Between running my business and my creative side projects (because, well, ADHD!), 24 hours wouldn’t be enough if I hadn’t developed a productivity strategy for myself.
If you’re juggling client work, content, and everything else that comes with running your own thing, you already know the feeling.
And if you’re now a business owner with a squirrel brain on top of all that, you know how it is.
On a typical day, I spend 6-7 hours tapping away at my keyboard.
And since I’m low on creative energy in the afternoons, I need to sort out breakfast and knock out the majority of my business tasks by 11:30 a.m.
Thanks to the productivity sprint I’m about to share with you, I complete 70% of my daily tasks within just two hours. The rest of the day goes to the remaining 30%—and life’s good.
If you never feel like you’re doing enough despite the long hours you put into your business, this one strategy could change things for you too.
You’ll be able to get more done in 2 hours than most people do in a whole day.
Let’s get into it.
Before the 2-hour productivity sprint
My productivity sprint happens in the morning, but I make certain preparations every night to ease into the work when I wake up.
1. Clean my workspace
Every evening after I close out work, I block out 15 minutes to clean and organize my workspace.
I’m an overthinker and also a paper-and-pen kind of person. That means my thought process is elaborate and somewhat messy—enough to leave pieces of paper and colored cards all over my desk.
And then there’s me (again!), who can’t think clearly when my space is a mess.
Catch-22, right? You bet.
So in preparation for my focus sprint the next morning, I make sure my desk and entire workspace are organized: laptop on its stand, pens in their cup, colored cards and sticky notes in a clear bag, and papers and notebooks tucked into a drawer.
2. Sleep early
If there’s something I’ve learned after almost losing my mind sleeping 4 hours a day for 9 months straight in 2020, it’s this:
Proper rest is non-negotiable for productivity.
So, I aim for about 7 hours a night, with a sleep schedule from 11:00 p.m. to 6:05 a.m. (Don’t worry about the 5 minutes extra. It’s just a buffer to not miss my 7 hours. I’m petty like that.)
When you run a business during the day, your body needs to actually recover overnight. It’s easy to get pulled into “just one more episode” on Netflix, late-night chats, or answering client emails you should’ve left until morning.
So to avoid that, I built a nighttime routine that keeps me on track. I also set a timer for sleep time and a reminder that notifies me 30 minutes before to “wind down.”
3. Schedule my tasks ahead
Every night, I write down a short list of tasks for the next morning—small ones, on purpose.
It gives me a sense of direction and helps me start every day with purpose. It also shuts out the morning anxiety that comes from not knowing what the frick to do when you wake up.
These daily lists aren’t my only point of focus, though.
I also track monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals in my All-in-One Life Planner. It allows me to keep track of the bigger picture and see exactly what targets I’ve hit and what’s left.
If you like a simple automated planner like this to plan and organize your goals in one place, grab it here.
Creating a simple list of tasks every day boosts my productivity as an ADHDer and helps me find opportunities for quick wins and self-motivation.
My 2-hour productivity sprint
I’m most efficient in the mornings—specifically between 6:45 and 8:45 a.m. After my morning prayers and journal entry, I spend the next two hours crushing the tasks on my list.
Here’s what my 2-hour productivity sprint looks like:
4. Spray the room
I grab a cup of hot tea and a bottle of water and settle into my workspace.
But before I start anything, I spray the room with a woodsy, citrusy, or lavender fragrance.
I’m a bit of a perfume and fragrance collector—if I’m struggling to focus, don’t like the vibe in the room, or want to shift into a certain headspace, I spray my blanket, room, or myself.
5. Set a timer for two hours
I like tracking time. It gives me a way to measure my productivity and see how I’m actually working, not just how I feel like I’m working.
Setting a timer also tells me exactly when to stop and move into the rest of my morning. I use Toggl Track alongside my iPhone timer. Toggl runs silently in the background, and my phone rings once the time is up.
Also, setting a timer helps me know when to stop and get on with my morning routine.
6. Put my phone on DND mode
Welp. I am prone to distractions, so I need specific focus tools—putting my phone on DND, syncing Microsoft to-do to my laptop and iPhone so I can cross off tasks, and sometimes, using sticky notes on my desk.
Lately I’ve been using the Simple Sticky Notes app instead of physical Post-its, but I think I’ll just ditch it and get some post-its.
DND mode keeps me focused and free from calls, messages, emails, and social media notifications pulling me out of the work.
7. Focus on the bigger, simpler tasks
Then, I get into the main task(s) of the day and try to be done in two hours.
Once I’m at my computer, my main focus is usually the “bigger (but simple) tasks”—writing a blog post, working on a client project, or planning content descriptions. In the afternoon, I switch to more visual, less brainpower-intensive tasks like designing graphics, organizing calendars, and replying to DMs and emails.
I front-load the tasks that need more creative thinking, time, and attention because once those are handled, everything else on the list feels easy by comparison.
Note: I focus on bigger (but simple) tasks, not “harder tasks.” For instance, I don’t like back-end website setups. For me, they are hard. So I attend to them after the easier ones are done or set aside dedicated blocks for them, since they can eat an entire day if I let them.
If everything on your list falls within your zone of genius, start with the bigger tasks. But if some tasks fall outside it (the genuinely hard ones), start with the simpler tasks instead, and create separate time for the harder stuff.
Try my 2-hour early morning productivity sprint
This sprint has been my secret productivity weapon for over three years now.
So, if you’re looking for a proven way to get more done during your workdays without working more hours, I believe this strategy will work for you too.
But since we’re not all wired the same way.
I’d say figure out your own most productive hours—if you’re a night owl, your sprint might happen at night instead—and use this as a starting point to build a strategy that fits your own nature and schedule, but commit to two focused hours during your peak window.
Keep it up long enough, and it becomes a habit that helps you get more done in less time, business and all.
Looking for more productivity techniques and tips to get more done?
