I’ve been having a lot of conversations over the last few weeks with clients who are feeling overwhelmed and stretched in multiple directions in their businesses. This is such a common problem, where despite our best efforts, we find ourselves in a whirlwind of busyness. 

Today, I’m sharing with you 10 actions to propel your business forward so that you can let go of unproductive tasks and double down on activities that will take your business to new heights. 

Firstly, I take you through a list of 10 habits that often masquerade as productivity, but actually hinder your business growth. Then, I share these 10 actions to counter these unproductive routines and propel your business forward:  

1. Set Clear Daily Goals and Objectives

2. Proactive Lead Generation

3. Engage in Light Touch Networking

4. Build Your Positioning Through Strategic Content

5. Delegate Low-Value Tasks

6. Embrace Continuous Process Improvements

7. Obsess About Your Client's Experience

8. Allocate Time for Innovation and Creativity

9. Invest in Learning and Mastery

10. Network and Build Intentional Relationships

It’s time to flip your energy away from the shiny stuff and on to the 10 productive strategies that will enable you to focus on what matters most. As women in business, we have the opportunity to shape and empower our businesses in whatever way we want. So, what strategies will you put in place to propel your business forward today? 

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And the reason I want to share these is because I've been having. A lot of conversations over the last few weeks with so many of my clients where they're feeling stretched in multiple directions and now overwhelmed with their to do lists and they feel like they are spreading themselves too thin. And as a result of that, they're whirling around all over the place, seem to be doing a lot of stuff. They're busy being busy, but they're not necessarily moving the dial forward in their business. Is that you? That feeling where despite your best efforts, we can [00:01:00] often find ourselves in that cycle of business, can't we? I certainly have felt it over these last 12 years at various points as I've built my own business where I get caught on that treadmill of being busy.

But the stuff that I'm working on isn't necessarily moving my business forward. So today I want to share with you these 10 actions that if you start thinking about incorporating these into your daily, your weekly, your monthly schedule, it will absolutely propel your business forward. And I've been sharing these, as I said, with my clients over the last few weeks, and I thought I'd record a quick episode to share them here.

It's all about changing our perspective is all about changing our perspective. So we focus. and double down on those activities that will move the dial forward in your business. So before we do, let's think about where we go wrong. I mean, there's a whole heap of things that get in our way of being productive.

So as I'm reading out, these 10, I want you to think about, which of these 10s are You guilty of, and which ones do you not have to worry about? I bet there's probably some in here. So I'm just going to go through them. And as I go through, think about whether, Oh my God, this is a habit that I've got that I need to get rid of or whether you've got it under control.

Now I'm all for networking. You know, that any of you that have followed me for a while know I've written a book called It's Who You Know I'm an. Absolute advocate of the power of network and the power of connection. But what I am an advocate for is intentional connection and relationship building. And whilst that is important, aimless meetings without clear agendas can lead to wasted hours and limited outcomes.

Now I've sat in many a time management, productivity management meeting where I've been told that we should all be, searching for inbox zero. I disagree. I want to call BS on it because I think that instead of fixating on an empty inbox, we should redirect our energy towards high value tasks that are propelling our business forward.

So my question for you is, are you obsessing about achieving inbox zero? Yes or no. Number four, mindless social media scrolling. Are you spending excessive time on social media? Excessive time, time that has become a major productivity drain versus using it strategically and being intentional about it.

Do you have specific time in your diaries to do the non Revenue generating admin, or is it taking over your calendar? If it is, you need to do something about it because it's taking your focus away from the very thing that you need to be focusing on to propel your business forward. Number six. Gosh, I see this all the time.

So be careful. Are you getting lost in perfectionism paralysis? Yes or no. Number seven, posting on social media without a strategy. You've probably, if you listen to my podcast regularly, you'll hear me talking about how we must not add to the noise, but we absolutely have to be intentional about building positioning.

Posting on social media without a strategy, mean that you're adding to the noise because there's no clear purpose and there's no clear strategy that aligns to your business objectives. So are you doing that? Yes or no? Do you have a social media strategy? Yes or no? Number eight, endless reworking of proposals and content.

