March 2025 Productivity Report: Productivity Isn’t About Time – It’s About Creating Impact

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Welcome to my March 2025 productivity report! To backtrack, check out where I started in October 2023. You’ll find November 2023 here, and December 2023 here. For 2024, January is here, February is here, March is here, April is here, May is here, June is here, July is here, August is here, September is here, October is here, and November is here, and December is here. January 2025 is here, and February 2025 is available here.

🌱 How I Felt About March 2025

Going into March, I felt energized despite a busy schedule. I spent time in Paris, Dubai, Chicago, and Copenhagen. It was a whirlwind and slightly more “last minute” than I would have normally preferred, but it’s all good. Overall, I spent lots of quality time with family members, friends, and colleagues.

This month’s topic syncs up perfectly with this because – as you’ll find out – there’s more to life than work.

🌻 Time is Just One Way to Measure Productivity

We often forget that there’s more to productivity than time. Yes, time saved is always a great indicator, but it’s not the only indicator. We also have to take into account energy, timeliness, spaciousness, progress, and a bunch of other factors. If you’re working hard instead of smart, does it matter how fast you do it? No. Time is not the only criteria.

Being productive means that you’re creating impact. It means that you are using the resources you have available to you in the best way possible. Sometimes you can do that quickly and save a few hours. I love it when that happens. However, sometimes it might be worth spending a few more minutes on something in order to double the impact. That’s a good use of your time.

I want to invite your to see your productivity through a multi-faceted lens. Can we make some tweaks to improve your methodology and your processes? Sure, there’s always room for improvement, but don’t confuse being busy or working quickly with productivity. If the work you’re doing in the world creates true impact, you are a productive person. Believe that.

🤔 What type of impact are you creating with your time?

Let me know in the comments below!

🏆 How Productive I was in March 2025

March was a very productive month for me in terms of moving my life and career forward in the right direction. Probably the most productive in some years. Did I spend a lot of time “working on the clock”? No, and this is where it gets interesting.

It’s never quite about the amount of time you spend working; it’s about the impact of your activities on your life and business in general. This month, I can say without question that the people I spent time with (coupled with my travels and activities) led me in the exact right direction.

Just the other day, I had a discussion with a friend around the expectation that work should feel like “work.” I feel like we have all been conditioned to believe that work isn’t supposed to be fun. This is such an outdated notion that we have to update. In this new creator economy, work doesn’t have to be a traditional 9-5 office cubicle that sucks the life out of you. No. Work can be what you make it.

The idea that you have to separate your life from your work, and do only the “fun things” (like your hobbies) outside of work is antiquated. Nothing could be further from the truth. Those who are successful entrepreneurs understand how to align who they are with what they do. If you’re not an entrepreneur at the moment and have no interest in being one, fine. That’s one thing. But if you are an entrepreneur and haven’t figured it out yet, take some time to think about this.

If anything was possible, what would you do? What would be the dream scenario? Find a way to incorporate THAT into your life. Design your work around it. If I didn’t get paid to do what I do, I would still be doing the exact same thing. My life would probably look exactly like this regardless. If you can say that with pride, it’s a good indication that you’re on the right track.

Let me point out that – yes – money makes a difference. It’s how you’re able to sustain your business, so I’m not saying that it doesn’t matter. What I am saying is that you can figure it out… as long as you don’t give up. If you need to have a side gig for a while, so be it. But don’t stop working towards your dream. Quitting is a surefire way to never get it right. And you WILL get it right, even if it takes a hot minute.

📁 Projects Completed in March 2025

In March, I met my goal of completing three projects. You’ve probably heard me say it before, but that number is a sweet spot for me. It keeps everything moving forward in a nice and steady way without burning me out. That’s really important.

In this case, the three projects I completed were massive, so even if they sound easy, I can tell you that they weren’t. All of them were huge, multi-layered projects that I chose to take on head first. Could I have broken them down more? Sure, but there’s wasn’t a need for it this time. I decided while doing the project planning that I could handle them, and I did.

🚀 My Favorite Project in March 2025

My favorite project this month was collaborating with Dr. Destini Copp on the HobbySchool Get Organized Summit. It was a multi-day, virtual event that showcased a whole bunch of badass experts in the organizing space. Yours truly spoke on digital photo organizing, and I invited my audience to participate. Shoutout to the HobbySchool team on a well-organized event!

⏳ Hours Worked in March 2025

In March, I worked a total of 81 hours (rounded up), which equals about 20 hours per week. This is actually more than I expected to see. Had you asked me a few days ago (before I looked at my stats), I would have guessed somewhere around 40 hours. This is why it’s so important to review your numbers. The data doesn’t always align with your feelings.

