#029 9 Ways to Stay Productive Even When you Don't Want to

Staying Productive: 9 Ways to Enhance Your Wedding Business

In this episode of Bright, host and money mentor Melissa shares nine strategies for wedding entrepreneurs to stay productive even when motivation is low. She discusses the importance of offloading tasks, investing in personal growth, maintaining a clear vision, staying motivated, and managing time effectively. By following these steps, listeners can build a successful wedding business they love while finding balance in their personal lives. Melissa also highlights the significance of creating systems and automating processes to streamline business operations. Tune in to learn actionable tips to boost productivity and achieve your business goals.

00:00 Introduction: The Struggles of a Wedding Entrepreneur

00:18 Welcome to Bright: Meet Your Host Melissa

00:40 The Power of Productivity: Our Journey

01:11 Step 1: Delegate Tasks to Free Up Your Time

02:28 Step 2: Invest in Yourself for Greater Value

04:34 Step 3: Clarity on Your Goals

07:03 Step 4: Take Action and Stay Motivated

08:12 Step 5: Focus and Consistency

10:57 Step 6: Automate and Systematize

11:45 Step 7: Mastering Time Management

14:21 Conclusion: Building Momentum for Success

14:53 Closing Remarks and Call to Action

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Transcript

9 ways to stay productive, even when you don't want to.

Do you feel stuck in the loop of being a wedding entrepreneur? Always looking for the next job, overworked, burnt out, missing weekends with the family and friends.  Working long hours on that merry go round of craziness that you can't seem to stop. 

Welcome to Bright, the podcast for wedding creatives that want to earn more and have a life and business that they love. Hi, I'm your host and money mentor, Melissa. I make understanding money in your business easy. Each episode, we'll be talking about finance, growth, mindset, and real strategies for your creative business.

Are you ready? Let's get started.

I understand firsthand how hard it is. I know because we were there for years.

How did we get out of it? How did we stop that merry go round? Staying productive. Staying productive even when we didn't want to is what helped us build multiple businesses, get out of debt, create a life we love, and move to France. We learned to get shit [00:01:00] done even when we didn't want to. And this podcast, I will show you nine ways to be more productive, to achieve your goals and build a wedding business that you love and that loves you back. 

First, get stuff off your plate. Granted, Keith and I had each other, but we had help in other areas as well. From having a cleaning lady, a landscaper, a pool guy, a bookkeeper, a CPA, other photographers that work with us.

And of course, some admin help, including writing blog posts and sending handwritten thank you notes to clients. So look at everything you currently have on your plate and start handing off some of this work to other people. Hire an intern, ask one of your teenage kids, your sister. Go to Fiverr or apps like that in other countries that do outstanding work for a fraction of the cost.

I know I can hear you telling me right now that you don't have the money for this. And I will argue that you are losing money by not doing this and not just losing money, losing enthusiasm for your business, losing sleep, [00:02:00] not taking care of yourself the way you should. You need support. And there is so much affordable help and free help out there, even just a couple hours a week to free you up to work on the money making creative things your business needs.

This is how you create more money by not getting bogged down in the tiny tasks that don't move the needle forward in your business. Focus on what builds your client base, what you love, why you got into this business in the first place.

Number two, now that you've moved a few things off your plate, and you're out there creating more of the magic that you create, you can invest in yourself.

By investing in yourself, you will create more value for your clients. And in turn, you'll be able to charge more book, more work with more of the clients that you love. We're photographers. So we would much prefer to be out there taking more photos, working on personal projects, attending trade shows, learning new techniques, taking time to network and get friendly with other wedding entrepreneurs.

[00:03:00] Investing in yourself means reading books about the problem you want to solve in your business. If you want to understand money better, read a book about it. If you want to learn how to double your business, read a book about it. Want to 10 times your business, read that book.

 Learning makes you more productive. Investing in yourself Also means taking care of yourself, whatever that looks like to you for us, going to CrossFit several times a week and walking a ton around Paris every single day is investing in our brains and our health.

Find the time, put it on your calendar, make growing your brain and being healthy, a non negotiable item. Your productivity will Even when I think back to the walks, Keith and I used to take through Papago park, through the desert in Arizona or wherever we were, we created the trajectory for our business. We didn't necessarily know what we were doing, but we were talking, we were out in nature, we were talking about our big ideas and how we were going to make them possible.

