Why is digital coaching so powerful and effective?

Digital coaching is powerful and effective because it allows you to communicate with your coach every day. This is far different from the traditional model of meeting weekly or monthly to discuss your progress.

When you hire a productivity coach, you’re giving yourself daily access to someone who can provide accountability and support your goals.

Here’s what you can expect from daily communication with your productivity coach.

Digital coaching provides accountability & daily communication 

Imagine how it would feel to begin each morning:

• With a clear plan for achieving your most important priorities.

• With a sense of calm, knowing you have time to do everything meaningful to you.

Habits do not form overnight.

They take time, practice, and consistency.

Your first step after hiring a productivity coach is to create and maintain a daily communication cadence with your coach. This daily communication creates accountability toward achieving your daily priorities and goals. 

As you work with your productivity coach each day, you will become clearer about what you want to achieve and the steps necessary to get there. As you communicate what you will focus on with your time and energy each day. And you begin taking action. You will start to feel a greater sense of purpose and build momentum each day. 

Having daily access to your productivity coach not only helps you stay accountable but also keeps you progressing towards your goals over time.

I encourage my clients to be proactive with their time instead of reactive. I want them to plan and prioritize each day so they can spend more time on the activities most important to them. That requires clarity and focus. 

Build the habit of prioritizing your time

As I’m sure you know, priorities are areas of your life that are important and meaningful to you. They’re projects you’re focusing on — whether at work or home — activities you want to do, or relationships you want to nurture.

When you work with a productivity coach, you might be asked to share your priorities each day. This is something I ask of my clients.

Why?

It guarantees daily communication, and more importantly, it builds the habit of prioritizing your time. Also, by sending me your top three priorities every day, you’re more inclined to act on them.

Below are some guiding questions to help prioritize your day:

• If I could achieve one thing today, what would it be?

• What could I complete today that would make me happy when reflecting on my day?

• What can I do that will move me closer to achieving my goals?

• What can I do to remove stress from my life?

• Is there a task I’m avoiding that I should complete today?

Every productivity coach has their own coaching method and communication style. What’s important is that you and your coach establish a consistent communication pattern.  

Now is the time to unleash your full potential

Let this year be the year you learn to tackle those obstacles that have built up over the past year.

Learn more about how productivity coaching can transform your productivity here.

Begin your transformation with a complimentary copy of my book and audiobook.

Before Hiring a Productivity Coach Try these Tips and Tools.

Hiring a productivity coach can feel like a big commitment. If you’re unsure a productivity coach is right for you, give these productivity and time-management apps and other tools a try.

To hold yourself accountable.

Focusmate.

Focusmate is a free resource that connects you with a virtual accountability partner. Perfect for independent workers such as freelancers, entrepreneurs, and more. 95.5% of members saw an increase in productivity and a procrastination reduction. 

Ask a friend to be your accountability partner.

If a virtual companion isn’t your style, you can always lean on a friend. Never underestimate the power a friend or family member can have on holding you accountable. Tell them how often to check in on your progress and if need be, show them what you’ve accomplished.

Google Calendar.

Use this free resource offered by Google to block time to accomplish your top priorities. This can be a life-changing habit and is one I swear by. Never forget another task or appointment again.

Books about productivity (and motivation)

Digital library books.

Check with your local library about downloading free books to get inspired. Getting Things Done by David Allen is a time-management classic, or if you need a little motivation, a couple of my favorites include You’re A Badass by Jen Sincero and The 10x Rule by Grant Cardone.

The Purposeful Planning Method.

Grab a copy of my book or audiobook, it’s available free on my site. In it, you’ll learn how the world’s most successful people plan their day and how to use your morning and evening habits to your advantage. I provide a specific methodology for approaching your day more effectively.

For keeping your schedule under control

ScheduleOnce.

I love ScheduleOnce! It adds a booking page to your website. This lets clients schedule appointments in seconds. Save the hassle of going back and forth in email. This is a lifesaver. I literally couldn’t run my business without it. 

I have clients who use similar tools like, Calendly, which also seems like a great scheduling solution.

ChatOnce.

This is a new widget that can be installed on any website, it’s from OnceHub, the same company that built ScheduleOnce. Add the widget to your website and let a bot schedule your appointments. It keeps links secure, and syncs all invites to your calendar.

Project Management and good old fashion note-taking

Trello. 

Trello is an easy, free, flexible, and visual way to manage your projects and organize anything. I’ve recently embraced Trello to help with project management, and I’m really liking it. 

