Hope your festive break was a good one! Whether you managed to switch off entirely or found yourself sneaking peeks at emails between mouthfuls of holiday treats (no judgment here!), it’s time to face 2025 head-on.
I’ve been using the quiet holiday period to think about how we can all make our work and personal lives easier this year. You know how it goes—we’re all in the thick of it, juggling campaigns, wrestling with those ever-changing KPIs, trying to keep multiple stakeholders happy, and coordinating with three different agency partners, all while your inbox fills up with urgent requests.
Over my break, I spent time with my cousin Wendy Cole, a fantastic Productivity & Leadership Coach.
Let’s Get Real About Multitasking (Spoiler: It’s Not Your Friend)
- Block out your time like you mean it: I’ve started dedicating specific hours to different tasks, significantly improving my productivity.
- Keep it simple: Close those extra tabs (yes, even that interesting article you’re “going to read later”). This has been a game-changer for me. When you’re deep in campaign metrics, that’s all you should look at.
Four Simple Steps to Better Workflow
I’ve adapted Wendy’s “Four Ps of Productivity” framework specifically for our industry – here’s how we can put her wisdom to work:
- Pick Your Battles: What will have the biggest impact on your teams, stakeholders, and partners? Start there.
- Get It On Paper: Map out your week, but leave room for those unexpected requests (we all know they’re coming!).
- Guard Your Focus Time: It’s okay to turn off Notifications for an hour – really!
- Celebrate Small Wins: Those incremental improvements add up – whether it’s better stakeholder feedback, smoother processes, or hitting those quarterly targets. Take a moment to acknowledge progress.
Tying Up Those Loose Ends
You know that nagging feeling when you’ve got unfinished tasks floating around? Let’s fix that:
- Keep a running list of what’s pending from various stakeholders and partners. I am loving Google Tasks right now as a simple way to allocate tasks across the week.
- Define clear “done” points for each project phase.
- Actually, stick to those handoff processes we all talk about
What’s Working for Me Right Now
- Power Hours: I am most productive after lunch, so I turn off my notifications and bunker down without distractions. Find your golden hours and protect them fiercely.
- Clear Boundaries: I have always tried to be upfront about deadlines and response times and have found that people appreciate knowing what to expect.
- Tech Check: If a tool isn’t making your life easier, let it go. We get caught up in trends, and sometimes, all they do is take us down a rabbit hole.
Moving Forward Together
One of Wendy Cole’s most powerful messages is about making sustainable changes rather than trying to overhaul everything at once. She’s right – 2025 isn’t about working ourselves into the ground. It’s about being smarter with our time so we can deliver amazing results while still having a life outside of work (yes, that exists!).
Quick Actions for This Week
- Take an honest look at your process – where are you trying to do too much at once?
- Try time-blocking for just one week (I dare you!)
- Pick three hanging tasks and get them done
- Schedule actual breaks (your brain will thank you).
How Media Words Has Your Back in 2025
Ready to make 2025 your most productive year yet? Let’s chat about how we can support your media goals. Whether you need a complete campaign overhaul or want to bounce around some ideas, my calendar is open for conversation.
And if productivity is a goal, drop Wendy an email wendy.cole@imastery.com.au or connect on LinkedIn. Wendy brings clarity, focus, and leadership to the table. Her coaching and training will give you (and your team) the tools to own your time and thrive.
