I Found the Ultimate Productivity Routine

When you type “productivity/planner,” you’ll find thousands of books and productivity templates to organize your day. Have you noticed that most entrepreneurs spend their mornings the same way as business owners? This may look like 1) making money, 2) paying the bills, 3) paying yourself, and then investing in the business. Let’s remix this by investing in ourselves.  

I’ve found out that there is no such thing as a one size fits all productivity routine. The best productivity routine is the one that you can commit to and sustain consistently. 

Productivity Gurus tell us that anywhere between 3 am and 5 am is the optimum time to begin a routine, but when we are managing a household with unpredictable variables that wake up in the middle of the night for water and cuddles, 6-8 hours of sleep becomes more important than the Guru talk. We need sleep. We need to be alert so that we can have a sharp focus on our passions. We also need the energy to keep our brains and bodies active. Having success in these areas will look different for everyone. 

I didn’t want to work out at 5:00 am today, so I didn’t. Instead, I got moved at 6 am. My routine begins with a non-negotiable time window of affirmations and fitness, so my spirit is filled with goodness before I speak to anyone. I don’t like fitness; it’s just not my thing; never been into it, but I like how my body looks.  

Committing to doing the work requires us to create a non-negotiable habit of investing in ourselves before working on the dreams and goals of others. We begin to flow in wisdom, innovative ideas, and peace when we develop a productivity routine that works best for us. We will also feel the benefit of wholeness.

Today I want to encourage you to evaluate what creates harmony for your schedule and then use those ideas to map out a schedule for your day. Leave room to welcome inevitable distractions like a phone call, social media brain breaks, and some hugs and kisses from our unpredictable variables. Committing to work holds for everything else in life. Once we discover a routine that allows us to invest in ourselves before investing our time in the goals of others, we have successfully developed the ultimate productivity routine for ourselves and our business. 

Jaiya Clarke

Jaiya Clarke is an author, speaker, and joy strategist. She impacts and transforms women's lives globally through her best-selling book, The Keys to Unlocking Your Joy! Jaiya has an MBA in Organizational Psychology and Development. She has written multiple lifestyle resources to enhance soul care, personal growth, and spiritual maturity. Jaiya is passionate about building communities that nurture the spiritual wholeness of women. She regularly shares impactful community discussions about identity, soul care, boldness, and freedom.

Overcoming Self-Doubt: Building Confidence as a Mil-spouse Entrepreneur.

Somewhere in life, our brains start to detect threats where they don’t exist in reality. When we catch these false threats, we begin shaping a reality that creates emotions of self-doubt, anxiety, stress, and worry. Building confidence as entrepreneurs allows us to leap toward risk and make hard decisions that result in a lucrative outcome. Here are three key points to eliminate self-doubt and secure your goals this year.

As I was networking with other military spouse entrepreneurs, my friend shared how she felt as she prepared her business for PCS season. She started telling us how she was expressing her negative self-talk to her husband and how he abruptly stopped her language by saying, “Hey, you are talking about my wife!” I immediately thought, what if our business responded to us that way? “Hey, you are talking about my founder!” or “Don’t talk about my designer like that!” It’s important to recognize and challenge the negative things we think or say about ourselves by examining the evidence behind them. Question the validity of self-doubt and reframe them with what is a documented truth about you. Doing this will empower your beliefs and consciously shift your mindset to focus on your strengths and past successes. 

Another helpful key that I found useful for overcoming self-doubt is to cultivate a tribe of people who support you and catch the vision that you have for your business. Building confidence as an entrepreneur should be done in a manner other than solitary confinement. In the moments of connecting with like-minded individuals and mentors, we receive guidance, encouragement, and perspective. Our tribe or inner circle (#amsetribe) is a safe place to share your threats, opportunities, and weaknesses while they, in return, reassure us and help us navigate through challenges. One step forward that you can begin today is to write down positive, self-affirming, and visionary exercises that reinforce your belief in yourself and your talent. 

The last key to overcoming self-doubt is my favorite! Award yourself and celebrate small wins. All work and no play can steal the joys of entrepreneurship. A famous entrepreneurial quote suggests that we begin with the end goal in mind. Trello has been one of my go-to free software systems for tracking my goals and outcomes. With Trello, I can create an award board listing all my favorite things. I have a restaurant category that lists all of my favorite dinner spots. A dessert category that lists my favorite dessert spots, and I continue with creating categories for places or things that I love to go to. Awarding ourselves and celebrating our wins builds business momentum and can reinforce our belief in our capabilities. When we celebrate and acknowledge our accomplishments, we boost our self-confidence and shift our mindset positively.

Building confidence is an ongoing process that requires patience and perseverance. Embrace the challenges as they come and dare to be disliked. We will develop the confidence to thrive and succeed as entrepreneurs with time and practice.

- By Jaiya Clarke Founder of Jaiya Clark learn more at

www.jaiyaclarke.com 

Jaiya Clarke is an author, speaker, and joy strategist. She impacts and transforms the lives of women globally through her best-selling book, The Keys to Unlocking Your Joy! Jaiya has an MBA in Organizational Psychology and Development. She has written multiple lifestyle resources to enhance soul care, personal growth and spiritual maturity. Jaiya is passionate about building communities that nurture the spiritual wholeness of women. She regularly shares impactful community discussions about identity, soul care, boldness, and freedom.

