Boosting Solarpreneur Productivity and Revenue

Tonya Harrison 0:00

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Operations Toolbox Podcast , the show that solopreneurs turn to when they are ready to go from busy and burned out to productive and profitable , leveraging foundational systems , structure and strategy . I'm your host , tanya D Harrison , and today we are having a real conversation about productivity and how productivity can help you , boost your efficiency and ultimately increase your business revenue . Productivity is extremely important for everyone , but especially solarpreneurs , because we are working so much in our business . We're not just CEOs , we are actually working within our business . So if we're not producing and we're not getting things done , this directly impacts our revenue . I want to say that one more time as a solarpreneur , if you're not being productive in your business and you're not getting things done , you are directly impacting your bottom line . There are some things that you need to do in order to generate revenue , so at minimum , you need to be doing those things . But I'm going to talk to you about three crucial concepts to help you take back control of your day and your business . So let's go ahead and jump right in the first one and if you've been following me for a minute , you have heard this , I know , time and time again , but it's something that has to be said determining the priorities by identifying your quarterly goals . So the very first thing we want to think about is that if we don't know where we're going and if we don't have a plan to get there , it's going to be really hard to get there . I can say all day that I want to make a million dollars this year , but I need to have a plan as to how I'm going to get there . I need to have a plan . So one of the main reasons we're not productive is because we don't have a plan to get to where we're trying to go .

Tonya Harrison 2:29

It is essential for solopreneurs to have clear direction in their business . I'm talking crystal clear . Start with your vision . What is your vision ? Where is it that you see yourself in the next three to five years ? And then I recommend , every year you set a goal right . So we're breaking down the vision on the path to the vision . Here's how we get there .

Tonya Harrison 3:00

This year you want to accomplish x , y , z , and then we're going to take and break that down in the quarterly milestones . So your quarterly goals provide focus and they enable you to prioritize tasks effectively . And we're breaking it down to the smallest level . So you're going to be able , by doing this , you're going to be able to set clear , actionable objectives for each quarter . That can help you track your progress and stay motivated .

Tonya Harrison 3:35

So we're looking at our vision . What is it that ? Where do we see ourself in the next couple of years ? And then we're saying this year I want to accomplish X , y , z . So what do you want to achieve this year ? And then you're going to break that down into smaller quarterly milestones and this could be related to anything , right ? So this could be related to revenue , client acquisition , how many clients I want to serve , product development , I want to put out another offering or a product , or personal growth , whatever it is . Make sure you understand what it is . And then you're going to break it down . So you really want to .

Tonya Harrison 4:18

Once you do this , you really want to keep those goals visible and you want to revisit them on a regular basis . So I have mine posted on my wall so I can see it on a regular basis . But then I'm going to align my daily tasks with my quarterly objectives . So , for this quarter , if my main objective is to grow my list by my email list by 25% , whatever that is I'm going to make sure my daily tasks align with that , and then you'll find that your productivity and your business revenue will improve significantly , because I am working on the things that are a priority and I am working on the things that are going to help me achieve my goal . So that is going to be my priority .

Tonya Harrison 5:04

That's the first concept . So the first concept is determining the priorities by identifying your quarterly goals and then breaking those down into daily tasks that you're going to work on . That's concept number one . The second concept is managing your to-do list . So we have these to-do lists and it includes all of these things , and most of the time , there is just no way as a solo prenuer a solo prenuer , even with a small team a lot of these to-do lists there's just no way we can accomplish it all .

Tonya Harrison 5:46

So what I want you to do is take your to-do list and we're going to go through this filter and I use what I refer to as the 4D method . It's a method that I made up , that I use , and it's four categories . You're either going to do what's on your list delegate it , delay it or delete it . Those are the four options . There's nothing else , right ? So when I'm looking at if I'm going to do something or not . These are going to be the tasks that are need to be immediately done .

Tonya Harrison 6:21

So , and they directly relate to my quarterly goal , and it is something that I have to do . It requires my skillset , it requires my intervention to do right , because even if it's something that needs to be done and is related to my goals , it doesn't necessarily mean that I need to do it . There may be an opportunity to delegate it , which is the second D , and if there's an opportunity to delegate it , it is you're going to delegate it right . So if it requires me , if it requires , if it's required to be done right now because it's aligned with my goals and I don't have anyone to delegate it to , then of course , I need to keep it on my list to do . Okay , so when we're we're so that's number one right , do it Delegate right . So , again , this could be something that requires immediate attention , is related to the quarterly goal , but it doesn't require my skillset and I have someone to delegate it to .

Tonya Harrison 7:25

When we're talking about delegation , I want you to keep in mind you do not have to have a full time employee to delegate something to . This could be somebody that you hire part time . When I first started with my virtual assistant , she worked a couple of hours for me a month and there were certain tasks that she did , so you could do the same thing . So you can still delegate without having a full time employee right . So it needs to be done . It requires immediate attention , but it does not require my skill set . I'm going to delegate it .