And now here we are on these years later, and a lot of them have come true. And I think without getting out there and [00:04:00] getting those ideas out of your head, it's definitely almost impossible for them to come to fruition.

Walking meetings. Definitely work for Keith and I. So whatever works for you to get your ideas going and to. And to be more productive. That obviously looks like different things to different people.

So whatever you need to do to get those ideas out of your head, that's what I'm talking about. That is how you can become more productive. 

Just a quick break from the episode. If you prefer to watch rather than just listen, then check out this episode on YouTube. You can find us at the Bright Growth channel. Don't forget to subscribe and get notified every time there's something new.

Number three, get clear on what you want. One thing I hear a lot from entrepreneurs that we work with is I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to start. How can I market my business? How can I earn more money? How can I charge higher prices? And what do I do first? They don't know what to do. They don't know where to start or what the next move is. And then people get stuck. They get complacent. They're afraid to make a move because it [00:05:00] might be the wrong move. They doubt themselves and then in the end, they make no consequential move at all. They do more of the same. They scroll, they endlessly research.

They do small tasks. They do nothing to move the ball forward, yet they're busy doing things all the time. What they don't recognize is that they're procrastinating from doing the things that actually matter to move their business in the direction they would like it to go.

They haven't slowed down and stopped to think about what they truly want and what the steps are to achieve it.

This is a great time of year to talk about this because as we think of goals for the next year, we can't or we will never achieve them if we don't have a plan. And then because they haven't thought through what needs to be done And what the next steps are that sets in motion disappointing outcomes, which in turn creates negative thought patterns about what you're capable of doing,.

So then the spiral continues and the blame game starts or you get mad or disappointed with yourself. Throwing a goal out there or saying something [00:06:00] generic like quote, I need to book more clients or I need to make more money. And then what, what is your next step?

And what do you need to do? Book more clients. How many and at what price point? Then what? Well, I need to create a new price list. Okay. And then what? I probably need to research pricing and what each product or service I offer should cost. I need to know how much it costs me to offer this product. And then what?

I need to write it all out. Create a pricing sheet. Run my numbers making sure I'm getting paid what I need to for the time and materials. And then what? I need to create an action plan. I need to put the time needed on my calendar with each step.

Block the appropriate amount of time off and actually show up and do it. But get it done in the time you give yourself. Give yourself time blocks to get different components done.

If you give yourself three hours to create a price list, it will take you three hours. If you don't put out a specific amount of time on your calendar, then that price list could take you all day. You need to chunk down the [00:07:00] time, almost like when we budgeted money, budget your time.

Number four, get it done. Do something, plan it, execute it, show up every single day, rolling that ball forward. Getting that momentum going in your business, being productive towards that outcome you want, but being honest with yourself at the same time, what do you avoid?

Where do you procrastinate? What will make you more productive in your business so that you can achieve these goals, face these obstacles head on and hold yourself accountable. 

Number five, get motivated. Honestly, I think businesses get stuck when the business owner ourselves aren't motivated. So many wedding entrepreneurs I know truly think they really want something, but in the end they aren't necessarily putting in the right effort.

 It's like wanting to lose weight. You technically know that if you eat less and work out, you will lose the weight you want. The disconnect happens when you half ass it.

You show up at the gym, but without purpose. You buy healthy food, but still eat junk food, [00:08:00] and then wonder why you don't get the results you want. You need to show up every day at the gym, doing the reps, shopping healthier, but making and eating better meals, being motivated to do the things you know you need to do to get the results you want.

Number six, stay focused. It's the focus on the results that accomplishes the goal. It's not going through the motions. It's actually doing what you need to do to lose the weight. It's the same for your business.

Yes, you may want to add dollars to your bottom line, but what are you actually doing to make it happen? But if you're like me, when we were really working hard on growing our business, when I had a goal and it wasn't immediately materializing, when the how wasn't clear, I used to go into panic mode, thinking things like I have to feed the kids, I have to pay the mortgage, I have to save for college, I have to save for retirement.

We have other photographers that work for us. Then my mind started freaking out. I get distracted by stress and I create another path that I think will work better. And then when it doesn't, I try something else, what I would [00:09:00] end up doing is stopping the momentum that I was gaining with the original path I was on, counterintuitive right to stop and shift gears just made it more difficult for us to grow the business the way we wanted to.

