If you are a community manager, you might wonder how you can balance the needs of your community while juggling everything else. We cover the key to doing this.

The Counterintuitive Secret to Being More Productive

In this episode, we cover the key to getting everything done, and it is NOT to do more – but to do less and focus.

We all multi-task and many of us think we are good at it, but studies show we aren’t doing as well as we think. In today’s episode, we’re talking about strategies for limiting distractions and improving focus.

For community management, the most important tip is to schedule the times you will drop in on your community and let the members interact with each other. You do NOT have to do all of the interacting and work.

In the episode we talk about:

• Context Switching is what happens when you go from one thing to another thing and productivity or attention is lost. For every task you add, you’re losing 20% of your focus.
• Studies have found that multitasking reduces your overall productivity by 40%.
• A University of London study found that multitasking, when attempting to do cognitive tasks, lowered IQ scores as much as if study participants had used drugs or stayed up all night.

Tips to Overcome Time Loss

• Use Trello with to-do lists
• Use White Noise apps (see tools and links below for our favorites)
• Turn off phone and desktop notifications
• Prepare to accomplish 1-3 things per day
• Block out productive time on your calendar
• Set deadlines and understand what’s important
• Limit checking email to 2-3 times a day
• Drop in on your Facebook or LinkedIn communities at the same days and times
• Appoint a moderator to be responsive to comments and messages

Tools, apps, and links mentioned:

• The Horrifying Truth About Multitasking And Productivity
• Is multi-tasking bad for your brain?
• Multitasking Damages Your Brain And Career, New Studies Suggest
• Focus at Will
• Nosili App
• Todd Herman’s 90 Day Year
• The Full Focus Planner
• The Eisenhower Method

Take Action

Let’s talk about distractions and how you overcome them. Do you like to multitask? Has this episode changed your mind? Come join our community in the Facebook Group, and use the secret word ACTION to get in. 

How to reach Kami:

If you’d like to learn more about Kami Huyse, visit her website at www.zoeticamedia.com. You can contact her by email at [email protected] or tweet to @kamichat.

How to reach Madalyn:

If you’d like to learn more about Madalyn Sklar, visit her website at www.madalynsklar.com. You can contact her by email at [email protected] or tweet to @MadalynSklar.

Join Our Community

We have a new community on Facebook. We will extend the conversation from each episode and deliver bonus content. Sign up for our email list at http://bit.ly/CTCVIP to get an invitation to join or go to our Facebook group (shhh. The codeword is ACTION)!