10 Proven Productivity Tips for Successful Etsy Shops

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I find that if I follow these proven productivity tips for successful Etsy shops, I quickly get motivated to start working again after taking time off. As an Etsy shop owner, we all have those days, when our hectic family life gets in the way of our home based business. Then we put our business on hold for a couple of hours or even days.  This is especially true when we have a sick child, go on vacation or unfortunately even when there is a death in the family.  When these family events happen, getting back to work can be a challenge to get motivated again and we find that we have lost our craft mojo! I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.    I hope you can use the productivity tips for successful Etsy shops to jump start your productivity too.

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10 Proven Productivity Tips for Successful Etsy Shops

1. Start tracking time on an hour by hour basis.
I know this seems daunting, but just keep it very simple.  Grab a pen and paper and write down each hour what you have done for the last 60 minutes.  This is a great exercise to see where you are wasting time.  You will be amazed at how much wasted time can be found by doing this task.  For example, I was shocked to find how much time I can waste on social media, for some it may be talking on the phone with friends/family, others it may be the TV which is in the same room as the work space, etc.

Once you are aware of your time wasters, you can then take action by reducing or eliminating them. For example, I know I have to set a timer when working on Pinterest because that right there can suck me in for days!  Haha Hey, comment below and tell me what your biggest time waster is, it will be interesting to see everyone’s.

2. Never start a day unplanned!
I ALWAYS do this and during the Fall and Christmas seasons when I’m working on so many custom orders at once, it keeps me from missing anything.  This one step helps to keep me on track and not fall into a funk or spend too much time on one project.  So whether you plan it the night before or first thing in the morning, be very specific when planning your day.  Personally, I prefer the night before so I can jump in feet first when I start the day.  Set your top 3 objectives or tasks to be completed before the end of the day and plan it out to the minute!  Make sure these 3 tasks are tasks that will move your business forward and keep your momentum going. What doesn’t get completed by the end of the day, can be added to the next day.

For example – Task 1 8AM-9AM; Task 2 9AM-11:00AM; Break 11:00AM-11:45AM.  You may not be able to stick to these times rigidly, but if you first set the times, you will begin to get a realistic idea of exactly how much you can fit into a day. Also, you will start to work with more urgency when you see that clock tick, tick, ticking away and you know you need to have the task done by 10AM.  This definitely makes a difference to my focus and speed especially when I need to break a larger project into smaller sections over a month’s time, for example working on my blog or making changes to my Pinterest boards.

3. Set HARD deadlines.
With this productivity tip, what I mean by this is deadlines that do not move! Once you hit the time for your deadline, that’s it. Period. You must go with what you have.  So whether I am writing a blog post, organizing my ribbon stash or trying a new marketing technique, once the deadline hits…I’m done and I roll with it! No more tweaking. This trick helps to ensure I work intensely and with absolute focus. Is my finished task perfect? Never! But good enough sometimes brings in a lot more money than wasting time trying to perfect.

4. Turn Social Media Sites & Email OFF until you have completed your most important tasks of the day!
Unless of course my most important task for the day is posting on social media! But I leave chatting and ‘networking’ to times when I am least productive in the day.  For me that is usually around 4PM when my energy and focus start to wane.  Also, I find that I can chat and network to my hearts content on Facebook or Twitter while watching TV or sitting in the garden relaxing with a cold beverage at the end of the day! To run a successful Etsy shop, you need to know when to turn off the noise.

5. Determine your profit hours and nonprofit hours.  
I set 3 hours every single day which are my completely undisturbed profit hours. Since I am a morning person, my hours are in the morning.  In these 3 hours I might write a blog post, write copy for an email campaign, or make my wreaths, etc.  Anything I know will directly result in more sales or money into my business. I plan for profit hours in my nonprofit hours. My nonprofit hours are typically at the end of the day when the kids get home from school and there is more activity going on to divert my attention.

So if I have to research, shop online for supplies, etc. I know I can do that in the afternoon when my energy reserves aren’t as high as in the mornings. If I want to prepare to write an email to customers or a blog post, I will do my prep work when I don’t have to concentrate as hard as I do when I’m creatively writing.  I do all my social networking in my nonprofit hours.  If I want to play with an Etsy banner, edit product pictures, shop, all the things that take less mental focus/energy to achieve, I do in nonprofit hours.  This is a big strategy that will allow me to get more done in 3 hours than I used to achieve in a few weeks.

6. STOP being a perfectionist.
Focus on getting it done rather than getting it perfect.  You can always go back at a later time and add more, tweak, or make changes. If you are just starting out in learning a craft, this is harder to do. But you will find that the more items you make of your product, the faster you will get. But even now, after making wreaths all these years, I still catch myself and have to remember to stop tweaking and move on to the next wreath.

7. Set 2-3 weekly & daily goals.
Just doing this alone will transform your business.  I used to compile a list of 20 tasks I wanted to achieve that week. Of course by close of business Monday, I was overwhelmed because I pretty much didn’t achieve anything. However, now I sit down and ask myself, if I could only achieve 3 things this week or tomorrow, what would the most IMPORTANT things be? Now each week/day seems so much more achievable and manageable and I’m much happier because I’m seeing quick results.  I feel like I’m constantly moving forward, which gives me momentum and motivation!

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…More Productivity Tips for Successful Etsy Shops…

8. Don’t get caught up in just learning.  
You are learning something specifically so that you can go and APPLY it and make money from it, or drive more traffic, or grow your online presence, or create a new line of product, etc.  So stop just learning and learning and learning and DO! Every video or course you watch, you should then go out and take ACTION immediately! Not next week or next month. If you set a rule, that you will take action of what you just learned before allowing yourself to watch another how to video or read another ebook then you will start to achieve more and actually absorb more.

There are always how-to blogs or videos I want to watch and learn but I have to tell myself NO, not until I have actioned the last how-to video or ebook I downloaded.  It takes discipline and sometimes getting over a fear but when you start taking action, it will become easier, you will start seeing results and only then are you ready for more learning.

9. Stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong.
Doubts in your head are debilitating and lead to procrastination. Most people procrastinate through fear, even if they don’t realize it.  And that’s nothing to be ashamed of, we all have it!  I remember before I went live with my ebook, I told my husband that I was scared because what if people didn’t think I was that good.  It can be scary, but unless you take that leap of faith you will be in the same situation next year.  So close your eyes and jump in.  You can’t move forward with your business until you take steps that are out of your comfort zone.

10. Stay Fit & Healthy!
This probably should be MY number 1 because I am working really hard to master this! Hahaha  I try to exercise 5-6 days a week if only for 20-30 minutes regardless, drink no less than 8 glasses of water and eat lots of natural foods.  Just that little bit of exercise everyday makes me feel so much better and the better I feel, the more energy I have!  The more energy I have, the more productive I am, the more productive I am, the more I get done and the more I get done, the more people I help or the more my business grows!! Yippeee!

There you have it, my 10 Productivity Tips for Successful Etsy Shops!  Do you think these productivity tips can help you to be a successful Etsy shop owner?  Do you have any tips to share or have you used any of the above tips? I would love to hear from you. Please let me know your thoughts below.

Have a super productive day!
Julie

PS – One characteristic of successful people is that they are always ACTION TAKERS!   Not just action takers but fast action takers! Why not take action now and improve your rankings in Etsy searches using my ebook Learn How To Grow Your Etsy Sales, as a guide.  You can download your copy of my ebook here: etsy.me/1YBQQqk

Also, if you are still on the fence about opening up your own Etsy shop, I have a bonus for you… here is my link to help you get started with 40 free product listings with your new Etsy shop: http://etsy.me/1Ui6hUa

 

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