How Time Chunking Can Make You More Productive
On today’s episode of Just the Tips, it’s Dean and I flying solo again, and we start off by acknowledging Dean’s, um, contributions to the show, before discussing how I, for once in my life, am all talked out, having just made six months worth of video content. So on today’s episode, we check in on what we’re both working on, take note that Dean is still way behind on our book-writing contest, and discuss such matters as how to be more productive and how to send Dean subliminal messages. And believe it or not, despite all of that goofing around, we dig into some ways you can be more productive.
Embrace change or face stagnation
Early on in the episode, as we were checking in with each other on what’s new, Dean confessed a few things to me that I think a lot of entrepreneurs can relate to. Aside from the fact that I’m smoking him in the book contest, he also confided that despite 2018 being the year of simplicity, as we’ve agreed on this podcast, he’s getting ready to launch about seven new projects. And in doing so, he’s essentially reinvented himself and his company. It’s something a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with: To stay the comfortable course or veer off on a new path if that’s what your gut is telling you to do. The change can be painful, but as Dean says, he’s really excited for what’s coming next.
When at first you don’t succeed just lower your standards
Dean copped to being only about 600 words into his book, which is supposed to be done by the end of the month. But as we discuss on this episode, a lot of gurus and marketers like to pass off leaflets and collected blog posts as books. As Dean says, there was one “thought leader” teaching people how to transcribe webinars and call it a book. So really, anything could be a book in the end. As I tell Dean in this episode of Just the Tips, if at first you don’t succeed, just lower your expectations!
How to make yourself more productive with time chunking
As listeners of Just the Tips know, Dean and I always have a lot of things going on at once. So do you, because as entrepreneurs we tend to take on a lot. But one thing I’ve recognized as being very helpful for getting things accomplished is something called “time chunking.” Essentially, you want to lay aside chunks of time for one specific task. For instance, this week I’ve been working on my videos. And that time is set aside strictly for videos. If, instead, you “task switch,” meaning you’re working not only on different things but different kinds of things, you’re always going to be taking yourself out of the mindset needed to really focus and get one thing done. So you end up slowing yourself down a lot, and you’ll see a steep dropoff in your productivity.
Batch your work together to make it stretch
Peng Joon is the master of time chunking, and I learned a lot when I heard him speak. He says that he actually makes 90 days of content in just three days, and then he doesn’t have to worry about it for another three months. That inspired me for my approach to video and content making, so I had a video crew come in and record a ton of videos all at once, so I’ll have all of this content to roll out in various forms (video ads, social media videos, memes, etc.) Time chunking can not only force you to set aside the time to get work done, it can get you into the right frame of mind to be creative. I highly recommend this approach for any Just the Tips listeners out there who feel their productivity slipping.
Outline of This Episode
- [3:17] What is time chunking?
- [6:46] Why Dean feels like he’s starting over
- [14:02] What is a book?
- [19:40] How time chunking can make you more productive
- [27:35] How to plan your creative content
- [33:00] How James’s lead magnets and funnels work
Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
