP 1: Write your goals in the present tense as if they have already happened (your mind can then get to work on making them come true)
TIP 2: Don’t forget to include a personal goal so that you can show up as your best self – Future You needs this.
TIP 3: Personally, I prefer to set goals that are reliant on MY efforts rather than setting income goals. I do have income goals to work towards but on a monthly and quarterly basis, I like goals that I only don’t achieve if I choose not to show up for them!
TIP 4: Make them specific enough so that you know without a doubt whether you achieved it or not.
Here’s an example of how I set my monthly goals:
Business: It’s 31st January and I have created a new opt-in for list building.
Why: I want to grow my audience which will help towards my goal to double my income
Weekly Milestones:
1: Survey / Poll to find out what people are struggling with
2: Create opt-in from survey data
3: Create a registration page and thank you page and test. Write email sequence.
4: Set up FB ads
My Reward: Friday Night rooftop champagne with friends
Here’s an example of a personal goal (my personal goals are usually more habit related)
Personal Goal: It’s 31st January and I have moved my body daily
Why: My mind and sanity work better when I do this. Everything in my life benefits!
Milestones: 10k steps daily
My Reward: Treat from Ritual my new fav pampering shop
This will make them much easier to achieve because you got specific and didn’t have to spend any time thinking: “where do I start?”
We really want to remove as many decisions as possible from your everyday life.
These goals are what will grow my business, I will still have the “business as usual” tasks to do each week.
So step 1 is to give yourself the gift of complete clarity on what your most important projects are for the next 30 days (and not just focus on the thing that is shouting the loudest on your To-do list!).
STEP 2: YOUR WEEKLY PRODUCTIVITY TOOLKIT
The next key component of my productivity system is the weekly toolkit.
Once a week I set aside dedicated time to step back from the day-to-day tasks of my business and review my goals and progress. I plan my upcoming week, re-commit to my weekly goals for the next 7 days, and make any necessary adjustments. This allows me to stay on track and align with my overall vision for my business – every single week.
Important so that I don’t get to the end of the year and think “I forgot I set that goal”.
This weekly process takes less than an hour and is the sole reason I have a successful business!
I share my simple 5-step weekly process HERE. It’s a free resource that will take you less than your next cuppa to master, and it will change your life.
I actually call this one productivity strategy my “secret weapon”.
It’s simple, yet powerful, and it helps me to focus on the most important tasks, prioritise my time and energy, and stay accountable.
Step 2 is to set yourself up every week for success by holding a weekly planning date with yourself.
STEP 3: YOUR DAILY PRODUCTIVITY TOOLKIT
Now we have a monthly and weekly strategy, you’ll also need effective tools and techniques to help you stay productive on a DAILY basis.
Some quick time management tools to help you minimise distractions and make the most of your day include:
- The Pomodoro Technique (I share more about this in a super old blog post here).
- Time blocking – do not sit at your desk for the entire day and work through a massive to-do list. This is NOT how the wealthy and successful version of you succeeds.
- The Mighty 90 (a 90-minute power session focused on your biggest project, with no distractions). I share more about this in Get Productive.
- MIA’s – Identifying your Most Important Actions for the day so you don’t waste any time thinking “what shall I do next?”
- Implement an End of Day Review where you set tomorrow up for success the night before
The more intentional I am with how I start and end my day, the more likely the middle bit goes well!
Setting daily intentions, creating a morning and evening routine, and using my daily review process keeps me focused and productive throughout the day. All of these things take minutes. This is a flexible system I use to keep me on track.
Some of my favorite time management techniques include things like the 80/20 rule, the 2-minute rule, and the “eat that frog” technique.
Simple, yet powerful strategies that can help you to make the most of your time and achieve your goals.
The most important daily tip is to try and start your day by NOT checking emails. We want your first focus of the day to be growing your business, not responding to everyone else’s demands. I realise this depends on your business as to whether this is doable.
You don’t have to implement all of the above. Just start with one and notice what feels different. I suggest the weekly planning system which you can grab for free here.
All of these tools and techniques are designed to help you focus on the things that matter most, stay productive, and make steady progress toward your business goals.
By using these tools you’ll have more free time to enjoy your life, you’ll be able to focus on the task at hand, and you’ll be able to make progress on the most important things in your life.
I truly believe that with the right tools and systems in place, anyone can achieve their goals and live the life they desire.
The key is to have discipline and structure in place, and I say that as someone who spent the first few years in business traveling the world and avoiding all structure and routine. That meant I had time freedom and location freedom, but I did NOT have financial freedom.
When I realised that true freedom comes through discipline I started practicing what I preach a lot more!
Through my own journey and by helping hundreds of other female entrepreneurs, I have seen the transformative power that productivity principles can have on our life – and business. And that’s why I’m passionate about sharing these tools and strategies with as many people as possible.
Ready to skyrocket your personal productivity?
Learn step-by-step my whole productivity system, plus my top mindset strategies for getting out of your own way, in my self-study course “Get Productive”. (You’ll also get a peak into my Asana account).
CLICK HERE AND “GET PRODUCTIVE“
Here’s to taking back control and making our dreams come true – with a little bit more discipline and structure, the sky’s the limit!
Love, Jo x
PS Pop over to Instagram and connect with me in my DM’s. I would be happy to chat with you more about how my productivity system can help you achieve your goals and live the life you desire.
