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

I was recently chatting to a good friend of mine who’s also a business owner who wanted to know how I’m growing my business. We talked about how I package my consulting services, how I get leads, all the typical stuff. At one point in the conversation I said the “I haven’t had a sales target in years. I’m not actively trying to grow my business. My #1 goal is efficiency. I just want to make the bu...

When I was growing up, I never expected I’d be running a business where I help people with their productivity. In fact, there was a time when I wanted to be an architect. So where did this interest in productivity and the desire to start my own business come from? Today, I’d like to share a few personal memories that tell the story of how I ended up in the position I am today. Show notes (please l...

Isn’t it frustrating when you’ve planned your time have a clear agenda for what you’re going to work on, only to receive an email or to have a colleague derail your day by coming to you with an issue that requires urgent attention? These ‘fires’ often require us to stop what we’re doing and put everything else on hold so we can deal with this seemingly important and urgent issue. As someone who va...

I run my digital business from New Zealand (GMT+12) and service a lot of US-based clients who are on Pacific (GMT-8) and Eastern (GMT-5) times. That’s a pretty big gap in time but is less challenging than you would think to manage. In this episode, I’d like to share some of the tips and tricks I’ve learned to make it easier to work with other people across time zones. Show notes (please leave me a...

A surgeon is a master at using a scalpel. They don’t just have a basic understanding of the tool. They’ve spent thousands of hours perfecting their skill with it to make sure every cut they make is calculated and accurate. The point is, whatever your area of expertise, you need to become a master of your tools. Having a basic understanding isn’t good enough if you want to truly be great at what yo...

One of the keys to better productivity and general happiness is solving problems as quickly as possible. The quicker you can deal with a problem, the less time you have to worry about it and the lower the chance of it coming up again. Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 255 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me...

When it comes to productivity, we usually think about how to be more effective and efficient at work or in our business. But productivity isn’t just for getting more done in our professional lives. Productivity is a skill that helps you to be more effective and efficient with everything you do and being productive in your personal life is just as important. Most people sleep around 7-8 hours a nig...

Since day 1, I’ve been running my business 100% paperless; meaning I don’t keep any physical files or paperwork. Everything is captured and stored digitally. I could literally work from anywhere as I always have all the information I might need with me wherever I am. In this post, I’d like to list some of the tools and techniques I use to run my business 100% paperless. Show notes (please leave me...

Inflation is the hot topic everyone is talking about right now. COVID and even the Russia-Ukraine war have taken a back seat as people all around the world struggle to adjust to the rising cost of living. On this podcast, I’ve often discussed how I try to optimise both my time and income. Earning more is great but not if it’s disproportionate to the time required to earn the income. In this post,...

We are spoilt for choice when it comes to online experts and brands that share content. It’s now easier than ever to start a blog, record and host a podcast or create videos for YouTube. This makes it harder to stand out amongst all the noise on the internet. Since starting my blog back in 2013 I’ve produced 694 blog posts, over 200 Youtube videos and 251 podcast episodes. When it comes to standin...

Email management continues to take up a huge portion of the day for most knowledge workers. To help deal with this awful problem, I’d like to share some practical tips on how to deal with your email faster. Don’t want to read this post? Listen to the podcast instead. Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 250 If you enjoyed this episode, I...

2022 is the 7th year of running my consulting business and my processes and approach to making money online has certainly evolved over the years. If you’re a new or aspiring freelancer, coach or consultant then I’d love to help you save some time by sharing some of the advice I wish I’d heard early on (rather than having to figure it out on my own later). Show notes (please leave me a comment with...

Welcome to episode 4 of Minor Updates . In this video, I share some updates on what I've been up to over the last few months. Enjoy! Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/ 248 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review. Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo

Over the last 5 years, we’ve watched as the world has become increasingly uncertain. We’ve witnessed controversial elections, a global pandemic, lockdowns, mandates, inflation and now war. Every time I think the world is starting to get back to normal, the rug gets pulled and things get a little crazier. Personally, I think things will continue to get worse before they get better. What can you do?...

Every decision you make comes with a cost. And I don’t just mean a financial cost. I’m talking about costs in the form of time, health, stress, energy and relationships. In other words, every decision you make comes with trade-offs. Our goal should be to make decisions that maximise return for as little cost as possible (whatever the costs may be) Show notes (please leave me a comment with your qu...

We’ve all experienced the frustration of receiving an email that’s been sent in a rush that isn’t clear. Because the sender didn’t take time to proof their email or read it back, now you need to reply and clarify their intent. This slows everyone down and what’s most annoying is it’s easily avoidable. In this episode, I’d like to share some simple and maybe even obvious email etiquette rules that...

Time is the most important asset we have. It’s the asset we all have equal amounts of, regardless of location, income, race or gender. Time represents true equality. If there’s a meaning to life, in my view, it is to use your time as best you can (however you choose to define this). Let’s be realistic. You can’t get back time and save it for later. You can only get back time and put it to use on o...

I love simple productivity tricks; quick and easy things you can do to be more productive and organised. In this post, I’d like to share the one question I ask myself to be more productive. This is a question I subconsciously ask myself dozens of times a day. This question helps me to identify what I need to work on next. It keeps me track and on time and helps me to avoid ever dropping the ball o...

I often get asked about how I find clients. My philosophy is simple: Go to where your ideal clients are and be helpful Following this philosophy means I never have to do any cold outreach to get clients. Everyone I work with comes to me. This is great because it means more of my time can be spent on working with clients and delivering value instead of finding clients in the first place. Not to men...

We all want to be more productive. We all want to get more done and achieve our goals as fast as possible. And there are loads of tools, techniques, habits and strategies we can use to try and improve our productivity. But how do you know if it’s actually working? When you set up a new project management tool, or start meditating in the morning, how do you know if these changes are helping? How do...

If you’ve followed me for a while, you may know that Bitcoin is a topic I’m very interested in. I haven’t talked about this much on my blog or podcast but today I thought I’d change that and take you behind the scenes on how I store the money in my business. I’d like to share why I’m now running my business on a ‘Bitcoin Standard’, what that means and the rationale behind the decision. As this is...

It’s very common for tools and services to offer a ‘free’ tier or to give away their product entirely for free. As a customer, this sounds great, right? You can start using it for free and pay later if you need to unlock more features. But I hear all the time from customers and clients who have been caught out after signing up for what they thought was a free tool, only to learn it’s not entirely...

Feeling overwhelmed and having ‘too much to do’ is a common problem people ask me about. Most of us have a lot going on; work projects, meetings, study, friends, family, social commitments and household chores. When all of these things add up, it’s easy to feel anxious and like you have too much on the go at once. Whenever I feel stressed out and overwhelmed, I like to plan and organise as much as...

It’s the time of year where most people are setting goals and resolutions for the next 12 months. Having a plan of where you want to be and what you’d like to achieve over the next year is great. But equally important is deciding what NOT to do this year. Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/237 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if...

Welcome to episode 4 of Minor Updates . In this video, I share some updates on what I've been up to over the last few months. Enjoy! Show notes (please leave me a comment with your questions and feedback) » https://paulminors.com/236 If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review. Intro/Outro Music: "Synthia" by Scott & Brendo Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/pau...