How to create more products to sell (without spending more time on your computer)

Do you want know the one thing that has helped me create more products and be more productive this last month? Hint: it’s not a tool on the computer, nor an app you can download.

Before I tell you what helped me the most, let me set the scene for how I had been working on TPT products for a while.

My usual TPT working routine

I have a full time job during the day and I do all my TPT work at night. After the kids are in bed, and dishes washed, I open my computer. All the tabs and applications from the previous night are still open. This means I can continue from the exact point I left off from the previous night. However, most nights I finish with either Twitter, e-mail or Facebook. It sometimes still is for work purposes, but I find they don’t require as much mental energy as creating products does.

I then try and refocus my attention after being distracted for while, on what I really came to do. My most productive time had already been spent though. I found myself getting to bed later and later every night, but getting less and less work done.

You can see the problem there don’t you? That means the next time I open the computer, twitter, Facebook and e-mail are the first things getting my attention. Those sites are notorious to draw me in for a while. Before getting to working on my products, I am spending my most productive time on social media and answering e-mails.

One simple habit tweak

The one thing I did that changed everything for me, now happens BEFORE I open my computer to work.

It’s sound so simple and obvious now that I write it down, but it has been so effective.

Before I open up my computer, I write down the most important things I want to get out of my work session on a piece of paper.

I put a little checkmark next to each item, and the amount of time I think I will be spending on it. If it is a bit vague, I will think about it for a while, and maybe write down a few subtasks. Only when I have a clear action plan in my mind of what I want to do, and how I am going to do it, how long I think it will take, will I then open my computer. I am now focused to complete only those items. As soon as they are done, I shut off my computer again.

The result?

I don’t find myself going to bed frustrated anymore that I have wasted time and got nowhere. I know that each of these little tasks I complete stack up over time. If I do that consistently, these little tasks add up quite quickly and I look back and think, wow I am actually progressing a lot more with all of my products.

Turns out the best way for me to publish more products and content are not tech related at all, but a simple pen and paper activity that enables me to focus better.