How Do YOU Get So Much Done in a Day?

This is a different story when it comes to men, we really can only do one thing at a time. (even in bed).

I'm a night owl. I love to get things done when the night is not that "young".

I tend to do things like you do, Tifanny, but I will never get things done...

Say, I go to check my Facebook instead of watching TV like you do, I will get sucked into other people's photos, stories, etc, and when my soul returns to my body, one hour has passed by, and I didn't get anything done, still

That's why I never wanna do a thing and leave it alone and going to another task, before finishing the previous one. I will never get anything done in that case... LOL

Reason I love to get things done at night or midnight, is because it's very silent, and I can concentrate on whatever I wanted to do.

You have an interesting lifestyle as well, Tiffany.

Thanks for sharing.

Aiden

I spend every free moment working on my business projects. Even as I type this; I'm in the car on the way to my sons doctor appt. My family says I'm addicted to working and get withdrawals when I'm not working on my computer.

I always feel like I get nothing accomplished........but then I look at what I did during a day and am surprised that I actually did get work done.

My day starts with checking my forum, this forum, twitter, facebook, and email. If there's anything I need to do some easy SEO on such as bookmarking or pinging, I do that while I'm going back and forth with the forums and such. I do 50 minutes on and 10 minute breaks outside or whatever needs doing.

After coffee I write a paid article for immediate cash, then I take a break outdoors. Next I do the research for another paid article. Then I break and do housework, walk the dog, run errands.

Come home and either spend time working on a product or writing more. Right now I'm just breaking for a smoke after which I'll go record global earthquake stats to post on my EQ watch and then will go cut some more stats for my end of year Earthquake report, which is delinquent. LOL.

Then I break for whatever again - eat, outside, then I will do the paid article that I did the research for.

Around 7 I break to watch 2 and a Half Men. Trivial comedy to take some of the stress out and let my brain chill. After the hour of that, I go do whatever details I need to get done to clean up and finish whatever I can and move on to the next research for another paid article.

I work until I am too tired then go to bed and work on dream management.

At this point in time, I find myself working a lot more than usual. That's more-so because I'm really trying to push back some funds so I can quit the "day job" this year. The company I work for is down-sizing, and working in network/system administration means that I'll be one of those guys who probably will get the boot first (as they are moving to a more centralized structure over all locations across the country). Either way, the plan is to be full-time online here soon.

So yeah - I'm constantly up working any chance I get, creating content, building new websites and other income properties and just putting all money earned aside. That way, I've got some cushion. Once I'm able to work this full-time though, then I'll truly be able to crank it up a few notches (and enjoy some of the fruits of my labor, too)

I'm a serious night owl too. When my daughter goes off to university or her own life (in 10 years!) my schedule will be 11am-4am. Then I'll be in heaven.

But until that day arrives, I wake up at 6am, get online and check for orders. By 8:30 mini-me is off to school and I start my work day. No television, no radio and no phone. I have an energy drink or an Americano and get cracking.

I answer e-mails. I order new products from my wholesalers, write articles, and update my guest blogger resource directory.

By 1:30 I'm packaging up orders to be taken to the post office and eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

Between 4-8 I'm cooking and doing mommy stuff and periodically checking e-mail. After 8pm my mind goes into a worker bee trance. I can sit from 8-11 typing away. Then I need a cup of tea and a shower.

At 12am I take my television break and watch Korean soap operas. I love Korean soap operas like Tiffany loves Desperate Housewives. But since I don't understand Korean (at least most of it) I have to watch it for the English subtitles. By 1:30 I'm in the bed. By 1:40 I'm drooling.

It's a long work day. I tend to work overtime during the colder months so I can ease up once it gets warm.

If I don't have a specific job to do (freelance, i.e. working for someone else) I find I am all over the place in direction and am very easily distracted. When I have a job, I am focused, I know exactly what needs to be done, and I go go go until it's done.

For some reason this isn't the case when working for myself. There is no deadline and no one to complain. I think if could structure my own projects as if I was working for someone else I could have so much more success! If anyone as ideas or examples(the more specific the better) on how they have created their home business in a way that is structured I'd love to here it. I have dozens of ideas and several ongoing projects, which I think anyone of them would be more successful if I could have a better method for working the plan without getting so distracted.

I rarely sit down and do work for a straight 1+ hours at a time. I'll be flipping back and forth between various programs/blogs/articles/warrior forum/etc all day long.

This is all my favourite part about internet marketing and being your own boss. When I started, I fully intended to stick to a 9-5 schedule with IM stuff, but then I realized that not only is that completely unnecessary, but I get more done if I do it at my own pace in chunks throughout the day.

For me, it's "how do I get so LITTLE done in a day?" Let's see ..

