TAS 096 : How To Be More Productive and Get Stuff Done with Kate Erickson

Every Amazon seller has to learn how balance and manage their time in order to get their business rolling and keep it rolling. There are tons of ways you can organize your time, but on today’s episode Scott has a guest who’s going to help us get a better handle on our time. Welcome Kate Erickson, best known for her role in creating the Entrepreneur On Fire Audio Blog, “Kate’s Take.” Kate uses a process called “SCRUM” to help her focus on her goals and get more stuff done. Listen to this episode to discover how you can apply the same process to get more things done in your Amazon sales business.

How do you decide where to focus your energies each day?

That’s the first question Scott asked his guest, Kate Erickson on this episode. Her answer was very enlightening. She uses a process called “SCRUM” to help her dissect each goal to the basic, elementary steps of what is required to get them to the point of completion. It’s fully focusing on your goal one step at a time, no distractions, no pauses, no excuses. It enables her to knock out one aspect of a larger goal in a relatively short burst of time and then get on to the next step toward the goal. Hear more of how Kate goes about this process in this episode.

Many of you are Amazon Sellers on the side… so how can you best use these concepts to your advantage?

It’s not uncommon for people who are trying to build their business outside of regular work hours to find the time crunch almost impossible. There’s only so much time each day and you’ve got to be able to use it effectively. But there’s so much other stuff that demands that time - family, friends, hobbies, fun - it’s limitless. How do you go about using the “SCRUM” process Kate Erickson covers in this episode to manage all those obligations and needs? You’ll have to listen to this great conversation to find out!

The power of just getting started.

At first it may be hard for you to determine what steps are needed in a larger project in order to get it done. The first step in the “SCRUM” process is making a plan for achieving that goal, and you do that by breaking it down into smaller steps. But you won’t always know what those steps are when you begin. What do you do? You just get started. You’re going to launch into the project and your mind is going to naturally gravitate to the first things you need to do. Get started and write down your steps as they come to your mind. Set time frames to guide you, and get busy. Find out more about how Kate Erickson recommends you take on these projects, on this episode.

The impact of not taking action - on you and others.

There are many things that keep us from moving on the things we know we need to do. We feel that we don’t have enough information, that our idea isn’t good enough, that there are other things we’d rather do. But we need to realize that when we allow those things to keep us from action we are not only hurting ourselves, but also the people who are depending on the outcome of our work. Those may be family members, customers, or people like Scott’s listeners who would never have been helped by his knowledge if he hadn’t started this podcast (and he almost didn’t.) Hear Scott’s story about learning this lesson on this episode of The Amazing Seller.

OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER

[0:05] Introduction of this episode from Scott!

[2:00] Welcome to Kate Erickson.

[2:40] How Kate’s audio blog has inspired Scott.

[3:20] How do you decide what to focus on each day?

[4:25] The importance of S.M.A.R.T. goals.

[5:31] How the side-hustle person can put a schedule to work to optimize their productivity.

[7:37] The best way to create rules for yourself and how to keep yourself accountable.

[10:31] The importance of sacrifice and keeping your head clear about what’s truly important for you long-term.

[11:53] What is “scrum” and how does Kate recommend applying it for an Amazon seller.

[17:45] How to determine dependencies and timelines in the “scrum” model and getting to the end goal.

[19:45] The power of deadlines in the “scrum” model.

[21:17] The reasons people play the “what if” game regarding their goals.

[22:33] How to deal with the fear element in taking action.

[23:31] The impact of not taking action - a personal example from Scott’s life.

[24:18] Leveraging the help you’re providing to others to keep you on track in your business.

[28:40] How Kate’s story has inspired Scott and many others.

[29:30] Scott’s wrap-up of this episode.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Kate’s Take - Kate’s podcast

Entrepreneur On Fire - John Lee Dumas’ podcast

Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop

www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community