Why I’m sharing business tips

I’ve established my business as a consultant, speaker, facilitator and ICF coach over the last few years. There are so many products I wish I’d used from the very beginning. They would have saved me so much time and energy, in addition to boosting my productivity and streamlining the processes I use. In this Business Tips blog series, I’m going to share examples of helpful resources for other entrepreneurs who encounter similar challenges. All product opinions are my own; no-one is paying me to promote their product.

Today’s recommendation: Focus Matrix - Task Manager

Focus Matrix is an app which helps you to prioritise your tasks based on the Eisenhower Method. In the app, you categorise your tasks by urgency and importance. Very simply, anything classed as urgent has a deadline. An important task is something which will move your business forward, or move you toward achieving your goals.

The problem it solved for me

I started using the Be Focused timer (which I wrote about in this blog) which was helpful initially but I tended to start at the top of my list of tasks and work down. So the tasks towards the bottom of the list were pretty neglected. As these tasks included some longer term business development goals, this was a problem! Using Focus Matrix was brilliant because it made me realise how much time I spent each day on tasks which were not important for my business (quite a lot of time, as it turned out).

How I use it

I add absolutely everything I have to do, no matter how big or small, as a task on Focus Matrix in the relevant quadrant. Doing this makes it very easy for me to prioritise tasks and it’s definitely made me more productive. I start my day by referring to Focus Matrix to decide which tasks I need to complete or start.

Similar to Be Focused Pro, I use the reports to check in on my productivity. The available reports are slightly better for me, in that I can see the breakdown of my time in a week/day/month by the category of tasks. This very quickly allows me to see how much time I spend on the important/urgent tasks.

Benefits of using Focus Matrix - Task Manager

1. It’s built on the effectiveness of Be Focused Pro to increase and maintain my productivity.

2. It helps me to incorporate those tasks which are important but not urgent. The tasks in this quadrant drive business but tend to be neglected, so it’s great to have an app which provides a constant reminder of those tasks.

3. It’s a visual aid which allows me to prioritise tasks at a glance. To make it even easier to prioritise, I add tags to each task and can then filter by tags. I can also filter by done/undone tasks.

4. It’s fully integrated with Be Focused Pro: you can sync tasks so they appear on both apps and start the Be Focused Pro timer from inside Focus Matrix.