It wasn't until I would focus on that one outcome, that measurable outcome, keep working towards it every day in spite of the setbacks, in spite of my anxiety and thinking that I need to keep trying something different. Now I'm not trying to imply that you keep working on something that is clearly not going to work. But what I am saying is that if you have a goal, and you continuously work towards it, You may make errors, miscalculations, take steps that just don't work, but keep your eyes on the goal that you truly want.

Don't then change it to a new goal, then a new goal, then a new goal. Stay with what you need for your business. Just keep falling down till you figure it out. You will be stronger and have so much more valuable information when you achieve this goal.

Focus, focus, focus on what is going to move the needle [00:10:00] forward. Go Be consistent. It's not sexy, but it's what works. You start building momentum when you're focused and consistent.

Number seven, and another little tidbit to add in here, this can't be a miserable slog towards your goal. This has to be something that you want in your heart. When I talk about love your business and your business will love you back. This is what I mean. If you truly love what you do and you believe in your why for having this business and you show up with intention and passion Working towards that outcome that you want, it generates a feeling that you can't quite put your finger on, it creates a feeling that not only you feed off of.

But your clients or potential clients respond to, and something else that comes from this focus, this purpose to achieve what you've started, that goal you want, you become uniquely you and the way you show up, the product you offer, and the passion that you exude.

Number eight becoming more productive? Where can you automate something in your business? Those [00:11:00] emails you recreate every time someone inquires about your services, a manual to show those that help you how to do it, whether that be how to assemble a flower arrangement, loading your gear into a van, setting up at the wedding, 

create systems for anything that you find yourself repeating over and over. Do it once, but then you can use it forever. Create checklists, how tos, take photos of finished products. Just make it easier on yourself and you will save a tremendous amount of time.

Is your business stuck or needs a little kickstart? Join our free momentum money series. After this core training, you will start turning heads and get that push you need to make more money and book more of the clients that you want to work with. Join for free link in the show notes below.

Number nine, time management. I know, I know, I ran from this for years. I didn't want a set schedule. I was an entrepreneur for a reason, of course. I wanted freedom. Freedom from schedules every day different

until I quickly realized [00:12:00] that approaching my time and productivity this way was actually a time killer. Having routines and deciding what to do with your time is critical to working less, and it's freeing planning ahead of time what you want to do on purpose is one of the most important decisions you can make.

Who would have thought? Well, this is another example of a lesson I needed to learn the hard way. But once we embraced assigning our time tasks and having deadlines, it was actually a relief. It felt great to plan ahead of time what most of our day would look like, what needed to be done.

How do you do this? Start with a brain dump. I like to do this prior to the week starting so we can strategize where things fit in. This isn't meant to be punishing at all. We want to prioritize what is most important. So the natural first thing to start with is your personal time.

Write on your calendar all the family or personal things you need, like family activities, the gym, or other things you have to do or have appointments with. 

For work, let's continue with the brain dump. Think of everything you need to do [00:13:00] for the week. Put it all out on a piece of paper. This is also freeing because when you get everything out of your head and write it down, don't type it, write it.

It immediately makes you feel a bit accomplished, shall we say, because getting it out of your head is the first step to getting it done. And you'll probably sleep better knowing that it is out there.

Make sure you include focus time for the most important things that need to be thought through the CEO tasks, the ones that make you money, and then go through the brain dump and pick out a handful of non negotiable items for the week. And put them on your schedule, assigning an amount of time to them.

This is where we start planning so we can execute. don't negotiate with yourself. Keep your calendar as much as you can, and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish. A little time management goes a long, long way.

What happens when you get to the end of your week and everything isn't complete, just roll over anything you still want to complete or work on to the next brain dump, you'll quickly start to notice where you're being inefficient with your time.

[00:14:00] I'm a big believer in auditing things. Audit your business, audit your processes, audit your time management. Where are you wasting time? Where are you not being productive when you sit down to work on your business what you choose to do with your time should be focused on achieving these goals.

The big audacious goals you have set for yourself and for your business. Always remind yourself of what the outcome is that you're striving for. It is really important to start building this momentum, to start that trajectory, to get that snowball rolling.

And when you continue to do that one thing every day, your confidence will skyrocket. You will inevitably start seeing the results you want. Be singularly focused on how your productivity can lead to your business becoming easier. More profitable and more enjoyable. And this is why we created our free three part series called momentum.

Every business needs this. Thank you so much. And I will see you next week. It would mean the world to us if you'd give us a follow, share this [00:15:00] episode with someone, or be so kind as to leave us a review. Thank you.