The document discusses productivity tips for speakers. It recommends finding time leaks by tracking activities for a week and prioritizing tasks in different ways like doing the most important or fastest cash-generating tasks first, tackling dreaded tasks early, or starting with easy tasks to build momentum. It also suggests setting deadlines, scheduling specific tasks on a calendar, and noticing and avoiding procrastination behaviors to stay productive.

1. Productivity:
The Secret Sauce for Speakers
Catherine Morgan
Career Transition Coach | Business Consultant
Point A to Point B Transitions Inc.

2. Time is scarce
• Time is your most valuable commodity
• No matter how much time we have,
it never seems like enough
– Family
– Career
– Fitness
– Volunteering
– Hobbies
– Other?

3. Speakers are squeezed for time
• Speakers are running multiple businesses!
• Productivity becomes increasingly important

4. How to find more time
• Find out where your “leaks” are
– Keep track of what you do for a week
– Check for the usual time-sucks

5. What causes overwhelm?
“Overwhelm is caused by
NOT knowing WHAT to do,
not by having too much to do.”
~ Michael Port

6. How to get past overwhelm
• Get things out of your head
– Trying to remember too many things can
cause immediate overwhelm

7. Capture all tasks
• Overwhelm will subside when you
get into action
• Capture everything you need to do
in some way (paper, software, phone app)

8. Create logical groups
• Once out of your head, tasks can be combined
into logical groups or projects
– Business projects
– Personal chores
– Administrative tasks

9. First way to prioritize: Cha-ching!
• #1. Do the task that is the most important
– Hint: The fast path to the cash

10. Second way to prioritize: Gulp
• #2. Do the dreaded task first
“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and
nothing worse will happen to you
the rest of the day.”
~ Mark Twain

11. Third way to prioritize: Check
• #3. Do the easy things first
– Build momentum

12. Fourth way to prioritize: Whoo-hoo!
• #4. Gauge your enthusiasm
– Which task gets you excited?
– Do that first to get a little energy that can
carry over to the ones that are not so fun

13. Add in constraints for productivity
• Work will expand to the amount of
time you give it:
– Set deadlines - even if they are fake
– Bracket your time with other things
that can’t move
– Keep to a schedule (and keep your sanity)

14. Notice avoidance behaviors
• Notice when you start doing something
– anything – to avoid the dreaded task
– Laundry
– Organizing your office
– Cleaning
– E-mail
– Social media

15. Your friend the calendar
• Be hands-on: Use your calendar!
– Go through your commitments and
other projects
– Define specific tasks and block out times
– Also schedule in breaks and fun

16. Banish crazy-busy
• Forget crazy-busy
– It’s the new normal

17. Questions?
Catherine speaks on:
- Productivity
- Entrepreneurship
- Small Business
- Career Transition
Catherine Morgan
Career Transition Coach | Business Consultant
Point A to Point B Transitions Inc.
877.672.5333
Catherine@PointAtoPointBTransitions.com
LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/PointAtoPointB
Twitter @PointA_PointB