6am - 9pm: entertaining a crying baby and a screaming toddler
9pm - midnight: cooking, cleaning, folding, etc
Midnight - 3am: trying to get half-decent article done, drown self in coffee

I get up when I wake up (if my husband doesn't pop in and ask if I'm ready to get up, yet! LOL!), spend some time with him while eating something and having coffee. Then I spend some time reading forums, answering emails, and checking stats. After that, if I have a contract, I work on that until I need to stretch. Get up, walk around, depending on time, I might fix a meal or watch Little House on the Prairie with hubby. Then back to work building web sites, writing blog entries, developing Squidoo lenses, writing articles, etc. My day usually starts aroung 9am and ends about 2am the next morning. I am a night owl, and tend to get more done after the house is quiet, the phone isn't ringing, and no one is stepping into the office to ask for help with food or computer issues. I probably spend between 10 and 11 hours working, but it seldom feels like work. I love what I am doing, which makes all the difference.

My big secret is I write down the things I want to remember to do on a note pad by my computer, and then where possible I assign them to the people that work for me. Our company had a very busy day yesterday, and I was afraid I would wake up to a ton of work. But like many days, I was pleasantly surprised to see all our customers were getting help, and we were already handling some new ones.

I'm up anywhere from 4.30am to 7am. The early rises are for when I've arranged to go running with a girlfriend, and I have to be home in time for my hubby going to work. I only do that twice a week though, I'm not a morning person.

Breakfast with hubby, and see him off to work, then the kidlets get up. We homeschool, so after they've eaten, I set them up at the table with their schoolwork and I sit with them with my laptop. If they need a fair bit of attention, I usually just research info for my plr articles and ebooks. If they're cruising pretty well and don't need me, I write the articles. Some mornings we have excursions, so we head out pretty much straight after breakfast.

Afternoons are pottering out to the shop and post office, planning dinner, walking the dogs or anything else that takes our fancy. Later this afternoon we're going to the lagoon for a swim, because it's so hot.

Evenings are usually distraction-free, so I get the writing done for my clients then. I hit the sack usually around 11.30pm.

I don't get nearly as much done in the day as I'd like, but that's due to lifestyle choice. It's also partly due to the fact that I'm so distractable at the moment and can't seem to get focussed, but that's a completely different issue.

I am a bit of a night owl too and prefer working when hubby is either in bed or at work. We have adjoining computers so when he is on his he has an annoying habit of asking me to look at things he is doing which breaks my chain of thought, lol. I don't even turn my computer off and I prefer to sit on it doing things, rather than watching television.

Some days are more productive than others though. Today being Friday (for me) I have got a touch of the "ho hums"; I have one back link job to finish and I know it won't take me long, but I am taking forever to get started on it. I would also like to research for two ebook projects due next week, but I will probably end up doing that at about midnight.

That is the joy of working for yourself. I write when I feel like it (which is most of the time) and can get positively anxious if I have to go out (away from the computer) for the day. But my time is still my own and as long as my clients are happy and I meet my deadlines I work when I feel like it.

Makes for a wonderful life
Ellen.

I too manage my IM time between everything else that goes on around me. Usually though I don't turn my computer on until I get back from taking the kids to school. I find if I turn it on in the morning before school I can get carried away and before I know it it's getting late and we're then rushing around trying to get to school on time. So it's best to leave the computer off until the kids are at school.

Some days I'll have the full day to myself when they're at school and can just work all day - I don't watch TV during the day and rarely have the radio on. I find I can concentrate better when it's quiet.

Other days I have errands to run, shopping to do, today I have a 9 week course that I'm going on - so there are days when I just seem to be in and out of the house all day and have little time to work.

I like to work at night when everyone's in bed and it's quiet and I find this is probably my most productive time, but my husband doesn't like me doing this - he thinks I like my computer more than I like him.

I don't make good enough use of my time and need to be more productive with the time I've got.

I WISH I could get half as much done in a day as you to Tiff!

I like to pretend it's a regular day at work and someone is telling me what to do, haha!

With hiring and observing many different employees over the years, I can tell you that there are distinct differences between people when it comes to their productivity yes, but their efforts are only a small part of the equation. Most of what you see is their DNA and/or their upbringing. There are also physical factors like A.D.D. I've had people, after several discussions about being more productive, try as hard as they can and I can visually see their efforts. But they will make only a nominal improvement. Then there are the people that get more done than my whole office put together... without even trying. It fascinates me! Tiffany, you seem to be one of these types.

There's an old saying: If you want something done, give it to the busiest person you know.

I start at around 10 AM and work non-stop (take 45 mins off to eat and watch something) until around 7-8 PM. I do this six days out of seven (take a random day off).

I do work a ton I guess, but the results are amazing. Not sure how long I can keep up working like this though.

