I’m on the path of nurturing GoneGirlGo, my passion project, so that one day it’ll be a business. When that business reveals itself, trust me, I will follow it.

For now though, I don’t feel the need to rush anything. I’m committed to GoneGirlGo, even though I’m not making any money from it.

Actually, money isn’t the reason that I’m doing any of this. I’m on this path fulfilling the mission that I’ve been assigned, challenging myself to grow, contributing my portion of good to the planet, testing out my ideas, and stimulating women to make their ideas blossom.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d like to be able to work on GoneGirlGo full time so the money part would be a plus, but in the meantime, until the time is right, I’m satisfied.

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Side Note:

Honestly, I’m not sure when it’ll be the right time to make this a business, but I’m not going to just sit idle and wait for it. My waiting period could be 6 months, 1 year or may be even 2 years from now. In the meantime, I’m focused on a few fundamentals so that when it happens, I’ve got some traction. So, I’ll keep moving forward and when the business path reveals itself, I’ll follow it.

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I digress, but not really.

Because I work a 9-5, I need to be productive and efficient during the hours of 6-11 for several reasons.

• Being a somewhat reformed procrastinator makes this tricky because I tend to put off the hard stuff.
• I easily get distracted by social media.
• After hours of browsing the web, I end up in one rabbit hole after another.
• And let’s not talk about my roles and responsibilities as a mother and wife. I wish I had an app for folding and putting away laundry!

I’ve noticed that being more efficient and managing my time are always on the top of my to-do list while on this path. And a girl’s gotta be smart or potentially suffer the consequences of what happens if I give up all together. 

The hacks I’ve been practicing since relaunching back in April have been serving me well and I  thought I’d share them with you.  

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Wake up earlier than normal 2 times a week.

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OMG I’m not a morning person. My alarm is set to go off at 6:00 a.m. during the week. On a bad day, I hit the snooze button more than I like to admit. One morning I forced myself to wake up earlier than normal because I had to meet a deadline. And guess what? I knocked that work out like a champ. I was done by 7:00 a.m just in time for me to get ready for work. I decided that getting up earlier than normal sometimes is actually a good thing. I’ve been doing it for the past few weeks and I’ve found that when I do, I’m more productive than usual. 

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Invest in productivity tools.

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Blogging can be overwhelming at times and I don’t consider myself a 100% pro yet. The game has changed from 2012 to 2016 because of social media, SEO, analytics, etc.  GoneGirlGo is a WordPress.org site that’s build in the Genesis framework. Because of this, I’m able to take advantage of premium features and useful plugins to stay on top of things.

I use Yoast to ensure that my posts are optimized for the Web.  I use a few SumoMe tools to help grow my website’s traffic. CoSchedule, a tool for sharing content on social media (and much more), has been a godsend.  I don’t worry about having time to hit all of my social networks because I can schedule content to share on them ahead of time. I especially like two features: Best Time Scheduling and Headline Analyzer. It takes a lot of the guess work out of when to post something and creating a headline that attracts readers.

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Start a bullet journal.

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I’ve been looking for a tool that would allow me to combine long term planning with my day-to-day tasks. Trust me, there are no shortage of tools out there that offer a solution, many of which cost more than I want to pay. I stumbled upon the bullet journal on Pintrest. When I saw a post in one of my Facebook groups talking about, I decided to give it a closer look. I was immediately drawn to it because although it’s a system, it’s also a blank space that you design and create based on your own needs and desires. I’ve included links to Amazon so that you could check it out!

I started my journal in September and since that time, I’ve mapped out 6 months of ideas that I’m going to launch (two of which I have already launched), focused on what I need to accomplish in a month and kept a daily log of activities to complete. I’ve also recorded journal entries, books that I’d like to read, and ideas to implement with my facebook group. I’ve seen other creative ways that people have used it, and I’m sold. If you’re looking for a tool to help you manage your life, check out this simple tutorial on how to get started.

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Pay for professional services.

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I’ve been an Amazon Associate for quite some time, but I didn’t have time (or technical know-how) to add this information to my website. Andrea, a friend of mine, told me about fivver.com, a marketplace for all types of creative and personal services. I checked them out, a little skeptical at first, but decided to give them a try. The person I hired charged me $6 to complete this task, which he completed in 3 days! We went back and forth a little because honestly I didn’t understand his requirements, but other than that, I was pleased with the results. If fivver sounds like something for you, use https://www.fiverr.com/s2/1f594489d8 to search for services and help me build referral points.

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Cook more than one meal at a time.

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Sundays are a good day for me to cook so I take advantage of this. I usually cook at least 3 meals so that my family has something to eat during the week. It’s time-consuming to say the least, but when I don’t do it, I find myself scrambling during the week to whip up something for dinner. Some of my favorite recipes are:

• Ground turkey Meatloaf muffins (Pintrest has a variety of options for this favorite, easy to make dish. With the muffins, I’ll make brown rice and a veggie side like broccoli.)
• Penne pasta with chicken, spinach, cherry tomatoes and feta (In my version I don’t add the wine. I also use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and add pine nuts for crunchiness.)
• Black bean and mango salsa (Granted this isn’t a meal, but when I have a batch of this yummy salsa in the fridge, I don’t have to worry about snacking gone wrong! I add red bell pepper to my recipe for more color.)

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Prioritized taking care of myself.

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If I’m not A1 mentally and physically,  productivity will definitely escape me. I’m no good when I run on empty and don’t take the time to recharge. I’ve been paying more attention to the importance of self-care and its role to keep me balanced and focused. Like many of you, I run hard all week and it’s real easy to let certain things slip. But I’m committed to make sure that I

• Listen to my body
• Go to sleep at a decent time
• Eat better, whole foods
• Exercise regularly (I jump rope every day 500x)
• Meditate and pray throughout the day
• Relax and chill

I’m looking forward to taking a vacation soon, which for me will be the ultimate self-care moment.

Being productive on the path of building my passion project, and ultimately my business has become just as important to me as the inner-work that I need to do. In many ways it’s connected to inner-work because it requires commitment, intentionality, and clarity. If I’m lacking any of these, I’m afraid of what’ll happen to my desire to keep going. And without sounding too cliche, I’m truly learning what it means to work smarter and not harder.

Before you leave this post, reflect on the questions below in your personal journal. Or if you choose a group exchange, leave your comments below, or on the GoneGirlGo Facebook page. You can email me too at zoe@gonegirlgo.com.

• As you travel on the path of nurturing your passion project or business, or if you’re in business already, what productivity hacks have you discovered along the way?
• How have you become smarter?
• What productivity hacks are you looking for?
• What do you need to do to be smarter while on the path? 

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Don’t forget to join me in the Facebook group

The GoneGirlGo 6-11 Network

where we come together to talk about stuff like this.