Pen and paper.

Keep a notebook and pen close by. This works wonders when you need to jot down ideas and things you don’t want to forget. Make it a habit every morning to list your top priorities for the day. Start with your top three and continue from there. Keeping them in your line of sight gives you a better chance of getting them done.

Evernote.

This free tool helps you get your ideas out of your head, so you’re not trying to remember them. Save, sync, and share to all your devices for quick access. They even have notebooks. Take a picture with your phone, and the app will automatically transfer the notes to your account.

Now is the time to unleash your full potential

Let this year be the year you learn to tackle those obstacles that have built up over the past year.

Learn more about how productivity coaching can transform your productivity here.

Begin your transformation with a complimentary copy of my book and audiobook.

How To Get Motivated

Having clarity about your goals and top priorities each day will help you accomplish what you want each day. But sometimes, even if you are clear about your priorities, finding the motivation to take action can be a challenge. This is why I'm sharing two very important secrets about finding motivation so that you can defeat procrastination with this blog post. They are simple secrets that have worked well for me. Put them into practice, and you will accomplish more and procrastinate less. 

Need more motivation? Try these two secrets.

The first secret: Motivation follows action.

The most successful people in the world understand something: motivation follows taking action. Not the other way around.

I talk about this concept in my book; it's one of the topics people reach out to me about the most once they've read it.

For some reason, we all incorrectly believe that in order to take action, we need to feel motivated. And so, we keep looking for that motivation, but we don't know where to look. Waiting for motivation before you act is a recipe for never starting.

Once you start, trust motivation will follow.

Remember that motivation to do a task is almost always followed by starting the task. Not the other way around. So don't wait for motivation to begin. You will typically only feel motivated after getting started. Does that make sense? Trust that your motivation will follow after you start.

Here's an example. I experience this almost daily with working out. I never feel like working out (until I've been doing it for 10-15 minutes) then I begin to feel motivated to continue (and actually begin to enjoy the workout). But I would have never felt that if I didn't start working out. So my motivation to workout was followed by starting my workout. Motivation only came because I took action first.

Motivation follows action.

Think about how many people say they want to pursue one of their dreams (writing a book, starting a business, or finding a new job), but they will start when they feel motivated. Unfortunately, most people will never pursue their goals because the motivation won't come until they act.

It's critical not to wait until you feel motivated. Trust yourself. Trust your motivation to follow once you begin. That is the secret of all secrets.

The second secret: Tie your daily tasks to your broader goals.

Another secret. It's just as simple and just as effective as the first one.

Even if we have clarity about our goals, ambitions, and priorities, we often forget that the small things we do each day contribute to those goals. If you're struggling with a small task, try to tie it to your broader ambitions and the larger outcomes you want to create in your life.

To illustrate this, I'll tell you about a client I recently had a meeting with. He said to me that one of his priorities at the moment was to change out one of the car seats for his kids. His wife reminds him that he has to do it, and he wants to do it, but he keeps leaving it for another time and not getting it done.

In situations like this take 20 seconds and think, "Why is this important? Why does this car seat have to get changed out?" For my client, one of the most important things in his life is taking care of his children, of his family, and letting them know that he is there for them. A simple, mundane task such as changing out a car seat will contribute to this larger goal. This task didn't have much significance until he was able to identify why and how it was tied to his broader goal of taking care of his children and family. After recognizing that it was easier for him to take action.

This change of perspective results in feeling more accomplished when you accomplish seemingly small tasks.

Recapping two motivational secrets.

And that's it! You are now armed with two secret weapons that can instantly change your attitude and your productivity for the better. 

When you know you have to get something done, but you're struggling with it, remember these two things.

#1 Don't wait until you feel motivated in order to take action. Take action first, and trust that the motivation will follow.

#2 Connect small tasks to your broader goals.

Now is the time to unleash your full potential

Let this year be the year you learn to tackle those obstacles that have built up over the past year.

Learn more about how productivity coaching can transform your productivity here.

Begin your transformation with a complimentary copy of my book and audiobook.

It’s safe to say we’re looking forward to a new year in a way we never have before. This year has been difficult in a lot of new ways. For many, it even became harder to prioritize our goals. We learned to deal with a new reality we still haven’t fully adjusted to. And if you’re looking for a fresh start, you should consider making a shift that could make a big impact for you.

Hire a productivity coach

Accepting you need help in the area of goal-setting and productivity is nothing to be ashamed of. Think of it as the first step to bettering your life and achieving your goals. 

