As I was preparing the 100th podcast episode I took some time to reflect. I remember back when I started the podcast I had no idea what I was doing or whether the podcast would last. In fact, I had no idea if my business would last.
Wow… Here we are at the 100th episode for the podcast.
I wasn't really sure what to do for this episode. As a bit of a milestone, I thought I should do something special.
There’s a big misconception out there that you need loads of money to start a business. In fact, I think a lot of people use this as an excuse NOT to start a business to disguise the real reason why they’re not starting (often out of fear).
Last week I took part in a side-hustle discussion panel where myself and a bunch of super smart online entrepreneurs got together to talk about the challenges of starting a side-business. You can listen to the discussion here:
I get asked all the time about what apps and tools I use to be more productive and to run my business. And I’m a big fan of using the right tool for the right job instead of overlapping your tools and creating a confusing productivity system (which is why I created my productivity blueprint).
As an independent worker, learning how to properly price your service is MUST. Since starting my consulting business back in mid-2016 I’ve experimented with a number of different pricing methods. In fact, just last month I started experimenting with a completely new way of pricing my services.
Last week I wrote about how to track your time. The premise here is that time tracking is a great way of measuring how productive you're being and identifying sources of distraction. However, you need to track your time and put this information to good use in order to make the effort of tracking worthwhile.
The same is true of life tracking.
“Life tracking” is my term for tracking the broader aspects of your life like your health, fitness, sleep, exercise, weight, finances, and habits. By tracking the different aspects of your life you can identify habits and trends that are helping or hindering your personal happiness, health, and wellbeing.
Since becoming an independent worker, one of the biggest struggles I’ve run into is getting new leads who are interested in my consulting services. Consultants, freelancers and coaches live and die by the quality of leads they’re able to attract. And it’s incredibly frustrating knowing that every day people are coming to my site and reading about my consulting options but I can’t see who these people are or how to reach them.
So, you want to be more productive? Great!
Most people who are trying to optimise their productivity spend time trying different productivity tools, implementing new routines and saving time wherever possible.
This is all well and good but is it actually working? Realistically, it’s hard to know unless you’re tracking your time.
