How do successful people stay productive? We wanted to know, so the Mailbird team reached out to 18 CEOs, Presidents, Founders, and other high level executives to find out their tricks to getting sh*t done. http://getMailbird.com/

1. 18 Executives Share Their
Secret to Getting Sh*t Done

2. We reached out to 18 Presidents, CEOs,
and Founders with a simple question:
What is your secret to staying
productive?

3. I spend every morning doing the exact same tasks for business. This helps me clear
out important and taxing work very early in my day which gives me a more relaxed
schedule knowing the grunt work is done. I've been doing this for almost a year now
and my life is much easier because of it!
Name: Nick Espinosa
Title: CIO
Company: BSSi2
Twitter: @NickAEsp

4. Have a rule: 1: Daily goal. Notice there is no plural there. Every day there is one goal
that must get done. There are always more and everyone has a long to do list. But
what is the one thing that you must do. The day can never end unless that one goal is
complete.
Name: Eric Narcisco
Title: CEO
Company: EffectiveCoverage.com

5. To increase communication and synergy within my team I incorporated a tool called
Kanban, the Japanese scheduling system to control tasks and logistics. Our entire
organization meets first thing daily to discuss the most urgent tasks and through the
use of sticky notes, a white board and good old fashion verbal communication those
tasks are assigns to the appropriate department to complete.
It is seemingly low tech but the results have proven to be extremely successful in
increasing productivity and organizational flow. Weekly, we assess the
accomplishments and celebrate our achievements, which builds employee morale.
Name: Monica Eaton-Cardone
Title: COO
Company: Chargebacks911
Twitter: @Monica_Eaton

6. Before you leave for the day, write down the single most important thing you need to
do the next day. When you start the next day, do that thing. Do it before email, before
email, before phone calls and before meetings. Stick to just one thing -- make sure the
task is doable in short period of time. This forces you to focus on your most important
tasks before business distractions get in the way.
For example, I recently kept delaying renewing a software support agreement - this
went on for week and our support expired. So I made it my priority. Once I was able to
focus, I completed the task in 30 minutes. There's also a nice confidence boost is
getting your most important thing done before my second cup of espresso.
Name: Jeff Huckaby
Title: CEO
Company: www.rackaid.com

7. My one important rule that I try to stick by is to take five minutes of leisure every hour
to clear my head. Whether this is walking around the block, hanging out at the water
cooler, or reading for pleasure online, it helps me clear my brain and then focus on
money making tasks. Its difficult to be locked in for 8-10 hours a day, so even taking
small breaks will greatly improve your productivity.
Name: Bill Fish
Title: President
Company: ReputationManagement.com

8. Each morning I use the application Momentum to write down my top three priorities for
the day. They are on one of my screens with an inspirational image/quote. Having
these in front of me all day makes a huge difference.
Name: Susan Power
Title: Owner & CEO
Company: HigherTalent.ca
Twitter: @HigherTalent_HR

9. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I set my cell phone timer for five minutes. Then, I
commit to focusing exclusively on the topic at hand for that period of time. By doing
this, I build up momentum and always find that I want to keep going after the timer
goes off.
Focusing on a small, easy step for a short period of time will keep you energized, give
you the feeling of progress, optimism, and control, and cement your identity as
someone who gets stuff done.
Name: Brian Scudamore
Title: CEO
Company: o2ebrands.com
Twitter: @brianscudamore

10. One thing that I find helping a ton is time blocking. So often we all have multiple things
going and when trying to write, code or do something more technical, email can be
distracting. If someone emails me, I don't think they need an absolute immediate
response, it can always 2 hours-so I make sure to not have email open when trying to
concentrate on an important task.
Name: Mark Aselstine
Title: Owner
Company: UncorkedVentures.com
Twitter: @MarkAselstine

11. My habit for keeping myself productive throughout the day is inbox zero by close of
business. Whenever I receive emails, I make sure I reply, ignore, forward etc i.e.
whatever appropriate action is required. Making sure I do this helps me stay on top of
all communication with clients, suppliers etc and make me more productive.
Name: Srajan Mishra
Title: CEO
Company: www.tsi.international
Twitter: @iSrajanM

12. My business entails a lot of communication on IM platforms, which leads to constant
daily interruptions. My strategy to stay productive is to set myself a critical to-do list
and a timer. I cross off each item and log the time it took to complete it. I do not allow
myself to work on anything else that is not urgent until the critical list is completed.
Name: Danay Escanaverino
Title: CEO
Company: lunasolmedia.com
Twitter: @danay

13. One of the most amazing tools I use to stay productive at work is SelfControl. When I
sit down to work I set my app on for 2-4hrs at a time and I put distracting sites on their
blacklist like facebook, twitter, buzzfeed, instagram, ect…. once the app starts running
it won’t allow you to go to those specific sites for as long as the timer is running. This
always helps keep me on task and prevents distractions.
Name: Adelaida Diaz-Roa
Title: COO/Co-Owner
Company: www.ruffitusa.com
Twitter: @ruffit_usa

14. Use BaseCamp!: BaseCamp is an amazing project management tool that we use to
tackle projects. A project doesn’t have to be a project in a traditional sense (like “our
new website”), it could also be a goal, like “get more customer reviews” or “increase
sales”.
We assign team members to-dos, with due dates, explanations etc. It’s a great way of
keeping discussions in one central place, also it enables you to loop ‘outside’ people
(like a freelancer) into a project (all you need to do is provide them with a specific
email address; they have no access to the actual project). It’s super clean and super
easy to use
Name: Patrick Bedford
Title: COO
Company: www.WatchesOnNet.com

15. The most important thing that keeps me productive are setting hard deadlines. If I
know that if something has to be done today or it will fail, it will get done today. This
requires some shuffling around, a bit of lying to yourself about when things are
actually due, and a bit of last minute stress, but for some people (like myself) the
pressure drives you to push through and make it happen.
Use the built-in reminders/checklist apps on your phone and computer to set time/date
based deadlines. I know the little red dots on my phone drive me nuts and remind me
what has to be done and when.
Name: Zack Pennington
Title: CMO
Company: collabramusic.com
Twitter: @zackpennington

16. I map out my day with a list of Projects and the next 5 steps to complete
these projects (does not mean I will complete all steps that day, but at
least I know what is next to keep the projects moving).
Then I make two lists: People I need to contact today, and People I am waiting to
contact me. This helps to know what meetings I have for the day and who to
follow up with if I do not hear back. Lastly, I list out Things I Need to
Do Today - tasks that I want to get done.
It's okay if some carry over to the next day - at least there is a list that I work from. I
have to give full credit to marketing guru Brendon Burchard because this is from his
one page productivity worksheet!
Name: Tasha Mayberry
Title: President
Company: www.socialmedia22.com
Twitter: @SMMSEO22

17. Over the last 10 years of building my company, the most valuable habit I
have found is to set a date. Whatever the task or program, if I make myself
accountable to deliver to people outside my organization on a specific
date, I get it done.
Name: John Andrew Williams
Title: Founder
Company: acedemiclifecoaching.com

18. “Each morning, take 5 minutes to write out a schedule for the day and try your best to
stick to that schedule. Have certain timeframes set aside to check emails, work on
specific projects, etc. When you’re working on specific projects, also keep your email
closed so you do not get distracted. This will really help you, because you will feel
more accomplished when you cross items off of the schedule.
Name: Amanda Henke
Title: Owner
Company: AnnieBs.com

19. “Each morning, take 5 minutes to write out a schedule for the day and try your best to
stick to that schedule. Have certain timeframes set aside to check emails, work on
specific projects, etc. When you’re working on specific projects, also keep your email
closed so you do not get distracted. This will really help you, because you will feel
more accomplished when you cross items off of the schedule.
Name: Amanda Henke
Title: Owner
Company: AnnieBs.com

20. Want to know how you can be more
productive?
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communications platform a try.
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