Today we are talking PRODUCTIVITY!! And while I don’t consider myself a productivity guru by any means, I have learned and developed tips & tricks over the years since I started my own biz in how to get things done. I run my biz with my husband with 2 small children and a 3rd on the way. We own multiple brands & I’m constantly running around between all the to-dos. (Talk about juggling!!) But I’ve made it work — and I’m ready to help you get organized in your biz too!!

 

I figured out early on that I needed to STREAMLINE my to-dos and cover all my bases. So I started to organize my week by THEME DAYS and I thought I’d show you a little more what that means & how YOU can use it in your biz!!

A few weeks ago I showed you how I use my FREE Theme Day Trello Template to keep track of my weeks that you can download and use for your own biz (& personal!) life!! (Grab that here!)

But what we’ll talk about today will work whether or not you use a digital or paper planner. This is more of an OVERVIEW for you!

What are theme days?

Theme Days are a way for you to structure what you’re doing for THAT specific day based on a theme or topic. It’s helpful because you can focus on one specific theme per day and streamline or laser focus.

Real talk: How many of you have at least 7 tabs on your desktop? This is FOR YOU! It’s so easy to jump around in your work day, but are you really the most productive? Probably not! (If you ARE productive like that, teach me please haha!!)

I’m MOST productive for my biz & my clients when I can laser focus in on tasks. As a small biz owner you’re wearing ALL the hats — if you’re managing a team, you’ve got different hats there & if you’re a solopreneur… girl, you’ve got even MORE hats you’re trying to wear!!

A theme day system allows you to figure out: What are the tasks you’re doing the MOST & how can you do them all together at the same time so that you actually feel that you’ve made TRACTION on that specific thing?

Weekly vs. Monthly Themes

You can choose weekly themes and/or monthly themes! Here are some examples of weekly themes for small biz owners:

• appointment day
• client work day
• project management/goal setting day
• prep or catch up day
• off site days

Those are just FIVE examples! There are TONS more that you could theme around for your specific biz & life — so of you really look at all the things you’re doing in a given week (or day), you’ll figure out which ones you can tailor to your own needs.

Monthly themes are helpful too! For example, once a month I have a “Duty Day” for the tasks that tend to get pushed aside for our family and my biz. These are things like scheduling doctor’s appointments, bookkeeping things, specific tasks that I know I put off in my biz, etc. Other examples of monthly themes for you could be content creation, YouTube recordings, or other things you can batch for the month.

Regardless of whether you find something to be helpful on a monthly or weekly basis, it’s still using that theme day system & allows you to get traction in that task. I want you to feel like you’re ending the work day and getting something done.

So how exactly do you do this?!

1. Make a list of the tasks you’re doing in your biz. Don’t just rinse & repeat what I use or another biz owner uses. When you download my My Week Trello Template, you’ll see examples of Theme Days I have in there but I want YOU to create what YOU see as reoccurring tasks and make those your themes.
2. Write them down. No, they can’t just live in your head!! You NEED to write these down for accountability & to help you focus.
3. Be consistent! It takes TIME for a habit to form. Don’t just try for one week & decide it’s not for you. Give it at least 30 days if you can & see what happens at the end of the month. Was it working? Do your theme days need to shift? What works for you? (And bonus tip — remember to prioritize them!! If you decide to create a theme day that’s project management/quarterly goals day, do those things then. Don’t let yourself get distracted by emails or client work on those days. Prioritize those priorities!)
4. COMMIT. Be committed to this process so that you CAN actually decide if this is working or if it isn’t. At the end of every quarter when I do my quarterly review, I look to see if my theme days are working or need to be adjusted. This can change as your biz evolves but you have to be committed (every single day of the theme!!) to see if it’s working or not.

I can’t wait to hear if the theme day system works for you! Any questions? You can leave a comment below & let me know! And don’t forget to grab your FREE Theme Day Trello Template here!! Happy planning!

 

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