BB Ep 59: How to Work Smarter Not Harder in Your Life and Business with April Perry

It’s time to talk about working smarter, not harder in order to increase your productivity. How to Be More Productive With Simple Changes Have you ever wondered how you can be more productive? The solution may be staring you in the face and easier than you think. Here’s an example straight from my closet. Every morning I woke up, walked into my closet, flipped on the light, and picked out clothes. And every morning I spent a ton of time just staring at my clothes—well, squinting at my clothes. After months and months, I realized I had a problem. My problem? My energy-saving light bulb. It took time to warm up and actually illuminate my clothes. And every morning I had to either wait for the lightbulb to heat up or squint. You know what I finally did? I put in a normal light bulb! Angels shone down from heaven and I could actually see my clothes when I picked them out. It’s funny to think about, but we do this in other areas of our lives, don’t we? We live with problems instead of actually fixing them. We’ve all been there. The sink has been leaking for years. And instead of fixing it, you clean up the puddle every time you use it. We just live with the problem and take extra time every day dealing with the consequences, not the source. You have one sad phone charger with a wire sticking out, and it’s on its last leg. Instead of getting multiple phone chargers and leaving them several places around the house, you just carry the one with you everywhere. You lose it or risk electrocution multiple times a day. We live with the broken phone charger instead of taking the time to find a solution. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. Our problems are not going to change until we bring solutions. I get it. We are tired, and solving the root of the problem requires thinking and energy and time. I want to challenge you to use some time and energy to get to the root of some of the problems holding you back. If you want a different result, you have to do something differently. If we’re going to work smarter, not harder, we’ve got to get rid of some of these problems. Three Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder 1. Stop Press pause on your crazy life for a second. Your brain is CONSTANLY in overdrive. It’s going 100 miles an hour all day, every day. If we’re going to think outside our problems, we have to stop. You can’t identify the root of your problems if there’s no margin in your brain. Stop and create some space to think. 2. Think Thinking . . . what’s that like? HA! Once you’ve stopped long enough to create space to think, you might be surprised what you can identify. Think through your day from start to finish, and ask yourself this question: What barriers or annoyances do you deal with? Identify areas that drive you crazy and keep you from getting things done. Things that steal your time but don’t have to. Problems that you accept but don’t have to. Annoyances you live with but don’t have to. It could be a small thing that is a drain on your mental or physical energy. Make a list. 3. Solution Take your list and write out to the side a solution for each of the problems you live with. Most of the “problems” in our lives have a very easy and obvious solution. We just haven’t come up with the solution, because we’ve never taken time to come up with it. You might need to get on Amazon and order several phone chargers, get a new light bulb, set out your clothes the night before, or buy yourself a jewelry case. The Difference Between Problems You Can Solve and Problems You Can’t Solve There are problems you can live with and problems you don’t have to live with. You probably have some problems that you might have to live with, but I’d be willing to bet that you also have a lot that you don’t. Stop. Think. Solution. Stop going 100 miles per hour. Think about what’s holding you back. And solution your list. I want you to get things done. In order to get more things done, you’ve got to solve the problems stopping you from getting things done. You’re not just buying a light bulb; you’re buying time and peace of mind! You’re making your life easier. Life is hard enough. Don’t live with problems you can solve. How to Become More Organized and Productive with April Perry April Perry is an organizational and productivity expert and founder of Learn Do Become, where she and her husband help people architect a life of excellence. She is also the host of the LearnDoBecome Radio Podcast.  She is no stranger to the Business Boutique Podcast, and has even spoken at Business Boutique events. April has helped millions of moms get organized, be productive, simplify, and get rid of the piles. Y’all, she helps people get rid of the piles in their house! April’s incredible program walks you through how to create a “command central” in your home, build structure, and live a thriving life while being able to give generously. These teachings don’t just apply to your personal life; they’re also applicable to your business. April didn’t set out to start a business. She loved being a mom but wanted a way to be more organized and productive, and that’s where she started. Her journey wasn’t always clear and easy, but she stuck with it, made smart decisions, and has been very successful. In this episode, April Perry and I discuss how to be more productive and work smarter, not harder. How business seems so hard, but it’s also not as hard as you think. The importance of being clear and confident in your sales pitch. This not only helps you, it helps they people your serve. How to build a simple organizational system that works specifically for you. The best way to get the most out of conferences and events. (If you’re going to the Business Boutique Event in Nashville, Nov 1–3, this is super helpful). Related: Why Planners Are More Successful How Do You Make the Most of Your Next Learning Opportunity Working smarter not harder is all about effectively utilizing of your resources and opportunities. I want to challenge you to make the most of your next learning opportunity. Whether it be a networking event, a seminar, or the Business Boutique 3-Day event, these three tips are going to help you take full advantage of the experience. 1. Walk In With Open Hands When you have open hands you position yourself to learn. You’re open to new ideas, and you’re ready to receive and grow. You put yourself in a posture of learning, gratitude, and humility. Opening your hands also sets you up to give. Even if you’re not an expert in the space you’re entering, you may still have something valuable to contribute. With open hands, you’re available to give, not just take. You’ll be more likely to share what’s working with you and connect with others, instead of keeping it to yourself. The marketplace is not a place of scarcity, and walking in with open hands helps you freely receive and generously give out to others. 2. Look for the Good As someone who has spoken at many events and put on several myself, I can assure you that no event you attend will ever be perfect. You get to choose what you’re going to look for when you attend event. Because here’s the deal: you’ll find what you’re looking for. If you go in looking for negative, you will find it. The speaker will run long, they won’t cover the topic you wanted, they won’t have good snacks at the vending machine, etc. Fortunately, the same is true about good things. If you look for the positive, you’ll find it. You’ll meet amazing people, you’ll glean incredible information, you’ll feel like you belong, etc. Regardless of the type of event or situation, go in looking for the good. It’s on you to look for the right things. 3. Meet New People Even if the idea of meeting a stranger scares you to death. Even if you’re an introvert. Even if you attend with your best friends. Meet new people. Every opportunity you will ever have in your life will come through meeting people. If you need a little help with this, check out my podcast, “Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone.” No man or woman is an island. When you’re in these types of environments, it’s a great opportunity to meet people who are in your exact shoes or even a little farther along. It’s on you to choose to build relationships. If you employ these three strategies, I know you’ll get the most of out of whatever learning opportunity comes your way! And of course, one of my favorite parts of this podcast is hearing directly from you. Give me a call on my new toll-free line at 844.944.1074. You might hear your question on a future episode! 1:25 Three Ways to Work Smarter, Not Harder 13:10 How to Become More Organized and Productive with April Perry 47:44 #AskChristyWright 56:24 Challenge: Make the Most of Your Next Learning Opportunity Get the "Get the Most Out of Your Conference Notes" worksheet by filling out the form here! Preorder the new 2019 Business Boutique Goal Planner with the code BBPLANNER at BusinessBoutique.com/Planner and receive Christy’s Setting Goals video that you can watch right now! Our friends at Infusionsoft are giving you 25 of their email templates for free! Text the word MIGHTY to 480-428-4150. Check out our friends at Volusion. You can set up your online store and start selling your products within minutes. It's that easy. Sign up for your FREE 14 day trial at Volusion.com/BB. If you have a success story you would like to share with the Business Boutique community, email me at [email protected]. New podcast episodes are available every other week.