I really need to start exercising again.

Let's see, up at 7. 3/5 kids dressed, fed and out the door by 8:20. Computer is up and running somewhere in that time frame.

Take the daily call from mom, chat with her for about an hour as I check emails, take care of breakfast dishes, get the younger two settled into something non destructive while I do everything else. And basically jump back and forth between kids and working till about 11:30 am at which time it is time to get the younger two ready for school.

hose two are picked up at 12:40 and my day really begins. Now is when I do most of my "concentrating" tasks such as articles, blogs etc, bouncing back and fourth between work and the household stuff. This is also the time when I go pay bills and do all that other non fun mom stuff.

3:30 two oldest boys walk in the door, 4 pm bus drops off youngest 2, 5 pm eldest is home from school, and so starts the night chaos of checking agendas, finding out what the younger ones ate at school (as not to feed them the same thing for dinner), dinner time, bed time, baths/showers and reading to the children. By 7 the younger 3 are in bed, the older 2 are doing there chores. Hubby tends to make the dinner so during that time I try and get some more work accomplished.

Once the younger 3 are in bed, the older 2 do their chores while the dogs are taken for an hour or so walk (and to the store to get the groceries needed for the following day). Get back, get child 4 into bed. Take a moment to relax and breathe, and return to work until about 9-10 pm when eldest gets into bed, and I sit down with hubby and watch some TV or play WOW. (lol Yes, I play wow) Into bed by about 12 and then the day starts all over again.

Yikes... writing all that out and looking at all I really do in a day is interesting. Way too much stuff wow.

Best wishes,
Sylvia

How do I get so much done?

1. I don't surf the Warrior Forum multiple times a day. I only check in every now and then.

2. I plan, break out tasks, and do one task at a time.

3. I outsource. I come up with ideas, then I usually outsource having the product written, images done, etc. The only thing I usually do is put it all together and market it.

4. I don't jump from one Internet Marketing idea to another (CPA, Affiliate Marketing, Ebook creation, Adsense, etc). I pick what I'm strongest at (infoproduct creation) and focus.

I don't write articles, so I don't have the time problems most of you have. I post content which takes maybe 2 hours of work a day. I can't really much more than that with the way I link to it. Some of you work a lot harder than I do, so I hope you have more money to show for it. lol

Interesting! Thanks for sharing, everyone! I tried the night owl route. I get into that stage during the summer when I can stay up later and not have to wake up to tote my kids 1 hour round trip to school. That's the ONLY reason my day starts at 6:15. LOL!

LOL Mech111! This is so true. Multitasking can be a Godsend, but it can be a pain in the butt too! I can't find the off button. I wish I was a guy sometimes...

Interesting....I wrote a thread about what I do with my day here....Basically, I need to work with a schedule or I will get distracted. So everyday when I wake up I know what i am suppose to do once my laptop is on.

I have a weekly objectives in mind. For example, next week, my main objective is to enhance my sales page to increase conversion and I slot in the time to do that. Of coz, not to say that the whole week is all about copywriting. I do give training to schools, writing blog posts, writing solo mailing to my list etc.

My day starts at 8.45am and work starts at 9am....work through to lunch time till 1pm then continue working till 7pm for dinner. If there are no great programs after dinner, I will do some mindless task till abt 11pm before i relax and slp.

Sound like a typical JOB. But the perk is I control & schedule my time....

I try to stick to a 9:00AM to noon 1:00PM to 5:00PM 7:00PM to 9:00PM schedule but life does get in the way frequently. I follow Tiffany's blog and I am amazed at all she gets done and how quickly she can write. Especially with the needs of her children and husband and now Mother.

For me it varies now that my kids are grown. I've discovered if I need to do work for my one remaining client to get quick cash flow I push back and put it off til the last minute because it feels so much like a job.

My own long-term/residual projects though, consume me. I get in the zone and can't think of anything else for days and I get boatloads done. Sometimes I'm so focused I forget to eat. I cycle through things though. This week I've been hyper focused on a photography reorganization project, last week was all about my kindle books and the several weeks before that I cranked out articles like there was no tomorrow.

Some weeks I barely work two days, some I'll work 2-3 hours most for 4-6 days, and some I go full bore for 8-10 hours the entire week. It's also not uncommon for me to take an entire week off every month or so these days when I need a change of pace. We live out in the desert now though, off grid, so it can sometimes be a week or two before we go to town.

Wow...you looks so leisurely in home, I will work from 9 am to 6pm and have not get some traffic

I am actually very similar to you except no children and n housewives. I watch golf instead. I like to start by putting my income in my spread sheet for the past day while eating breakfast. Then, I go to the couch and write for a solid 2 hours for clients.