Tonya Harrison 8:06

The third one is delay . So these are tasks . They contribute to the long-term growth right . So they are important , but they are not immediate . So those I'm going to schedule for a later time . So I'm going to delay them . They're not going to be done right now and then I'm going to schedule them for a later time .

Tonya Harrison 8:27

The fourth category is delete . These are tasks that can be deleted and don't need to be done . So a lot of times we have things on our list that really don't need to be done , or we have changed direction or whatever the case may be . If you're not comfortable with deleting them , you can put them in what I refer to as the war room . Within my project management software I have a section that's called the war room , and within that war room these are all of my ideas and things that I don't want to get rid of because I want to . I may want to go pick them up one day or what have you , but I don't want to lose track of them right now and I'm not ready to call it quits or delete them right . So if it's one of those , then you can put it in your war room . If you know that you are done with this and this isn't something that you're going to do , then you can delete that task . So again , the four categories are number one I'm going to do it . Number two I could delegate it . Number three I'm going to delay it . And number four I'm going to delete it .

Tonya Harrison 9:33

So , by categorizing your to-do list , you can focus on what truly matters and delegate or eliminate the rest . So this is a simple method , but it has a profound impact on your productivity . So take that to-do list and clean it up . Do not have all of that stuff hanging out there on your to-do list . Let's go ahead and put it in the category that it belongs in and move on to concept number three . So the third concept .

Tonya Harrison 10:06

This is where you are going to organize your day , with time blocking and tasks , right . So there's a couple of things that's going to happen . I recommend that , at the end of the day , you perform what I call a closeout process . So at the end of the day , I'm going to look at the tasks that I perform . If there's anything that I was not able to get done , I am going to start deciding what it is that I'm going to work on tomorrow . So some of those tasks may move over to the next day and then I'm going to have other tasks that I need to do . So , at the beginning of the day , I already know what it is that I need to work on .

Tonya Harrison 10:47

But I want you to take it one step further With time management , which is the key to productivity . We are going to go in and truly manage our time . So , in effect , the strategy that I use is time blocking . So it's a technique that involves you going in and scheduling specific blocks on your calendar , right ? So when I get to my desk , I already know what I'm doing and when I'm doing it , because it's already blocked out on my calendar .

Tonya Harrison 11:23

If I have a task where , say , for instance , I'm going to go in and check my numbers every single Monday at 9am , that's what I do I go in and I check my numbers . It's on my calendar . It's on my calendar and I give myself an hour , even though I don't use it Right . That just gives me wiggle room . But from 9 to 10 , I'm checking my numbers . That's blocked out on my calendar . So what you want to do is you want to take your high priority tasks that align with your quarterly goals and you want to put those on your calendar , first because you want to make sure those get done , and then so you'll say from 9 to 10 , you're going to do XYZ . From 10 to 11 , you're going to do whatever .

Tonya Harrison 12:10

One of the things I want to remind you is that you want to include breaks and time to recharge . So for me , I work in 90 minute sprints . That's the longest I go . So if something requires a shorter period of time , that's fine , but if it's something that is a longer project , I'll go 90 minutes . So I'll go from 10 to 1130 , give myself a break and then come back to it . If that's what's on my agenda , thank you . So you literally are going to go in your calendar , and the good thing about doing this the night before is that , for those of us that have meetings , we already know that our schedule for the next day , so I already know what meetings I have , when they're going to occur , and then I can go in and I can start filling out , filling in the gaps . And then the other thing is I have days where I have no meetings , so those are days where I can just it's even easier to go in and start blocking on my calendar . So when you plan your day this way , you ensure that essential work gets done Again , leading to more productivity and increased business revenue .

Tonya Harrison 13:26

Additionally , I pair time blocking with task batching , so this is where I group similar tasks together . So , for instance , if I am doing content , I'll do content all at one time . So this I could do email writing , I can do social media posts , and I'll do it all at one time . This prevents context switching , right , so it helps us to work more efficiently . My brain isn't going back and forth , so I won't necessarily go from numbers to content , right , if I have a bunch of content , I'll just group it all together . I'm going to do content during this period , so that'll help you to be more efficient as well .

Tonya Harrison 14:13

So those are the three concepts that I wanted to share with you . So the first thing you want to do . You want to absolutely make sure you are determining the priorities by identifying your quarterly tasks and then even breaking those down further into daily tasks . And then the second one is you want to manage your to-do list and you're going to use the 4D method , which you're going to look at each task and decide am I going to do it , delegate it , delay it or delete it ? The third concept is about you managing your day using time blocking and task batching methods , and that is

Productivity for Revenue

Tonya Harrison 15:02

it .

Tonya Harrison 15:02

So . Just remember improving your productivity . It leads directly to revenue , right ? So we are the ones that are generating the revenue in our business , primarily as a solopreneur , so you definitely want to make sure you are being productive . Okay , thank you so much for turning into this episode of Operations Toolbox . I hope you found these productivity concepts valuable . If you have any questions or you want to share productivity tips , you can feel free to reach out . We are on social media Signal Partners on Instagram , tanya D Harrison on LinkedIn . So stay focused , stay productive and keep striving for success and , until next time , keep growing . Thank you so much .