How do you track your productivity?

"Over the long run, the unglamorous habit of frequency fosters both productivity and creativity."

- Gretchen Rubin

Losing Track of the Boss

As a small business owner, the freedom of not having a direct boss comes with a catch -- am I actually being productive?  With no one but myself to answer to, it's easy to lose track of time and tasks.

As a service based business, my clients and calendar drive my weeks and months, but there is a lot to do when it comes to managing all the facets of a business by yourself. 

Four Minute Journal

Last month, I decided to add another layer of accountability to my day and bought a "Four Minute Journal." The journal is designed to keep you mindful of what you are grateful for and help you monitor your feelings.  I will admit, after a week of writing daily notes about "I am grateful for," I got bored.

Habit Tracker

The standout feature of the journal, is the "Habit Tracker." It allows me to visually track my daily habits over the entire month. For August I focused on my exercise (or lack of), reading (walking the dog 3-4 times helps!), website updates (to keep Google happy), studio usage (since I'm paying more rent!), and how often I post on my social media platforms (trying to stay top of your mind.)

August By The Numbers

So what happened in August?

  - It was the first official month in my new studio and according to my new habit tracker - I spent ten days in August in studio resulting in:

• 19 headshots
• 2 Military portrait sessions
• 1 Senior Portrait session

While it may appear I only worked 15 out of the 31 days in August, my spouse quickly reminded me that on those other 17 days, I was processing, editing and administrating all that productivity.

- Out of the five events, 3 were Veteran related and 2 were community focused.

- I was pleasantly surprised to see that I kept up my social media presence for 26 days through my IG Stories, and LI/FB/Blog posts.

- I wasn't surprised that my self-care was lacking, which honestly was the main reason for implementing the habit tracker.

Keep It Simple

This simple chart kept me honest and focused, and quickly proved to me that tracking productivity doesn't have to be complicated. 

Let me know in the comments how you track your productivity.