My overall goal is to come in somewhere around 25-30 hours per week, so this was a bit under… but that’s OK. I have to give myself a break because of the amount of travel I put in. Working while being on the go is a whole different ball game than working from the same environment every time, so I’m satisfied with this number.

⌨️ Digital Images Organized in March 2025 

March brought me 1599 new photos and videos, and so far, I’ve kept most of them. I plan on doing some more photo culling when I get some time at home, but for right now, they’re not processed. I will likely get rid of about 30% of them, for example, some of the landscape shots. After I cull the new shots, I will organize them, put some keywords in, and then permanently archive them with backups.

Here are just a few fun snapshots from Dubai:

Right now, the biggest challenge I’m facing is the amount of storage I need on the go. Like everyone else, I am feeling the pinch of rising subscription costs everywhere. Fortunately, I’m a Certified Photo Manager, so I know a thing or two about how to go about managing it.

If you’re not sure how to manage your photos, be sure to join us in DPO PRO: The Ultimate Photo Organizing Masterclass. We cover how to choose your programs, how to organize your phots, and we have tutorials on the entire process in Photo Mechanic, Apple Photos, and Adobe Lightroom Classic.

👟 Steps Walked in March 2025 

This month, I walked (and ran) 342,762 measured steps, which breaks down to about 11,000 steps per day. Now we’re talking. This is more than double my goal of 5000, so I am extremely happy with that number. What has changed, you ask? Well frankly, the commitment. It is still a flexible goal for me, but I have shifted my priorities during the day around a bit to allow me to exercise in the morning and then go for a run in the afternoon. This means that I now have two opportunities rather than one, which sets me up for continuous success.

I think the success of the past two-three months in this department shows that can take quite a while to find your stride (no pun intended). I have been struggling with this goal for close to two years, and I’m finally now starting to figure out what tweaks to make to keep me on track. It’s a constant adjustment of my surrounding coupled with making it a priority. Remember that the next time you want to give up.

📣 Language Progress in March 2025

In January, I introduced my new goal for 2025, which is “language progress.” The deal is that I’m going to learn at least 15 new words in the language of my choice every month. For quarter one, I picked French since I have a collaboration going where the majority of the team has that as a first language.

Languages are interesting because of how they work in your brain. I find that the environment triggers much of my proficiency. For example, I have a much harder time speaking French in the US than I do in France, even though my vocabulary hasn’t and skill level overall hasn’t changed. Similarly, I understand other languages much better when I’m on the road. Immersion helps – it’s like it unlocks a little corner of your brain that keeps it the language on ice until you need it.

This month, I went back to Paris for a two days and the French started flowing the minute I landed. Once I left the country, I couldn’t find my words again, so maybe there’s something to it. More research needed to figure that out. Overall though, I learnt 56 new words in French, so I did improve.

🎧 Books & Learning in March 2025

This month, I re-listened to Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal. It’s a book I recommend a lot – not only because he’s such a nice guy, but because he combines solid research practical advice. While I haven’t faced any significant productivity issues myself, I can related to them because I’m highly attuned to how my clients feel and I understand the psychology behind it all.

The whole idea that he presents behind productivity is to feel more joy in everything that you do, and I wholeheartedly agree with that. It’s so much easier to get stuff done when you feel good and have fun. It’s one of the reasons why travel and exploration is so integrated into my own branding. If you feel like you’re in a bit of sa grind, let Ali help you with some practical advice.

Pick up Feel-Good Productivity in any major book outlet, or online.

☕️ Meaningful Conversations in March 2025

Because I was traveling once again, I didn’t offer up any FIKA with Caroline rounds this month. In its place, I am having frequent and very deep conversations with friends and close collaborators, which right now is taking priority over everything else. I’m gonna try and bring these sessions back at some point, but for now, they’re on hiatus.

⭐️ Success Celebrated in March 2025 

March brought a lot of success for me in various ways, but I don’t think I would have felt quite as good about it if I didn’t have great people to share it with. I want to send a big shoutout to my team members and collaborators for the amazing support and synergy we share. I count myself very lucky to have such amazing people in my life.

I want to also give a shoutout to Kai “Verse” Tyler, who has been extremely generous with his time in order to help me. I am a proud affiliate of his online Music Mastery school, so if you’re an artist or entrepreneur in that space, I highly recommend you join his community.

😍 This Month’s Favorite Hubs, Tools, Services, & Products

What hubs, tools, products, and services do I use to be more productive? Ah, lots. In an effort to be really transparent, I have some of my recommendations below. Some links are affiliates links, others are not, but either way, I’d recommend them. Feel free to reach out if you have questions on any of them.

