Coffee Powered Systems

Having an email inbox over flowing with unwanted messages is no fun - not to mention a time suck. Why do we torture ourselves with sifting through a pile of messages we don’t want? If this sounds like you, here’s a plan for you to tackle this weekend so you can take back control of your inbox. Discussed In This Episode: Reasons why you might stay on someone’s email list Why you should just unsubsc...

If you are in need of a landing page builder, or if you are ready to start a website but not quite ready to jump into the world of hosting and building, there’s a new AppSumo deal on the market that could be perfect for you. Find out more and grab this deal while it lasts! Links Mentioned In This Episode: Swipe Pages (deal from AppSumo) Swipe Pages website 002: AppSumo: The Treasure Trove of Softw...

Happy Tuesday! It’s election day in the United States and with the amount of stress we’ve all been through this year, I want you to think about the things that ground you and bring you to your safe space. Honor your personal boundaries and don’t be afraid to voice them to your immediate circle. This election day, think about the things you can do for yourself to keep you grounded as we find out wh...

Part 2! Listen to part 1 here (episode 37) → https://www.mirandamerten.com/37 Not all apps are created equal. Sometimes you need a simple note-taking system or to-do list, other times you’d prefer a full-blown project management software. Maybe you need time tracking or collaboration. So what tools do you use for what tasks in your business? This will vary from business to business because we all...

Episode 39. Sarah Torres-Ferrick joins me for my first interview of the show to talk all things growing a team in your small business. Are you ready to expand your team — whether that means taking on a couple of employees or just dipping your toes in the water by hiring a freelancer? Tune in, cause this episode is for you as Sarah tells us what we need to know before diving in. Discussed In This E...

Episode 38. How do you brainstorm? Are you a visual person? Mind mapping might be the thing you need if your head feels like there are ideas and thoughts flying through it all the time. In this Tip Tuesday, I share with you how I use SimpleMind for a mind mapping process so you can explore if it might work for you. Links Mentioned In This Episode: SimpleMind Other Helpful Links: Free Productivity...

Episode 37. Not all apps are created equal. Sometimes you need a simple note-taking system or to-do list, other times you’d prefer a full-blown project management software. Maybe you need time tracking or collaboration. So what tools do you use for what tasks in your business? This will vary from business to business because we all have different needs and we’re at different stages, but the key is...

Episode 34. Finally achieve your goals by shielding yourself from distractions. Serene prompts you to set one goal per day and break that goal into clearly defined intervals of focused work and regular breaks. Download the Chrome extension, select the websites you want to block & when you are ready to work, start your 20-60 minute focus session. Block apps like Slack and Skype during your acti...

Episode 35. Ready to grow your team, or at the bare minimum get help for specified tasks? Start with Fiverr. I have found some gem freelancers on Fiverr and if you are looking for some simple tasks or need to scale your team, you might just find your diamond in the rough. Links Mentioned In This Episode: Fiverr milenaduric - did my social media graphics + highly recommended! conceptz_pro - designe...

Episode 34. Do you find yourself writing the same things over and over again when you respond to emails? Whether it’s in response to an inquiry about working with you, prices, frequently asked questions, or appearing on your podcast? You should have canned emails set up for these situations. It might not seem like it takes a lot of time, but if you really pay attention to how much time you spend w...

Episode 33. If you are still looking for a place to keep your central business hub, Etch could be a great option. It reminds me of a simpler version of Notion. Easier to create pages, collaborate with your teammates, start from complete scratch or use some of their templates to give you ideas. Currently free forever, try it out and let me know what you think! Links Mentioned In This Episode: Etch...

Episode 32. Running a business is a lot. Like it can be full on - am I right? There’s so much to remember, but that doesn’t mean it all has to stay in our head. The best way for you to get and stay organized is to create a centralized hub where you keep all of your standard operating procedures (SOPs). Not only does this help you save time when doing recurring tasks, it helps you prep your busines...