What are the benefits of hiring a productivity coach? The personal transformation created by working with a productivity coach can be life-changing, but let’s get more specific.

You’ll find focus and clarity

The most important thing a productivity coach can help you with is creating focus and clarity about what you want to achieve with your time and energy each day. 

A productivity coach can help ensure you begin each day with clear priorities. As you know, priorities are simply areas of your life that are important and meaningful to you. Priorities are typically projects you're focusing on at work or home, activities you want to do, or relationships you want to nurture. 

By determining your priorities each day and beginning your day with focus and clarity you reduce procrastination and position yourself for success.

Boost your confidence and maintain control

Confidence leads to productivity. When you’re confident, you feel capable of tackling anything.

Mindset is everything when it comes to building confidence. Visualizing yourself in a positive manner, you're increasing your chances of succeeding.

When your confidence increases, you feel more in control of your success. Your goals and projects become more attainable. You find more time to do the things you want.

Here are five ways you can start boosting your confidence today:

1. Think positive.

2. Remove negative thoughts.

3. Plan and prepare.

4. Set small and achievable goals.

5. Focus on solutions.

As your confidence grows, so will your ability to execute each day on what you choose.  With a positive mindset, your confidence and control will help you succeed. A productivity coach can help bring you to that next level.

Achieve your goals and have more freedom

You have goals. Everyone has goals. But achieving those goals is challenging. You know what you want to do, but don’t have the time to do it.

When you work with a productivity coach, their mission is to help you achieve those goals. Accomplishing goals is an instant confidence booster. 

Managing your time is the number one thing you have to learn in order to achieve your goals. A productivity coach teaches you how to manage your time better.

Be proactive and less reactive

If you’ve felt unmotivated these past few months, you’re not alone. This pandemic brought out the proactive person within us or the reactive person.

What’s the difference?

Those who became proactive used this time to pick up a new skill. Learn a new hobby. They organized. They set out to accomplish goals. They did whatever they could to keep a positive mindset.

Those who became reactive used this time to rest and recharge. But this R&R lasted longer than planned. Now they’re finding it difficult to switch back into a proactive mindset.

A productivity coach can help you focus on what needs to get done and help you create habits and rituals you’ll use every morning to approach the day proactively.

Daily habits and consistent rituals are key to accomplishing your goals

You might know these as the morning, afternoon, or evening routines. People who do the same morning routine everyday use it to set themselves up for success. Productivity coaches teach you how to create habits that work for you and your life.

Everyone has different habits or rituals. Some of us need that giant cup of coffee to get going. Others need a ten-minute meditation. A productivity coach helps you create the habits you want. 

Hiring a productivity coach is your gift to yourself. If you want to create more clarity in your life, increase your confidence, and achieve your goals, productivity coaches are a great resource.

Now is the time to unleash your full potential

Let this year be the year you learn to tackle those obstacles that have built up over the past year.

Learn more about how productivity coaching can transform your productivity here.

Begin your transformation with a complimentary copy of my book and audiobook.

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I've been asked recently by many new clients about why I ask for their top-3 priorities each day. Here are the three main reasons. I figured I would share this with all clients, since you may have also wondered about this. We're trying to create a virtuous cycle of momentum and daily forward progress with your top-3. Here's how and why we do that:

First, we know, clarity is necessary to perform at your peak.

So, it's critical to be clear about what you want to achieve with your time and energy. By determining your top-3 priorities, you create clarity for yourself.

Second, we recognize your motivation is earned each day.

By taking action on your top-3 priorities, you create motivation for yourself. Contrary to what most people believe, motivation is created by taking action. You do not feel motivated and then act. You act, and then your motivation follows. To prove this. Consider a time you didn't want to go for a run, but regardless of that feeling, you fought through and started running anyway. And then 20 minutes into the run, you feel great, almost euphoric, and you think to yourself, "I can't believe I almost didn't run today; this has been the best part of my day." That's an example of motivation following action. If you waited around to feel like running, you would have NEVER started the run, the motivation to run followed running.

This works similarly to working on any challenging task or activity. If you can begin to trust your motivation to follow after you start a task or activity, you'll have a massive advantage for the rest of your life. By completing your top priorities each day, you teach yourself how taking action creates motivation. And you learn it's a process that you can rely on.

Lastly, we know success creates more success.

After setting your top-3 priorities and taking action on them day-after-day, you will start feeling like you are making progress. Once you feel like you're progressing - momentum starts to build. Because you've begun to prove to yourself that you can take action and accomplish whatever you want each day. Even if the priority is a seemingly small task, this cycle of (clarity-taking action-creating motivation for yourself-accomplishing the priority) still creates incremental progress (that you recognize as success).

This success leads to more self-confidence and a belief that you can execute on whatever you choose. And when you realize that, you can accomplish just about anything you want. That's why I like to see your top-3 priorities each morning. And that's how setting priorities has helped so many of my clients achieve incredible success. Because over time, when you follow the process (and you trust yourself enough to start on and do the work) you create an unstoppable cycle of executing day-after-day-after-day. And that daily execution adds up. And that builds your self-confidence to take more action - and set bigger goals for yourself. And those bigger goals lead to more focused needle-moving priorities each day, which leads to more success for you. And that's how it works. That's why I love to see your top-3 every morning—that's why I never want to start my day without knowing my top-3.

It's not always easy, it's not always fun.

But the process works if you're willing to put in the work.

Let me know if you have any specific questions or concerns.

Now is the time to unleash your full potential

Let this year be the year you learn to tackle those obstacles that have built up over the past year.

Learn more about how productivity coaching can transform your productivity here.

Begin your transformation with a complimentary copy of my book and audiobook.

Is fear killing your productivity?

Have you ever been held back from creating something because you were worried someone may not like it? I know I have.

Here’s a tip for overcoming that fear. I call it the math of trolls, it’s based on the idea that someone is 100% guaranteed to not like what you create. Consider the criticism of the following well-known authors and musicians. Regardless of how well received a song, album, or book is by their intended audience, it always receives negative feedback.

Some examples include:

Walden, the literary American classic by Henry David Thoreau exploring nature and its simplicity, harmony, and beauty, currently has 124 one-star reviews on Amazon. Including this particularly harsh feedback:

• “What a blowhard.”

• “What a yawn!”

• “Tough read, it was extremely boring.”

• “I was not impressed.”

• “…the book is crap.”

• “I was bored to death.”

• “Hated it.”

• “Boring.”

The Beatles receive equally harsh feedback for their classic album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, named the number one album of all time by the Rolling Stone.

• “I just don't get why anybody likes this album!”

• “Most of the songs are worthless, stupid, and dull.”

• “Incredibly mundane.”

• “Not only is it a bad album, it is also a boring one.”

• “CRAP!!!!!!!”

Thriller, the top-grossing album of all-time by Michal Jackson receives the following feedback:

• “This album is overrated.”

• “With the exception of ‘Billie Jean’ the album is a dud.”

• “Nothing special.”

Led Zeppelin sold over 23 million copies of Led Zeppelin IV, and receives these remarks:

• “I can't believe people think this is good music.”

• “One of the worst bands of the 70's.”

• “This album represents the musicians attempting a level of art they weren't capable of reaching, and the results are spectacularly crass and mindless.”

Dr. Dre’s debut album, The Chronic, which is widely regarded as one of the most well-produced hip-hop albums of all time received the following critiques:

• “This album sucks!”

• “One of the worst albums & rappers ever.”

• “The worst CD that I have ever heard in my life.”

I understand the lyrics of The Chronic could offend listeners, and that may be why reviewers feel adamant about sharing their negative feeling towards it. But that doesn’t explain the negative reaction to this YouTube version of Patti Griffin’s song Heavenly Day (it’s basically an ode to relaxing and lyrically one of the least offensive songs I could find). Thirty viewers have publicly thumbed it down. I understand some people may not like this style of music (and they are certainly entitled to an opinion) but it seems like a stretch to publicly want to show distaste for it.

My point is, and this is something I reinforce daily with clients: Prior to beginning the creative process for your project (regardless if it’s a song, book, app, painting, starting a restaurant, building a business, or anything else) establish who it’s for and declare it’s not for everyone. Understand before you start working there is a 100% chance someone will not appreciate it. No matter how brilliant or prolific, your work will be criticized and disliked.

Initially, this seems scary or at least concerning and can paralyze the creative process. But what if you use it to do the opposite?

Could you use it:

• As fuel to do your most creative work by ensuring you don’t dull it down to satisfy the masses?

• To ensure you focus on creating something special that will particularly resonate with your target audience?

• To ease the blow when your first critical feedback is received? (After all, you expected it. It was part of the plan. You saw it coming.)

Everyone’s not going to like what you make. Make it anyway.  

Seeking an outside perspective occasionally is helpful but a constant need for approval is harmful in many ways. Leading you to not achieve your goals or reach your potential.

