As self-dubbed “masters of productivity” we know a thing or two about what’s helping you stay on track and what’s steering you off course. Some of these things are simple and some might downright surprise you, but chances are you have at least one of these items in your office that’s straight up destroying your productivity. So it’s time to face the music and cut it out.

Cut through the clutter in every form of your life and make this your most productive year yet. This is not another KonMari manifesto (although you totally should read that book!), it's a no BS, start-now kind of system for making your business work for you, not the other way around. You've got this, lady. 

You’ve tried planners, apps, notebooks, post-it notes and even set up entire walls of “organization” in order to master your productivity. Babe, quit trying so hard. You just need to know your productivity spirit animal and you will be set for life. You’ll know the environment you thrive in, where you get stuck and what you should do next.

But first, it only seemed right that we arm you with a few tips to get more done right away!

You pour hours and hours of hard work into your latest content, course, product or service only to wonder, “what if someone steals this and sells it as their own? Can you contact them and ask them to remove it? What if they don’t take it down? Or what if they’ve been selling it as their own and making money off it?”

Or you’re 3 months into a 6-month service contract with a client when they suddenly change their credit card number and bails. Now what? You were relying on that money coming in and can’t afford to just let it go. But you didn’t have them sign anything, so how can you hold them accountable?

Success itself is arbitrary. It doesn’t mean you make a certain amount of money or have reached a level of fame. It is self defined. Success to me may not mean what success is to you at all. The thing about success, however, is that regardless of what you are seeking, there are always people seeking answers. “How do I get there?” There being the magical location where it all seems to fall into place.

People tend to ask those they view as successful, “How did you do it?” They assume that if they take the same steps, or follow the same path, they too will get there. Well, I am about to tell you that there is no answer, and there is no magic pill or pre-charted course. Success is made up of all the minute decisions that begin to add up. The small choices that make a radical change.

We all wish we could snap our fingers and have that list of to-dos magically turn into a list of things we’ve accomplished. Sometimes we are so knee deep in the muck of it all that it’s super hard to clearly see the next steps that need to be taken. In the same way you might go through your house and separate items into 3 piles – Keep, Donate and Trash – I believe tasks in your business should be divided up as well, helping you to tackle them in the most productive way possible. 

Hey, you. Yeah, you over there who has this passion that fuels your soul. This passion that you think deep down inside might just be able to turn into a business, but you’re maybe more than a little bit nervous about even thinking that. I mean, who makes money from doing something they actually love? We do. And so can you. We believe in treating your business (what you might be calling a hobby) like a business from day zero. Before we had clients or raving customers. Before it helped pay the bills and allowed us to work from home and make our own schedule. Before we had to pay quarterly taxes and consider an LLC. Before any of that, we decided that this little ole passion was going to be a full blown, soul fulfilling, freaking profitable business.

Sure every one of you has heard you should set goals, but do you know why it is important for both your business and your life? No, this isn't some silly method to keep that New Year's Resolution you already gave up on. It's about defining specific, measurable goals that will motivate you to achieve them. Also, find out how Jim Carrey made $10 million dollars through positive visualization. 

Before you go assuming that you know what I am going to say, no, this is not a review of Stephen Covey’s Book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” That being said, it totally sounds like a book I’d be into. Rather, this is my personal rendition of the 7 most important habits that you, as a small business owner, NEED to be highly productive.

These do not require a master's degree from Yale or years of first hand experience. Anyone who’s willing to give it a go can achieve this state of, as Emylee and I like to call it, Beyonce-like productivity.