Episode 31. What are you using to invoice your clients and customers? I've got a super simple tool, easy to set up, that you can use for invoicing, time tracking, expense reporting, sales and invoice reports, and more! Links Mentioned In This Episode: Online Invoices Other Helpful Links: Free Productivity Power Pack Website Instagram (@mirandamerten) For Full Show Notes https://www.mirandamerten.c...

Episode 30. This is just a quick episode because I want to pose a question to you and I want you to start thinking about your current setup - are you prepared? This month it’s all about organization and I’m going to talk all about how you can set up your business and systems to make it work for you. Specifically, if you got hit by a bus tomorrow, would your team be able to pick up where you left o...

Episode 29. When you have crazy long links for your blog posts, podcast episodes, offers, and affiliate links, you want to be able to have a way to easily share them with your audience. Trying to remember a long, cumbersome link (multiple!) is difficult, and Pretty Links makes it easy to shorten your links into memorable URLs. Tune in to learn why this is important for your business and your audie...

Episode 28. If you’ve tried time blocking but it didn’t work, I’m going to walk through the steps - cause it’s more than just blocking “work time” on your calendar and hoping you get everything done. Find out why it works (and who it might not work for) and follow the steps in this episode to create your own schedule. Before you start, you'll want to know these 3 things: What are your goals - what...

Episode 27. Sometimes we need a little help and motivation to keep track of our habits or follow our routines. I've got 2 apps today that will help you "not break the chain", and build (or break!) those habits. Mentioned in this episode: Routinery The Done App 026: Creating Pre-Work and Post-Work Routines to Help Define Your Workday  Other Helpful links: Website Instagram (@mirandamerten) Sen...

Episode 026. Do your days tend to run long and always seem to run into each other? You might need to establish some definitive routines to help signal the start and end of your work day. In this week's episode, I discuss why it might help you to establish a pre-work routine that will signal the start of your work day and a routine that will also signal the end of your work day so you can wrap it u...

Episode 25. In today's Tip Tuesday, I'm talking about Creative Market! If you spend way too much time creating digital assets for your business, or you're always on the hunt for new templates, fonts, textures, etc. Find out why Creative Market should be your go-to place for easy templates and ready-to-use products. Mentioned in this episode: Creative Market Other helpful links: Free Productivity P...

Episode 024. This is a simple way to just get started with managing your tasks and just having them all in one sheet. If you are overwhelmed with the notion of automation and dumping your entire workflow into a task manager, I just want you to start, and stop putting it off because you “haven’t chosen one” yet. Action this week - If you are still struggling to begin because you are using the excus...

Episode 023. Today, I’m talking about Storrito which is an app to create and schedule Instagram Stories comfortably from your desktop pc. Great for you if:  You like scheduling and batching social media You don’t want to have notifications to post (Storrito posts automatically) Like doing IG on desktop vs your phone You can use the editor to add stickers, create animation, tag accounts and ad...

Over the years, I've been well aware of my issues with consistency (or really, lack of it). From posting on social media, to daily routines, I find myself having to actively engage in self-discipline and awareness in order to follow through and build new habits. In this episode, I give you a 7-step method for what to do when you also recognize your issues with consistency, and how to create better...

"Forest team partners with a real-tree-planting organization, Trees for the Future, to plant real trees on Earth. When our users spend virtual coins they earn in Forest on planting real trees, Forest team donates to our partner and creates planting orders." Forest is an app that helps you stay focused on the important things in life. It's a simple concept - start a productive focus session, plant...

Episode 020. All this month I’ve been talking about systems and processes, and as we wrap up July, and before I move into time management and helping you create working systems, I want to really hammer home the fact that the basics need to be in place before you succeed with your proper workflows. Are you getting distracted by shiny new tools and the next big thing, and essentially harming your pr...

Episode 019. Ever wonder how people make those cool video waveforms that you see when scrolling through social media? It's not hard and it's definitely not some crazy tech savvy secret sauce. Learn some of the tools that people are using to create those cool visuals. It's as simple as uploading your audio, graphic image, and adding your chosen waveform. The correct sizes for social are supplied fo...