After that usually a 15 minutes break for a snack and some fetch with my dog Allie, she loves fetch. This also gets me out of the house for a few moments and into some fresh Florida sun.

Then, about another solid 2 hours of writing for clients and it is time for lunch. After lunch the golf comes on the tv or something else and I get to my own writing and marketing. I continue this until 6 or 7, sometimes 8 when my roomie gets home or is ready to cook some dinner. This is when I pop open a beer and start to make my night interesting. If I stay in for the night I usually mess around on the forum till all hours and check email.

Benjamin Ehinger

Look? I am all over the place in direction where I am very easily distracted. If I have a job, I am focused, I know exactly what needs to be done, and I go go go until it's done.

SAMI

My day is all over the place. I usually get up around 4 pm, lol... I have HORRIBLE sleeping habits. Actually when I can fix things and get up at a decent time I find I get much more done.

I also find I get more done when I get out of the house and go work at a coffee shop.

I get the most done in a day when I have a list written down ready to be checked off. The list is always prioritised and I make sure it only has things that will get me to my goal. I've cut out a lot of the noise that kept me super busy but produced little results. When a task has some 'time to process' I tackle them first so I can work on the rest of the list while the first tasks are doing their thing.

I've also cut my projects down so I only focus on a couple.

I always do things in a block - focus on a repetitive task and go until its complete. I'll then have a break which is usually a read of some forums or news sites and get back into the next repetitive task. I find by focusing on the one thing I can get into a rythym which keeps things productive.

I always have small tasks planned the night before to do in the morning before work.

I've got a day job so hours are a bit silly. I get up for a walk/run every morning around 5:30am and after I'm ready for work I have about 1hour to do IM before heading off. I get great ideas after zoning out while running and walking so that's probably my biggest tip - get out and do nothing for a little to do a lot later.

After work I try and keep at it until 11pm.

I usually get a lot more done after a bad day at work. :p

I also make sure I chill-out a bit on the weekends. I'm not tackling this to become a slave to my computer.

Taking a nap when the kids go to bed and waking up an hour later, then working until 2 am or so works for me!

I wake up and open the computer at 10AM. Work until its lunch and work like crazy afterwards. My breaks are simply when I log in to facebook and the forum. I do all of my internet marketing tactics the whole day (I outsource a very little part of my biz) and do a few of my freelancing gigs as well.

Andrea

reading your thread, I will have to say that you are doing a great job and you are doing it in a great manner...

Go Tiff, You are a master multitasker. It is pretty hard to watch TV and write for some people you know. But hey, I do it too. So I'm guilty as well.

I guess the reason why some people do more than other people is because they simply love what they are doing. Others are simply too obsessed with thinking and planning that they end up not doing anything or doing the least important thing to do. It applies to studying and working on a 9-5 job as well.

It is all about FOCUS.

If you can't focus you can't achieve anything. There are lot
of distractions and interruptions that don't allow you to
get things done.

You have to able to start something and stick to it until
you get it done, the point is that in order to do this you
need a proven system and you need training.

Never try to do different things at the same time because
you can do just one thing well.

So FOCUS is the name of the game.

Thanks,
^PV Reymond

Great stuff! I work at night mainly e to other commitments usually 8pm - 3am but i love the peace and uite at night and get so much more done!

Most of my day is spent coding. A bit of the day is spent talking to my team managers, etc. I've got about 15 full time employees working for me and they are led by 4 leads. They report to me and we talk about the work we got done plus what's in the pipeline, etc.

I'm awake at around 8; go to college, come back at around 4-5; work till 2 in the morning. A few breaks in the between. I use Rescuetime to track my productivity.

I tend to spread myself too thin because I always got SO MANY projects and ideas in my head that I cant simply keep up. I hired a small outsourced team to help me, but still is not enough. If I didnt hate to be tied down to an office, I would have hired an in-house assistant A LONG time ago (and no, I dont mean a virtual assistant, I could never make that work for me).

Interesting thread.

On Mondays and Fridays, my toddler is at nursery. I get up at 6am, work until taking her there at 8am, then back and work solidly - apart from a lunch break - until picking her up at 5pm. Then I'll work in the evenings too, say 7pm-10pm.

On other days, my toddler is at home with me. I'll work from 6am until she wakes up at around 8am, then when she naps (2 hours) and again in the evening, 7pm-11pm.

Not all of that time is focused work though, some of it is eaten up on Facebook etc.

Work includes everything from blog posts, article writing, telephone calls, eMails, social media, consultations, working on new products, webinars, research and planning.

Katie

I consider myself a morning person. I would like to sleep at nine pm, and get up at 4 am. Then I would strive to finish all the IM work I have planned for the day by 7 am. After that, I would focus on my day job until 5 pm. That is how I make sure I get stuff done everyday.