Someone asked me that question a few days ago and my honest answer is this: it could take me 1 hour or 8 hours.

 

And there is absolutely no in between. 

 

Parkinson’s Law tells us that our work expands to the amount of time that we give it and I’ve definitely found that to be true in my work…

 

BUT sometimes even when I set deadlines for myself, my brain still has a hard time braining.

 

This could be due to the fact that I write approximately 50 million words a day (not a definite number, just a guess).

 

 

 

See what I mean?

 

 

Since I literally write words for a living and I can’t wait until I feel motivated or inspired to write, I try to be hyper aware of distractions and am always looking for ways to be more efficient and write FASTER without sacrificing quality. 

 

Over the course of a few months, I’ve discovered some things that really work for me – and a few things that don’t.

 

And they’re actually really simple that you can implement, too!

11 Things That Help Me Focus DAILY (& 2 Things That Don’t)

Guest Expert Blog For All Things Pinterest

If you do any kind of work with various clients on an ongoing basis I can’t encourage you enough to set up individual Google Chrome profiles for each one.

 

This is something I did early on and I love it so much because each Google Profile lets me bookmark what I need for each individual client so that I’m never having to waste time searching for what I need.

 

When it’s time to work on blogs or emails for a specific client, I simply pull up their profile, access the Drive folders I need and get to work – easy peasy, no time wasted.

 

 

I used to be an Asana girlie through and through – I loved it because it was so easy to use and I loved the way it displays tasks. But as I started working with more and more clients on an ongoing basis, I found that Asana just wasn’t the thing I needed to organize all of my client tasks.

 

So, I switched to Notion and was able to create a dashboard for each client with a calendar and task list so I could easily keep up with all of their specific projects, deadlines, notes, etc. This platform is SO customizable and that's exactly what I needed!

 

I’ve been listening to these exact same focus beats on YouTube for YEARS. I’m the type of person that can’t listen to music with words while working – if you’re the same way, give these focus beats a shot! 🎶

 

My toxic trait is I feel the need to respond to messages and check notifications immediately, so knowing this about myself, I turned off the badge notifications for my email over the July 4th holiday and my birthday in an effort to be more present.

 

I had NO CLUE how much those little red dots were stressing me out, so I left those notifications off and life is good.

 

If you have a Mac, you know the dock at the bottom of your home screen that displays all of your apps? 

 

Well, I decided to remove all of the useless apps I don’t use from that dock and again, life is good.

 

There’s a high chance that you use the same exact websites, platforms or apps daily and one of the biggest time sucks is searching for them over and over again. I used to do this and would get really frustrated with myself, so I fixed that with my bookmarks!

 

And to take it a step further than simply bookmarking everything I need easy access to, I created bookmark folders to categorize everything I wanted to save.

 

I think a big theme here that I’ve had to recognize about myself is that I can very easily become visually overwhelmed. Knowing that about myself, I decided to declutter my desktop and now ZERO files live there.

 

They all have designated folders in my downloads if needed, but NOTHING is allowed on the actual desktop.

 

Instead I use an aesthetically pleasing background that I design on Canva to have a quick view of that month’s calendar (which I reference a lot) and a high level look at my business goals for the month. Here’s the Canva template in case you want it!

 

Shout out to my fellow squirrel Sara at BTL Copy for this one – she recommended this in one of her emails about how she manages her squirrel brain and it’s ridiculously simple, but has been SO game changing for me. 🐿️

 

This has been one of my writing tips before and it really is so necessary, IMO.

 

Having a general idea of what you’re going to write about or create before you actually sit down to do it will save you from so much decision fatigue.

 

This is one of the reasons (there’s more here!) that I preach planning your blog content one quarter in advance – it’s LESS about the strict plan, and more about giving your brain the freedom and capacity to brainstorm and think of ideas instead of trying to force yourself to do it in the moment.

 

Have you ever forced yourself to sit in front of your computer until you fully complete multiple tasks? It sort of feels like prison. (at least it does for me)

 

Which is why incorporating very small breaks in between my tasks (which is typically a lot of writing) has been so crucial.

 

For example, if I need to write two blogs, I’ll typically write one, take a break (which usually involves scrolling for a minute or refilling my water or getting a snack) and then returning to write the next one and so on.

 

Something I’ve learned about myself is that my brain needs to be refreshed… a lot. And sometimes that simply means switching from my desk to the kitchen table.

 

Or when I’m at my coworking space, switching from a barstool window seat to a quiet booth just to give my brain a fresh perspective.

Disclaimer: this concept DOES work… when I remember to turn the timer on.

 

I’ve tried really hard to get into a rhythm of always using this technique and I even have it bookmarked, but I usually always forget to pull it up before I start working.

 

I think I need a physical timer for this to really work for me. But, it COULD work for you and the concept is great, so maybe give it a shot! ⏰

 

I know, I know… shocker that another writer is here telling you not to use robots for your writing 🙂

 

Listen, I’m not fully against AI. I think it’s probably here to stay and if you can (or have) figured out ways to make it work for you, that’s great.

 

But after a few uses out of pure curiosity, I realized something: using a robot does NOT make my writing faster, better or more creative. 🤖

 

In fact, it takes me LONGER because I have to edit (ahem, rewrite 😅) to fit my language and tone and it completely drains my creativity.

 

So, I’m doing myself a favor and choosing not to use AI or any other bot to help me write – turns out, my words are better anyways.

 

 

 

The lineup is full of brilliant people who fully align with all the things I preach here at Natty Writes and first up is Sarah Burk: Pinterest Manager for Online Service Providers and one of the best Pinterest educators that I've personally found. 

 

If you know me, you know I'm all about blogs first, socials second – but if there's one platform I wish I would've started using sooner, it's Pinterest.

 

And here's why: Pinterest isn't actually a social media platform at all. It's actually a visual search engine disguised as one!

 

Which means, it directly supports your blogging efforts and allows you to continue working smarter, not harder.

 

If someone forwarded you this email, it's time we officially meet 👋🏼 I'm Natalie (but everyone calls me Natty) and I'm a Blog Writer for Business Owners!

 

I send a Note From Natty just like this one every Friday morning – it's like our standing Friday morning coffee date inbox style, where you'll receive a weekly digest full of stories, writing tips and a round up of the latest at Natty Writes!