Why You Should Implement Workflow Processes to Gain Traction in the New Year

What else do you accomplish by creating that workflow?

1. Create more mental space by having all of the steps laid out.

Entrepreneurs’ brains are full of ideas, strategies, and things to knock off to-do lists. You do not need to recreate the wheel of every multiple-step business operation you do each time, whether creating a blog post or coordinating an annual event. Make a list on your phone's notes app or task management software (pro tip: Asana and Trello have free versions). As a bonus, your list will hold you accountable to the non-essential but essential sub-tasks that may fall prey to procrastination, like updating databases or sending thank-you notes. With the extra mental space you create, you may happen upon your next great idea. Bring on the lightbulb moments!

2. Make it easy for someone to help you.

Sometimes you could use some help: sickness, PCSing, deployments, busy seasons, launches, periods of burnout, etc. Would you be ready to hand over tasks if you need to? You could easily outsource your work if you have a workflow for each repeating aspect of your business. If you’re ready to hire help, check out AMSE partners: WISE Advise + Assist Team.

3. Gain a bigger-picture view of your operations.

How difficult is it to prioritize your week or plan ahead for the months, quarters, or years ahead? Are you being efficient with your time and devoting it to high-impact activities? Are multiple people spending time on the same things? Would one task be more straightforward if another were completed first? Do deadlines sneak up on you? If you have workflow processes in place, you’ll be able to see where you’re at in the short term, prioritize your time, determine whether you can take on more work, assess whether you need help, eliminate inefficiencies and redundancies, and plan for the future. 

When you’re caught up in the busyness of handling all of the aspects of your business – often as a solopreneur or member of a small team – it can be hard to dedicate time to creating a workflow for each repeating operation of your business. However, if you invest that time, you will produce more mental space, make it easy to solicit help, and have a better view of all aspects of your business. Gain traction in your entrepreneurial goals for the new year. Turn those pothole-filled gravel roads of 2022 into a paved interstate in 2023 by implementing workflow processes now!

Written by Kimberly Bacso- AMSE Contributor

How to Fuel Business Growth with Partnerships

One of my most cherished memories during our tour in Japan is that of lying down under a magnificent sakura (cherry blossom) tree in the middle of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen. In full bloom,  the sakura trees are a wonder to behold, and each one of those trees began as a tiny seed. They did not grow into becoming spectacular trees overnight or by themselves. It took time, careful cultivation, and various elements to nourish them to flourish into the glorious wonder that they are. 

Growing a business is the same; it does not develop overnight or itself. There are a lot of factors that contribute to its prosperity, and one of them is partnerships. 

A partnership is a relationship between two entities wherein both parties agree to support and cooperate to advance their mutual interests, achieve their mission, and amplify their reach. To take the intimidation out of the concept of partnership, think of it as dating. You need to go through stages to navigate through it successfully.

Plot Your Vision

If you have not done so yet, create a vision of what you want your business to be. Where do you want it to be in the future? What do you want to achieve? Think of your business potential and articulate what you aspire your business to be.  

Identify Your Ideal Partner

Now that you know where you are going and what you want to achieve, you can start strategically identifying the organizations you want to align your business. It is important to consider having similar values with the partners you seek. It is a relationship, and you need to understand each other on a certain level for your relationship to succeed. 

Get Out There 

You cannot sit on your hands and wait for your ideal partner to come knocking on your door. Time is a resource that we can never regain when lost, and waiting for them to come to you is wasting opportunities for you to grow. Network, network, network! Make LinkedIn your best friend and search for key personnel in the organizations on your ideal partners' list. If you have a mutual connection, ask for a warm introduction. If not, do not be afraid to send that connection request and say hello. Another great way to find relationships s is by attending networking events in your industry or sphere of influence. AMSE has masterclasses on how to successfully navigate networking in today’s business environment, so don’t forget to check those out!   

Start the Courtship

Once you’ve established that connection, be prepared to do the courtship dance where your pitching prowess and relationship-building skills will come in handy. This getting-to-know-you stage will allow you to discover how you can mutually support each other to achieve your shared goals.  

Honor Your Commitment

It’s a match—congratulations! Now that you are in a relationship, roll up your sleeves and do the work. 

Expectations from both parties should be clearly defined. Do not rely on reading between the lines, as this is a surefire way of heading down a road you do not want to travel. Keep yourself accountable for what you have committed to.  Effective communication is key to a fruitful relationship. Maintain regular contact with your partners and communicate any changes as soon as they arise. Not all partnerships may work out. If you decide to go your separate ways, make sure you do it professionally and congenially.

AMSE is fortunate to partner with organizations such as Stars and Stripes, USAA, and Draft Kings, to name a few, in bringing valuable entrepreneurship resources to our members. Our relationships allow us to provide a digital platform where military spouses can learn how to start, scale, and sustain their businesses.   

Partnering with AMSE comes in many shapes and sizes — from corporate partnerships, masterclass hosting, and exclusive member discounts on tools and services to community collaborations. If you are interested in partnering with us at AMSE™ to bring essential entrepreneurship resources and programs to our nation’s military spouses, drop us a note today! 

---

This article was written by Kat Calvo, owner of Kat Calvo Digital. It originally appeared in the Military Spouse Entrepreneur Guide, 4th Edition, with Stars + Stripes. Read more here!

---