10 Productivity Tips for the Creative Entrepreneur

Being a Creative Entrepreneur can be one of the most rewarding paths full of empowering accomplishments, personal freedom and inspiring surprises, but it does not come without its challenges. Social media distractions, personal obligations and just the balance of still being a person with a life while trying to build a dream business can feel extremely discouraging at times. I believe this balancing act is something we may never fully feel settled in, because life has many ebbs and flows, chapters and changes, but I’ve come to discover some tips that really help me maintain healthy productivity levels so I can accomplish my goals while still leaving room for my ‘humanness’.

1. Create Morning & Nightly Routines that Fuel You

This has been one of the most transformational pieces I’ve integrated into my life that has supported me in my creative entrepreneurial journey, and if you’re a night owl and sleep lover like me, it may be pretty powerful for you as well. It’s so easy to want to work on a project until I can barely keep my eyes open, which leaves me basically crawling to bed and then sleeping in, feeling unrested and groggy the next morning as well. By creating a nightly routine that includes screens off, sleepy tea, stretching and reading, I find myself sleeping much better and waking up much easier. Once awake, I begin my mornings checking in with myself – maybe journaling, meditating, getting some movement and nourishing myself to fuel my mind and body for the day.

2. Get Organized with Your Goals

Do you ever feel like you have so many “to do” things floating around your head that you can’t even think? Get that shit out of your noggin and down in an organized, goal planning method. For me, this is a multiple step process. I first use Trello to outline a broad idea of my yearly, quarterly and monthly personal & business goals. I love Trello for this because it helps me organize all of these thoughts in a visually beautiful way though the use f their boards and cards. Here’s a glimpse into what my “goals” board looks like!

This changes and grows as the year goes on and I get closer to the month, but at the beginning of each quarter and month I check in to see where I’m at, what I accomplished, what I should catch up on or even let go of.

At the beginning of each month, I then look at that months card and move all of those goals into my google ‘tasks’, which has its own app and is also connected to the desktop calendar. This allows me to move individual tasks into organized lists like “This Weeks Priorities” and even check them off so I get that little sense of accomplishment. It also helps me feel a little sense of urgency if something has been sticking around too long.

Did I mention both of these creative productivity tools are free?

3. Learn to Say No

This one is pretty self-explanatory, but as a recovering fomo-addict, I’ve learned that it’s one of the most necessary components to productivity and accomplishing goals. There will always be more shows, more group gatherings, more fun things with friends – but there really is only so much time in our lives to make our dreams come true. Put you and your dreams first and learn to say no to some things. Those that truly support you will understand.

4. Pursue Your Passion

This may also seem obvious but its soooo true. If you keep finding yourself trying to make yourself do something that in your head you’ve told yourself you want to do but for some reason you just keep putting it off, mayyyybe your really just not that passionate about it in the first place?! For many, passions are like obsessions, it’s all you think about, it fuels you and brings you joy. In a sense, doing this thing should come easy to you and you want to do it, which is really the first step in being productive with something. Is what you’re pursuing authentic to you?

Now, putting something off because you don’t want to do it vs not doing something you want to do because of self-limiting beliefs are two veryyyyy different things. Learning to distinguish these and overcoming those self-limiting beliefs is a huge part of productivity towards your passion-rooted goals.

5. Limit Your Screen Time

Seriously. Do it. One of the things I tell myself as a reminder to support this is: ‘Create Before You Consume’. Social media consumption is probably one of the more common productivity challenges among Creative Entrepreneurs because we rely on social media to market our businesses, connect with our clients and find inspiration, but there is a point where it just begins sucking our valuable time away. If you have an Iphone all you have to do is go to:

settings ->
screentime ->
Downtime -> set your schedule (mine is 12pm – 11pm)
App Limits -> set your hourly limit (mine is set to one hour)

6. Get Inspired

Treat your inspiration time as productivity time and plan it into your schedule. Whatever it is that fuels your inspiration, like getting out in nature, exploring new things in your town, seeing live music, researching things, reading a new book – give yourself some time away from work to do things for you and be present within those moments. They will allow you to return to work with new perspectives, ideas and inspirations.

7. Be Real with Yourself

Do you ever plan like 27 things to do in one week and then beat yourself up at the end of the week for not doing them all? Yeah, me too. But I’m here to tell you there is a better way~ just be real. Figure out what your priorities are and give yourself a realistic idea of what you’ll actually be able to get done that week. Leave yourself enough time to be a human and don’t jam-pack your days with work, work, work. I like to plan 2-4 main things a day depending on what I have going on.

8. Keep Learning

Read about ways to be a better human, take courses from other professionals in your field, go to webinars and seminars and know that there is always more to learn about what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. We have so many tools right at the tips of our fingertips that are designed to make our lives easier, from mindset growth to new tech. Many new methods that will help you become more efficient so you can work less and make more are out there to learn about. There are so many valuable things I’ve learned from other entrepreneurs, like how using a tool like Dubsado can help automate my contracts, invoicing and emails so I can spend more time creating! ( click the link for 20% off 😉 )

9. Work in Sprints

Once you have your realistic goals set at the beginning of the week, working in sprints can be helpful to get in a focused mindset and stay there longer to finish your project or task in one go. If you have a longer, more intense task planned, be sure to squeeze in mini self care breaks to eat, stretch and take care of your mind and body. Using a timer or the productivity app ‘Forest’ can be really helpful in staying on task and remembering to take a break.

10. Be Compassionate

At the end of the day, we are not productivity machines – we are human. We have families, unexpected events, holidays, illness, weather, emotions, and so many other things that influence our day to day lives. But our lives are a journey, not a goal at the end of a to-do list. Having a soul-driven, passion-centered business that can support us fully in this weird world is the ultimate dream for so many people, but the journey getting there should still be enjoyed and appreciated. This journey isn’t linear, there will be set backs, reroutes, repetitions and missteps – and that is 1000% okay and apart of every single other persons experience as well. Remember to be kind and compassionate towards your humanness along your entrepreneurial adventure. Take the actionable steps you need to build the life you want to live, but celebrate your accomplishments along the way, no matter how big or small.

I hope my 10 tips for creative productivity has inspired you and given you some ideas to improve your business!

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