The benefits of “letting go” from what other people think can have a significant impact on your personal and professional life.

Here are a few reasons to worry less about what other people think of you or your work.

• Seeking permission and waiting for approval slows you down.

  Every moment you spend searching for approval or trying to gain permission is a moment you are not working, building, and completing the work you want to do. It’s holding you back from your ambitions, goals, and desire to make an impact.

• Your self-worth needs to be tied to something more stable.

  You can’t count on the opinions of others to make you happy. People’s beliefs, likes and dislikes change frequently. Humans are emotional and to measure your ideas by another person’s opinion is to tie yourself to the randomness of how someone may be feeling when you ask for their perspective.

• You are looking for self-acceptance.

  The reason we want approval is to confirm that we are on the right path, doing the right thing, and acting the right way. But only you can convince yourself of that. Empty approval from your boss, clients, friends, or parents won’t lead to the peace of mind you’re looking for.

• People have different goals.

  Be careful of the opinions of people who have significantly different desires than you do. Also, keep in mind, what you are looking to achieve may be very different from the people whom you are seeking an opinion from. 

• The people we respect and admire aren’t approval seekers.

  Think of someone you admire. Why are you attracted to them? Likely, it’s because they’re presenting something that is true to themselves. They didn’t get that way by appeasing everyone they met.

• It’s freeing.

  When you let go of the compulsion to seek approval from others you will be free to do your best work without worrying what other people will think of it.

Remember, everyone’s not going to like what you make, that’s the way it is. I would encourage you to make it anyway.  

Now is the time to unleash your full potential

Let this year be the year you learn to tackle those obstacles that have built up over the past year.

Learn more about how productivity coaching can transform your productivity here.

Begin your transformation with a complimentary copy of my book and audiobook.

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My goal with the blog is to provide as much value as I can (for free) to the readers of the blog. I’ll be sharing productivity strategies and time-management tips to help you spend more time on the projects, activities, and relationships that are most important and meaningful to you.

For those who don’t know me. My name is Matt East, I’m a productivity author, podcast host and coach. I believe being productive isn’t about doing more – just for the sake of doing more. I think it’s the opposite. Productivity is about having clarity about what you want to do, so you can spend more time and focus on what’s most important and meaningful to you.

Who is The Productivity Blog for?

This blog is for anyone who wants to spend more time on the projects, activities, and relationships that are most important and meaningful to them. We’ll be cover a lot of topics including:

• How to end procrastination.

• How to determine your weekly and daily priorities.

• How to clarify where you should focus your time and energy each day.

• How to organize your thoughts and ideas.

• How to replace feelings of confusion with clarity and focus.

• How to feel in control of your time.

• How to stop feeling overwhelmed.

• How to clarify your short and long-term goals.

• How to adopt the habits of your best self.

• How to track progress towards your goals.

• How to find more time to do the projects and activities you want to.

• How to take more action.

• How to adopt strategies and techniques to help achieve your priorities.

Productivity Resources available for you right now.

Although I can’t wait to share new ideas with you, this website is already packed with resources to help you become more productive. Here are a a few:

If you’re not sure where to start, I would suggest reading or listening to my book, The Purposeful Planning Method, you can sign up for a free copy here.

You can also access the web version and each chapter of the book here:

• INTRODUCTION

• CHAPTER 1, Why You Should Read This Book

• CHAPTER 2, What is The Purposeful Planning Method?

• CHAPTER 3, Why Does This Method Work So Effectively?

• CHAPTER 4, The Fluid Layer

• CHAPTER 5, The Habit Layer

• CHAPTER 6, The 10-Day Purposeful Planning Challenge

• CHAPTER 7, Common Questions

• CHAPTER 8, Motivation to Begin

Guide: Remaining Productive During Uncertain Times

You can also find 9 Tips for staying focused, calm and rational during uncertain times in this guide for Staying Productive During Uncertain Times.

The Goal Achievement Podcast

You can access all episodes of my podcast, The Goal Achievement Podcast here, The podcast is designed to help you find clarity, design a plan, and most importantly achieve your goals.

What is productivity coaching and who is it for?

Curious about productivity coaching and want to learn more? You’re in the right spot. Find out what Productivity Coaching is, who uses it, how long it takes to see results. Learn more here.

Now is the time to unleash your full potential

Let this year be the year you learn to tackle those obstacles that have built up over the past year.

Learn more about how productivity coaching can transform your productivity here.

Begin your transformation with a complimentary copy of my book and audiobook.