Here’s my list of things I loved this month:

• Notion → Where would I be without Notion? Not anywhere close to where I am now, that’s for sure. I run my entire life and business in Notion, so I wholeheartedly recommend this platform. We hosted a Building in Notion (for Beginners) event some time ago, and the replay is available for purchase.
• Airtable → We have used Airtable for many years now – as our main hub before Notion, and now for student-facing databases, external editorial calendars, and intake forms. Love it!
• Forever → This is good platform for storing photo archives. I invested in this company when they were a startup a decade ago, and it has only gotten better since then. Great for memory-keeping!
• ShowIt → Love ShowIt! It’s the most flexible and best website platform out there, IMO. Plus, it’s run by nice people, which is a plus. I just renewed my own subscription not too long ago.
• Convertkit → Convertkit is now simply Kit, and I’m not really used to that change yet. I’ll come around, but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be calling it Convertkit for a while still. Change is hard. 🤣
• Lightroom Classic → This is a program I’ve been using for two decades. I teach it and several other solutions in my course DPO PRO. Join us to learn how to use it!
• Teachable → I’ve been a loyal customer with Teachable since back in the early Fedora days, which says a lot about how much I like their platform. It’s a great place to host your courses.
• Circle → Circle is easy to use for everyone – from students to coaches to guests. We love it as our community hub. It stands well on its own, but also integrates nicely with Teachable (see above).
• Trackabi → My new time-tracking platform, which is working out wonderfully so far.
• Audible → I love my Audible subscription for when I’m getting my steps in, and I recommend trying it out if you want to get your learning on. Sign up for a free 30-day trial through my link to get a free book (or 2 free credits if you’re an Amazon prime member!) – cancel anytime!
• Secret → This is a wonderful place for finding deals on software hubs and tools. Who doesn’t love to save some $$$? Invest a little, save a lot! I’ve saved thousands. Great deals for the new year too!
• Grove Collaborative → Love my Grove subscription! It saves me so much time because I can restock all my household needs easily. They write sweet messages on each box too! So cute. Get a free gift set by signing up through my affiliate link!
• Almond Cow → In 3 minutes, you can have fresh nut milk. What’s not to love? I miss it so much when I travel. It’s the best thing I’ve ever bought for my kitchen, hands down.
• Nuuly → This is so much fun. I just love renting new stuff each month. It’s a creative way to try thing you never would have picked up otherwise. 🙌🏻 Use my link to save $ on your first order.
• Taja → I really like this AI-driven platform for optimizing YouTube videos. It’s a great starting point for coming up with attention-grabbing headlines, descriptions, keywords, and more.
• Wise → Banking as a digital nomad and international service provider can be a bit tricky, but lately, I’ve enjoyed using Wise to make things easier. If you’re a nomad or course creator, take note.
• Harney & Sons → My favorite tea supplier in the US. They have outstanding quality teas for all tastes and budgets, and they’ve worth trying out! Save $10 on your order using this link.
• Music Mastery Hub → Kai “Verse” Tyler is one of the most generous people in the entertainment industry, so for anyone interested in learning more about the business of music, I recommend joining his online school for mentorship and guidance. I’m proud to be an affiliate.

🫖 Tea of the Month

Every now and then, I need a nice cup of Matcha green tea. In those moments, I reach for Art of Tea‘s Organic Grade A Matcha. It’s such nice quality and has a really pleasant taste. If you’re new to Matcha, you have to get good quality or you’ll get scarred for life, so trust me when I say that it’s worth the investment.

Art of Tea Matcha Green

Yield: 1 Cup

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Additional Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 1 minute

I love this organic grade A matcha tea! It's one of the best qualities I've come across, so I like to recommend it to anyone. It's a bit more expensive, but it's worth the investment.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 tsp Matcha green tea
• 8 oz Water

Instructions

1. Heat filtered water to 180 - 185 F (green tea)
2. Pour over a small scoop of matcha in a cup whisk for a bit
3. Let steep for 3 mins
4. Enjoy

Notes

Purchase it online from Art of Tea.

📐 Measure What Matters

Thanks for reading this report til the end! I hope you enjoyed it. Please remember that productivity is very personal, and you DO NOT have to track the same metrics that I do. Your goals and metrics could be quite different from mine, and that’s OK.

If you’d like to understand where you should be focusing your attention, join us in an upcoming Quarterly Planning Workshop to identify your own goals.

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• About the Author
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Caroline Guntur Organizing & Productivity Coach

Hi there! I’m Caroline, and I’m here to help you get organized and be more productive, so that you can live better and have time for what matters.

www.theswedishorganizer.com

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