The Paul Minors Podcast: Productivity, Business & Self-Improvement

Everyone should be dedicating some portion of their time to improving their productivity. Productivity is about being more effective and efficient; in other words, doing things better and faster. If you can develop a productive mindset, you can apply this to almost every aspect of your work and life. This is why I’m so passionate about being productive. It’s not actually that I want to be producti...

You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 principle before. If you haven’t, you’ve probably heard the general concept. The 80/20 principle (officially known as the Pareto Principle) says that 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. The general idea is that 80% of outcomes come from just 20% of inputs; by identifying the correct 20% and optimising these few inputs, we can generate the greatest impact...

Being more organised is a superpower of mine that helps me to get more done with less stress and wasted time. In this video, I'm sharing some mindset tips and principles to help you cultivate an positive attitude towards being more organised. Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 283 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could l...

Stopping putting things off until later. Do them now and be done. That way you'll have less of a mental backlog to get through. Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 282 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review. Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

An area of productivity and efficiency that I like to optimise, which I feel not enough people focus on is: high-volume, micro improvements. In other words, optimising small tasks that you do all the time which adds up to big improvements in efficiency. I’m going to share some examples of things we all do every single day, and if you can do these things just a little bit quicker, the time savings...

Documenting your processes not only helps to improve your efficiency but it’s necessary if you ever plan to scale your business. By having a checklist or notes on how to complete a specific task, you can get the work done quicker as you don't have to remind yourself of the process each time. And you’re less likely to miss an important step that could set you back later. I’ve also learned that in o...

When I created my personal website back in 2014 like most new businesses, I thought to myself, ‘What should my logo be?’ I really didn’t give it too much thought at the time and that’s kind of the point of this story... Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 279 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review. Intro...

If you’ve ever heard the story or seen the Tom Hanks movie about Apollo 13, you may remember that the crew almost didn’t make it. After a routine procedure led to the explosion of one of the ship's oxygen tanks, the crew had to shut down almost all systems on the ship in order to preserve power which they would need to reenter the earth's atmosphere and land safely. This meant turning off their gu...

I often get asked about the different tools I use to run my business. Here are the main tools I’m currently using as of March 2023. Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 277 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review. Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

One of the most important contributing factors to a successful client engagement is how you manage expectations. When you’re just getting started in the consulting or freelancing world, it’s tempting to tell the client what they want to hear in order to win a job. I’ve learned it’s better not to over-promise and instead be as realistic as possible with respect to the client's expectations. Show no...

Since 2015, the bulk of my company's revenue has come from consulting services and fees earned as a software partner. One of the great things about being a software partner is that you can earn an income from multiple revenue streams so you’re not reliant on just one source of income. In this post, I’d like to explain how a software partner like me makes money. Show notes (please leave me a commen...

Are you a serial multitasker? Do you pride yourself on being able to juggle multiple projects at once? If so, it's time to rethink your approach. The truth is, multitasking is a productivity myth. In fact, trying to do too many things at once can actually be detrimental to your overall productivity. So why is multitasking a productivity myth, and what should you be doing instead? Let's take a clos...

I usually get approached by people who need help with one of three tools: Asana, Pipedrive or Zapier. And because I offer support for a project management tool like Asana, I often get asked if I can help with similar apps like ClickUp or Trello. People tell me all the time that I could grow my business if I offered more services. But I find it very beneficial to offer fewer services and to offer t...

I strongly believe that better communicators are more likely to get what they want. Whether that’s closing a sale, convincing someone to adopt your idea or sharing advice with someone. We’re communicating all the time; via email, instant messaging apps, phone calls, Zoom, social media posts and of course, in-person discussions. Everyone needs to communicate and should be trying to hone this skill....

It’s that time of year again when we set goals for the new year. And it’s important to have well-defined goals with specific outcomes you can measure (i.e. SMART goals: Specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely). I’ve set some goals for the year. But personally, I find it more useful to have a ‘focus’ for the year. Where a goal defines a specific outcome you’re trying to achieve. A focus...

For the last few years ( 2019, 2020 , 2021 ) I've shared a breakdown of how I spent my time that year. It’s always an interesting exercise and it’s useful for me to analyse how I’m using my time differently year over year. Understanding how your time is being spent is one of the best things you can do to make better choices and plan more effectively for the future. Show notes (please leave me a co...

Every week, my Zapier expert, Warwick, and I do a ’weekly review’ where we run down the list of all clients we’re currently working with to determine where we’re at and what we need to do next. During last Friday’s review, we were exploring whether there’s a better way of managing our workload and I said something that has since stuck in my mind. I said: “We need to have a policy of zero-tolerance...

We make thousands of decisions every single day from what to wear or what to eat for breakfast to how to respond to an email or what to work on next. And we should always be striving to make the best decision we can as efficiently as possible. I put a lot of my productivity down to not overthinking things. Generally, I make quick decisions and move on. Some decisions require more time. But in gene...

As a student of stoic philosophy, I’ve read many times about the importance of focusing on what you can control and how this impacts your happiness and quality of life. The same idea applies to your productivity. Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 267 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review. Intro/Outro...

When you come across a new tool or piece of software, it’s easy to sign up for a free trial only to waste a bunch of time after you later realise you don’t actually need the thing you signed up for. If you’re a business owner looking to adopt a new project management system, or a solo-operator interested in a new screen recording app, it’s important to ask yourself a few key questions before you s...

Like a lot of business owners, I’m concerned about the ongoing inflation that we’re experiencing and how it’s going to impact the economy. If I had to guess I feel there’s a high likelihood that things get worse, not better, over the next 12-18 months (maybe longer). As I look ahead, here are some of the things I’m going to be focussing on to ensure my business is in the best shape possible going...

You’ve probably heard the expression “Perfection is the enemy of progress”. Of course, there’s always a balance with everything and I’m not saying this is an excuse to accept low-quality results. But whatever it is you’re doing, whether you’re choosing what tools to use in your business or you’re setting up a new website, you want to aim for “good enough”. This is the point where you’ve achieved a...

Meditation is a habit I’ve dabbled with on and off over the years. I first downloaded the Headspace app, which was my first exposure to meditation, in 2013. Over the years I’ve gone through periods of where I meditate regularly followed by long dry spells where I don’t meditate at all. As I’ve said on the blog before, I often use habits like meditation and journaling when I feel I need them. But m...

I was recently reminded of a great quote by Steve Jobs where he said: “We try to focus and do very few things well. And focussing is hard because focussing doesn’t mean saying ‘yes’ it means saying ‘no’. So we decide not to do a lot of things so we can focus on a handful of things and do them very well” But this is one of those simple but very important lessons in productivity that often needs rep...

In this episode of Minor Updates, I share some of the things I've been focussing on in my business and personal life. 0:45 - Business improvements 3:51 - An unfortunate experience 11:48 - Baby Murphy has arrived! 14:00 - We're building a house 17:57 - Wim Hof breathing and cold therapy 20:20 - Wrapping up Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors....