292 | Task Management vs. Energy Management with Ashley Brown, Routines & Things
We all have big goals, dreams, and plans for our businesses. In order to meet those milestones, we need to take action. What do you do when you look at your to-do list and everything starts to feel really overwhelming?
Today's guest is Ashley Brown of Routines and Things and this episode is an excerpt from a recent Coffee Chat she led inside of our Proof to Product LABS program on time management. Ashley is our resident routines expert, teaching us how to establish and sustain routines in our life and our business so we're less stressed and more fulfilled.
On today's episode, you'll hear Ashley speak candidly about how she personally handles task management, as well as energy management in her life and business. We talk about mindset work, delegating and outsourcing, and how to conserve and restore our energy.
This episode is brought to you by our Email Marketing For Product Makers guide. 49% of our customers want to hear from us on a consistent basis, yet, only a small percentage of product-based business owners are actively sending monthly emails to their customers.
If you’ve struggled with what to say, when to send, or how to plan out your email marketing strategies, we’ve got just the tool for you. This tool and the optional training have helped hundreds of product makers plan out an entire year’s worth of emails. And, the best part… they are creating templates that they can rinse & repeat year after year.
Time Management Tips for Business Owners
Your time is valuable in both your business and your life. When it comes to building routines and managing your time, Ashley believes that the best way to approach them is through establishing foundations that are transferable from your business to your life.
As you begin to build these foundations, consider both task management and energy management when it comes to time—those two things will take up your time in your life and business.
Task Management
Managing and completing tasks takes up a lot of your time, so consider these tips when looking at how to best manage your tasks:
Avoid Overplanning: Planning can seem really fun in the moment, but overplanning keeps you from keeping your goals alive. Instead, plan three things for the week so that you’re not doing too much on any given day.
Break Tasks into Sub-Tasks: Consider what your tasks entail, especially the big ones that require several additional things that you need to do to accomplish them. Certain tasks will take more energy from you, so planning for these will help you manage your days better.
Get Assistance or Help: When you have the funds to bring on help, do it as soon as you can.
Create Routines: You need to have a flow for how you complete tasks that you are repeatedly doing in your business. Consider what you’re doing daily, weekly, and monthly, then build a routine around it!
“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.”
- Dennis Waitley
Energy Management
With managing your time, you have to consider how you manage your energy. How you feel day-to-day leads so much to how productive you can be. Here are a few ways you can consider when it comes to energy management:
Routines that Help You Conserve Energy: Any routine you create in business or in your life will benefit your mental energy, as it eliminates the need for you to think through how to approach or complete something.
Routines that Help You Restore Energy: When we start our day, we start to use up the energy we’ve stored and deplete it as we are productive. Bedtime routines, moving your body, and morning routines are three routines that will help restore your energy.
Mindset Work: When your mind isn’t in a good space, it will deplete your energy for the day. Whether that’s correcting comparisons, limiting beliefs, or doubt, do the work to strengthen your mind. Communities, support, and therapists are great resources for mindset work.
“Performance, health, and happiness are grounded in the skillful management of energy.”
- Tony Schwart
If you want to catch the rest of our Coffee Chat with Ashley Brown, including our engaging Q&A session at the end, make sure you join us in LABS!
If you are looking for a safe space to talk openly about the challenges and solutions needed to scale a product based business, look no further. We have carved out a space just for you! Our LABS community consists of brands across industries and across the globe, who are building profitable, sustainable businesses. We're talking about things like processes, systems, marketing strategies, and more. We have trainings, templates, coaching calls, and community connections to help you make forward progress towards your goals.
Download These Quotables to Save and Share
meet Ashley
Ashley Brown is a wife, mom of 2 girls, enneagram 1, and the creative spirit of Routine and Things, a product-based business that helps you get and stay in your happy place using routines. She is from South Carolina and currently resides in Baltimore, MD where she runs Routine and Things as well as hosts the Routine and Things Podcast.
CONNECT WITH ASHLEY
WEBSITE: routineandthings.com | INSTAGRAM: routineandthings | FACEBOOK: @routineandthings
Connect with Katie Hunt
Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.
Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct
you might also like:
