20 ways to ramp up your business productivity during COVID-19 self-isolation

You can’t turn on the TV, the radio or social media without hearing about COVID-19 and the related social distancing and self-isolation rules and regulations. It’s all getting a bit much at times, but the funny self-iso posts coming out are keeping humour alive!

How are you going? Any funny stories to share?

I’ve been practising self-iso since the 16th March when I felt it was time to ‘assume’ I had the virus (I didn’t) and do the right thing. I would have liked to see our borders closed a bit earlier, and as for THAT ship – the one ship that needed to be stopped! Anyway, back on track…

It’s business as usual this way.

Yes, I’ve been impacted a little by what I call the domino effect. Some clients are affected and therefore don’t need my services as much and so on. But I’m thankful most of my clients still need support in one way or another.

But one super clear thing is that everyone has been impacted to a varying degree, and we’re all cutting expenses where we feel we need to. It’s a hideous time for many of us!

As I’ve worked from home for a while now, I know it’s not always easy to stay motivated. There’s still a cupboard to clean out, kids wanting something (now they’ve been forced to stay home with you), laundry to do, a garden to sit in and read a book, etc.

So rather than harp on about the doom and gloom of this pandemic, I wanted to share some ideas on how you can give your business some extra love while you’re stuck at home in self-isolation. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got an extra bit of time on your hands too.

My 20 top business productivity, boredom-busting self-isolation tips

1. Review and tidy your mailing list(s) – unsubscribe from all the ‘junkie’ ones you’re receiving (I’ve noticed a massive increase in spammy ones)
2. Write your next two newsletters, or more if you get on a roll and schedule them
3. Back-up anything that hasn’t been backed up for a while (this is a great habit to get into)
4. Update your email signature if it’s not been done for a few years
5. Review your files and archive anything old (as dull as this may sound it’ll make things like tax time a heap easier)
6. Write thank you/touching base notes to clients to show you’re still there for them, and appreciate them during this time
7. Read a business book (you’re still allowed to shop online!)
8. Attend webinars or watch TED Talks
9. Brainstorm blog post ideas and write them for the rest of the year
10. Register for a free e-learning course or YouTube tutorial (there are so many special deals on high-quality online courses too if you hunt around)
11. Listen to new podcasts
12. Host a Skype/Zoom coffee (or Friday night wine) catch-up
13. Brainstorm marketing ideas on how you can alter your services to suit the current climate
14. Review your website copy, check that images are loading OK and your contact form works
15. Learn a new program/technology (see below for some ideas)
16. Implement a CRM if you haven’t already (there are a few free ones under a certain number of people or decent paid ones)
17. If you have a CRM undertake some maintenance (check emails are still valid, update business addresses and so on)
18. Follow-up any warm leads to see how they are (a friendly ‘hello, how are you going?’ can often encourage a sale)
19. Check all links on key-touchpoints are working
20. Review your business expenses (what can you cut down on – check if your subscriptions are offering discounts during this time too)

Business productivity tools to explore

I’ve implemented most of the things on my top 20 list. While creating my list, I came across a few new tools that I thought I’d share with you. Check these out:

• Milkshake App. This is an alternative to Linktree for Instagram, a free bio link which you can customise to link to key sales and landing pages.
• Zenkit To-Do. My most favourite To-Do App, Wunderlist, was bought by Microsoft some years ago, and they’re finally closing it down on the 6^th I happen to discover Zenkit To-Do, which is so like Wunderlist – I got very excited. I was able to import my current lists/tasks from Wunderlist directly into Zenkit To-Do, and I’m all set with a new To-Do App. There’s also ZenKit project management, but I use Asana for project management.
• Zoom. Like many, I didn’t have my own Zoom account pre COVID-19. I do now after a fabulous 2-hour chat with clients in the UK on Easter Saturday.

Have you got any business productivity or self-isolation stories to share?

I’d love to hear from you if you’ve got any further ideas you can share with our community. And of course, if you’ve got fun self-iso stories, please let us know so we can share a laugh and brighten our day.