Oh sure, let’s sip a coffee in Paris or go for a hike in Tasmania. And let’s not think about our business or brand ok? How you do this? Set up automations that will help you get more done in less time. Aka, to run a passive business and enjoy life like you should.
During my most recent launch I was SO happy I had a waterproof productivity system that I write about in the Ultimate Guide To Productivity. I know myself through and through and I can’t be happier during busy weeks like launch week(s). A lot goes wrong in busy periods. But I managed it all and I was fairly calm.
I want to think during my day at least as possible about things I need to do. Especially when I’m exploring new cities and go out adventuring during hikes and creating the right automated systems is sooo important for this. Curious about my top automated hacks + apps?
It’s funny that I had to think long and hard about writing this post, because everything is set up and I never think about it again haha. But the truth is, you probably do a lot of things you shouldn’t, because they can be automated.
A few of my favorite time saving automations
Set up your returning tasks
I set up a Wunderlist daily notification with all the things I need to do in a day everyday. This saves time, because I don’t have to think about all the things I have to do every day or every week, they just pop up. I use Asana and the calendar function for my returning business tasks, editorial calendar, deadlines etc. Like Wunderlist, you can set up returning tasks.
Set up your automations
Do you know IFTTT? You can create recipes to automate stuff (‘Connect the apps you love’). Like recipes for Facebook connected to Twitter and when you post a new blog post it automatically sends out a tweet or Facebook post. You probably already know this but did you know you can connect your iPhone to Evernote? SO IT AUTOMATICALLY BACKS UP ALL THE PHOTOS YOU TAKE. OH MY. Probably one of my best hacks EVER!!
Automate the heck out of your emails
They take too much of your time. Just set it up once. I wrote a complete step by step of how to do this here. I use Convertkit for most automated emails. When you first sign up, you just expect it to be this newsletter software, but you can hack the sh*t out of it, and use it for so much more! Sales funnel anyone?!!
Send emails back and forth to files for a decluttered inbox
Boomerang for Gmail. Do you hate a cluttered inbox as much as me? Use Boomerang for Gmail (download Boomerang here for free)! With Boomerang you can ‘boomerang’ your emails back and forth to your inbox and another folder and have them automatically send back to your inbox again on a date you pick. How awesome? For me that’s very useful with itineraries and invitations, but also for scheduling emails and find the clear mind space if you just need to see and empty inbox every now and then on Friday evening. Just have them automatically send back on Monday 🙂
Schedule your social media (as far ahead as possible!)
I use Buffer. Oh man, at first, like for years haha I didn’t want to pay for Buffer. But recently I did and man, it’s one of my best investments ever already! I can schedule posts for about two weeks ahead in about an hour to 90 minutes. That means, TIME SAVERS! Ideal for traveling and to focus on my most important tasks on a daily basis. Seriously, I love it and I’d suggest everyone signs up immediately. Ever heard of ‘batching tasks’? If you want to batch your social media, use Buffer. There is a calendar version available (I need everything visual in a monthly calendar) and you can connect multiple accounts. Oh, and it’s only $10,-, so that’s probably worth less than an hour of work, but saves you maybe more than 6 every two weeks?
Do more on your telephone
You and me, we all sit in the train, on the toilet and every now and then we have to wait. Why not make the most out of it? In my book A busy girl’s 21-day life fix productivity and time-management I write about ten things you can do for your biz on your phone. Because doing little tasks when you’re waiting, can actually save you a lot of time!
Go paperless
I use Evernote. Did you know it’s possible to search in Evernote in scanned documents? I didn’t, until I recently found out haha, I swear, I used to dream about a function like that. And you know what I did? I scanned most of my papers in to Evernote to enjoy the paperless life. And it’s awesome. It saves space, my office and house feel really minimalistic. It saves time because I don’t have to search in to various places anymore, I just search in Evernote and I find everything within seconds. And it’s super nice to have everything digitally because it’s accessible at all times, really useful when I travel! I’m so in love with Evernote all of a sudden, it’s so worth the $29 bucks a year to sign up for the Evernote premium plan to have all the extra possibilities.
Do you want to read more about productivity and time management? Pre-order my newest ebook A busy girl’s 21-day life fix productivity and time-management for the special pre-order price here. The book is all about how to get more done, automate the heck out of your life, take control back over your time and start doing what you really love to do. All you need is 21-days.