Staying Focused All Day

[JeremyM]

If you've read my blog lately, you know I started a new work schedule which is more in line of the typical job (that means going to the office every weekday lol).

I'm realizing just how repetitive things can get in this industry, and am struggling to keep myself at the office as long as I should. You work your butt off for a week building a new site, then it all starts over the next week. You build another new site and the same thing the week after that. Yea, you still spend time on your developed sites, but I think you get the picture.

I just wanted to see how everyone stays focused throughout the entire work day, 5+ days a week?

- Anyone use a to do list?

- Anyone use a schedule where you do an hour of content, hour of building links, hour of researching, etc?

- What else are you doing?

[themike537]

I have a running "to-do list" that always has twenty or thirty tasks on it. As I cross off completed tasks, I tend to come up with new ones so the list is never ending.

As far as my hours, I work pretty irregularly. I may work for twelve hours one day, then not work at all the next two days.

I don't know if it's possible to be 100% productive eight hours a day, five days a week, just as a result of human limitations. I'd recommend sticking with the list system, and focus on having productive hours instead of putting in long hours. If you make tangible improvements to your sites every single day, everything will come together for you in time.

[KevinMcC]

I have a daily To Do list just on a note pad. I only write down stuff for the day either late the night before or that morning - I find that if I try to plan out stuff before hand it doesn't work.

It's a little different for me to because my office is my bedroom lol.... I tend to do work when I feel like it, but am usually pretty good at making sure I get a bit done everyday.

[dirkjan]

I found this one rather funny:

How to Unlock the Amazing Secret of Unlimited Productivity

[Jeremy]

I have tried to schedule my tasks by the hour, unfortunately what I have found in this industry is that it's easy to get sidetracked or caught on a phone call or skype conversation. So I keep a running list on a notepad, and then my more important and longer tasks and goals on the whiteboard in my office. Once more than 75% or so of the tasks on the whiteboard are completed and crossed off, I erase the whiteboard and start over.

I am by no means a role model for organization, but over the years I have learned a system that seems to work for me.

[Unknown Webmaster]

I'm really bad at keeping focus on my goals, so if I don't make an effort to keep things organized I will end up having bought 5 new domains and a book about Google Analytics (sadly not a joke).

This may be a bit excessive for some, but it has probably doubled the amount of work I get done each day.

General organization
I use Evernote to keep a huge list of ideas and plans for each of my sites. It works by letting you type in a note containing pictures, video and even documents (I have entire ebooks saved in there) and then categorize each note with tags and categories. It is extremely handy for keeping a general list of "stuff that you may want to do or look at".

From time to time I go into Evernote and extract the most important tasks and add them to lists (I use Tadalists) - I usually have 1 general list with important tasks pr. project, like "plan 10 articles for site x" and "figure out how to do goal tracking".

Creating tasks
I then go through the general lists of tasks and plan when to do things using Google Calendar. That way I can see how long it should take me to get something done. It is a method to keep me from taking on too many projects, as well as making sure that I'm working on the most important things first.

Daily organization
Each day I create a new todo list on Tadalists where I break everything down into tiny little tasks. Each individual task must be so so small that it is something I can easily do, so it is always easy to complete the next step. I also add non-business related tasks like "buy milk" and stuff like that.

Working
When I work I have both Google Calendar and the days todo list open, and make sure that if I can see that I'm not going to get something done, I reschedule it immediately or decide not to do it at all.

[JeremyM]

Wow, thanks for all the great posts!

I previously used a to-do list and that would always give me something productive to do. Not sure why I got off of it, but am going to start again after hearing all the feedback.

[ThePower]

I always have a daily to-do list - I went through a period of not doing one - through lack of discipline more than anything else - and my productivity went through the floor. I also have a monthly to do list - just to keep some bigger picture stuff on the radar.

My other massive tip for being productive at this kind of work is to get an office ( which it sounds like you have).
I used to work from home, have a good month, take a few weeks off etc etc - but to make the leap from having an affiliate lifestyle business ( which granted, is nice ) to having a growing business, with staff etc etc - an office is essential.

[Guerreiro]

Also find a work flow that is natural to you. Meaning some people can work tirelessly from 9-5 and not care. Some people work in bursts and do a lot of work that way. A to-do lists probably gets you focused on what needs to be done, and the work flow thing is just something you need to figure out yourself.

[Randy Ray]

Turn the ringer on your phone off and let the calls go to voicemail. Return calls from 4pm to 5pm.

Turn off Skype and all of your instant messenger stuff.

Check your email only once or twice per day.

Read Getting Things Done by David Allen...

Wal-mart managers work from 6:30am to 6pm every day. They get Wednesdays and Sundays off, and once a month they take a whole weekend off. Think about that next time you think 8 hours is too long to spend in the office. There are reasons Wal-mart is bigger than Home Depot, Target, K-mart, Sears, and Costco combined. One of those is that the managers and staff are relentlessly productive and measure their output. Cashiers have quotas for how many customers they ring up per hour. My writing staff have quotas for how many words they're to write per week, and some of the most effective SEOs I know set quotas for how many blog posts or pages they launch per week.