So let's think about not reworking or where you can customize some of your proposal writing. So do you that do that endlessly reworking your proposals or content? Yes or no. Number nine, over planning without execution. Now I know that planning is crucial. We do it all the time with my clients. Every single quarter we're planning out the next quarter.

So take action and make progress towards your goals. So yes or no, are you over planning? Clues to this is you might have a vision board that you've never looked at all year, or your plan might go and get lost in the bottom drawer, or you write lists down but you don't do anything about it. There's your clues.

Yes or no. So those are the 10. How did you do? How many yeses? Oh my goodness, Janine, you are spot on versus nos. So take a moment, have a look. Now, what I want to do is shift our focus. Because it's all well and good having those, but where should you really focus your activity? And I want to share with you now the 10 actions that I've been working with my clients on to help them propel their business forward.

Every single day there needs to be proactive lead generation happening within your business. Make lead generation a daily habit to ensure that you've got this constant flow of potential clients and opportunities coming in. When we turn that tap off That is when the chunky revenue happens, or that is when we get the feast or famine approach in our business.

Essentially it's 10 minutes Every single day, two people, those two people, and those 10 minutes are spent in light touch networking. You're not necessarily speaking directly to those people, but what you are doing is you're touching them lightly. Like think about this light touch. There's no expectation of anything in return.

What you're doing is letting people know that you're thinking about them. So light touch networking could be a voice message. It could be a video message. It could be a text message. It could be a checking in on how you are. I've been thinking about you. It could be sending, forwarding some content that you've read that you think might be worthwhile or they may find useful.

It could just be a simple, Hey, I've been thinking about you. How are you? So engage in light touch networking. It's about fostering connections. It's about building relationships. It's about reaching out to All of those mentors, industry peers, collaborators on a regular basis, not just when you need something.

So that's number three. Number four, build your positioning through strategic content. This is the opposite to sharing content and posting without a strategy. Think about Over the course of the month, what are you sharing? Share valuable content that really showcases your expertise, that enhances your credibility, that really works to attract your target audience.

So that's number four. Number five is all about delegating those low value tasks. Identify tasks that you know can be effectively handled by other people. When you do that, it's going to allow you to concentrate on those activities that are truly going to require your expertise and attention.

Seek. Ways to optimize your workflows. Think about how you can increase efficiency and productivity again, is so that you can double down on doing the right work at the right time that will propel your business forward. So number six is all about embracing continuous process improvement. Number seven is linked to this, but it's more outward facing.

Number seven for me is about obsessing around your client's experiences. You know, constantly think about your clients. They are the lifeblood of your business. They are the very thing that keeps your They pay your bills. They allow you to pay your staff. They fuel your lifestyle. So obsessing about your clients is key.

So that's number seven. Number eight, we're nearly there is about you. Allocating time in your month, every single month for innovation and creativity. You know, it's important that we nurture our entrepreneurial spirit, that we set time aside, dedicated time aside for brainstorming, for exploring new ideas, for staying ahead of industry trends, and it's important because your clients are paying you for your smarts. So allocate time for innovation and creativity. Number nine, invest in learning and [00:16:00] mastery, committing to ongoing education and skill, and developing those skills in your area of expertise, it's absolutely imperative. It allows you to position yourself as a leader in your space.

You know, focus on the skills that you want to develop the most and maybe find a mentor or look for a program or read a book or do something that every single month shows that you are investing in learning and in mastering your craft. And finally. Okay, and this will come as no surprise, number 10. Are you every single month considering how to network and build intentional relationships?

So number 10, network and build intentional relationships. I really believe that when we can focus on these 10 proactive strategies that I've just shared with you, you have the opportunity to take control of your business and unleash its true potential. You know, it's about moving away and being intentional about moving away from unproductive tasks that drain your energy, that take your focus away.

You can create meaningful change, but it requires you to prioritize your time, your energy, your resources, your focus on the actions that will truly move you forward. I hope you've enjoyed this episode. I look forward to hearing how you are propelling your business forward. What are the strategies that you've put in place?

And the key thing is prioritize your time, your energy, your focus, your money on the things that are going to create a shift in your business and move your business forward versus holding it back. I hope you've enjoyed today's episode. I look forward to seeing you next week.