I don’t think a day passes by without me sharing with one of my clients one of my sticky note strategies, so I thought I’d compile my favourite ones, and share these with you today. The reason why these come up often during sessions and talks is that a sticky note (and yes, I’m talking about this small square, often yellow, piece of paper!) is an amazing tool for boosting your productivity.
All of these sticky note ways will work using the original paper version or the electronic ones such as Stickies for MAC or Sticky Notes for PC (two free utilities). And, I know that I’ve written about a clarity brainstorming strategy before, using several packs of sticky notes, in 12 Questions That Lead To Clarity, but where this differs is that each of these only uses ONE sticky note, which in itself is very important as it avoids overwhelm.
ONE Sticky Note To FOCUS
When working with a To Do List, or as I call it an Action List, there is a tendency towards getting overwhelmed as the list continues to grow and grow, despite completing items on it. Having such a list is ok, as long as it is considered as your Master Action List, and is the one you refer to on a weekly/monthly basis to hand pick items that you’ll be focusing on that particular week or month.
Use your ONE Sticky Note per day to handpick 5 actions, and focus on these throughout your day. As an extra distinction, organise your Daily Focus List the day before, so that when you arrive at work on the next day, your Daily Focus List is ready and so are you to start off promptly, efficiently and productively.
ONE Sticky Note To ACHIEVE
This one works hand in hand with the FOCUS one above; an important key with productivity is that you can control your personal productivity, and it is up to you to know and feel when you have been productive throughout your day, as in, made the most out of your day.
Don’t wait for momentum; control it by taking actions! Click to tweet!
Use your ONE Sticky Note per day to write the ONE action that when completed will make you feel like your day was productive. Ask yourself, what is that one action, write it down, and ensure that you start with it (I also do recommend preparing it the night before). Having completed it will boost your productivity as it’ll create a powerful momentum that will support you for the rest of the day.
ONE Sticky Note To ALIGN
Before jumping in into an activity and executing it, it is important to actually double check this activity is aligned with your overall BIG picture. You’d be amazed at the amount of activities that you might be doing that are misaligned with your vision, aspirations and goals, and are taking you away from your path.
Use your ONE Sticky Note to remind you of an important question you should ask yourself for every single activity you are about to undertake: “Does that < insert the activity > bring me closer to my vision, aspirations and goals?” And, if it is not aligned, you know what to do, ditch it as it would hinder your productivity.
ONE Sticky Note To REWARD
Did you know that our brains respond extremely well to rewards? And, it does not only react to monetary rewards, any types of rewards, so it is a great idea to leverage that insight and utilise it in your life, career and business, for yourself and for your teams.
Use your ONE Sticky Note to remind you of the reward you’ll get upon completion. What it is going to be is entirely up to you: treat yourself with a gift, massage, dinner out, movie, book, etc… Being reminded of your reward will encourage and drive you, thus boosting your productivity, as you know what’s coming up upon completion.
ONE Sticky Note To INSPIRE
We all need some cheering up from time to time, particularly when things go wrong, and our energy drops. Managing your state is a great strategy as it helps you be and stay at your top when you need to.
Use your ONE Sticky Note to remind you of the words that someone once told you; it could be from your spouse, from your boss, from your employees, from your clients. Any type of positive feedback and testimonial will work, as it will instantly uplift your spirit, boost your energy, and you’ll produce more.
See, how ONE sticky note can help you towards focus, achievement, alignment, reward, and inspiration? All of these are factors that can maximise your productivity and thanks to these strategies you can boost it day after day.
Productivity is paramount to getting and accelerating your results. So, it has everything to do with your success in life, career and business. The more productive you are, the better you perform and the better you achieve.
Use these from today onwards: your productivity will go up, thus, you’ll perform better and achieve more. See it as paving your way to success one sticky note at a time!
What do you think? Which one(s) of these are you going to apply from today onwards? Which one(s) are you already using?
Please leave a comment and join the below conversation!
Until next time 
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To your Mountain Moving Mindset,
Frederique
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Comments received via Twitter and LinkedIn:
@IrishSmiley Very creative method of focusing activity and staying positive. Will give you feedback when implemented. 🙂
— Susan Gardner (@SEGStaffing) July 15, 2013
https://twitter.com/cjmmom0416/status/350380637250785280
@irishsmiley I think it's a great idea 🙂 I could sure do with getting a bit more productive
— Linda Ursin (@LindaUrsin) July 9, 2013
@IrishSmiley pleasure. Already use the put key tasks for the day on a single sticky note. Then i pop it in front of my keyboard Great advice
— SpinLessPlates (@SpinLessPlates) June 28, 2013
@IrishSmiley we're like kindred post it notes spirits separated by a sea 🙂
— SpinLessPlates (@SpinLessPlates) June 28, 2013
https://twitter.com/nithingowda403/status/350527866938728448
@IrishSmiley I must do – esp. see the benefit of pinning up the one action that, when completed, will mean the day was fairly productive
— Brian Donnellan (@TheOneImage) July 15, 2013
ToDo List TooLong? No fancy day planner software needed. Sticky-Note Simplification Strategy. http://t.co/rlRmix61B1
— etc!graphics, inc. (@etcgraphics) July 3, 2013
@IrishSmiley The note for inspiration was spot on. I use the strategy in 3's rather than 5's. The trick is asking questions to get the 3.
— Tom Coleman (@Tom__Coleman) June 28, 2013
@IrishSmiley It's process. It's the frame. Get the right solution. 3 is easier (impact). UR right when problem solved. Next 3. Move forward.
— Tom Coleman (@Tom__Coleman) June 28, 2013
@irishsmiley You're welcome Frederique & committing to finishing one thing that will make you feel your day was productive is great advice.
— Eamonn O'Brien (@TheReluctantSC) July 1, 2013
@IrishSmiley I've started using your ideas already. Admittedly, I may be a sticky note hoarder. Love 'em! So more uses, the better!
— Dale Burt (@ConflictBeGone) July 15, 2013
@IrishSmiley "Productivity is paramount to getting & accelerating your results" ~ 'great blog as always thank you' 🙂
— Andrew Bell (@AndrewBell_ROI) July 3, 2013
@irishsmiley YES! I'm definitely going to try your idea for a streamlined to-do list using one post-it note (I'm already a post-it addict!)
— Debora Dennis (@DeboraDennis) June 28, 2013
