June 2025 Productivity Report: Shortcuts are Meant for Those Who Know the Rules

Reading Time: [19] Minutes

Welcome to my June 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, February 2025 is here, and March 2025 is here, and April 2025 is here, and May 2025 is available here.

🌱 How I Felt About June 2025

June was a whirlwind for many reasons, but mostly because I was on the road again for much of the month. I spent time in Canada, which I really enjoyed. I had never really seen the country as thoroughly as I did this time, and it was a nice change of environment for me. I feel like I came out of that experience with a lot of growth and a much better understanding for the local culture.

🌻 Shortcuts are Meant for Those Who Know the Rules

What is the fastest way to get from Point A to Point B? If I only had a nickel for every time I’ve gotten that question. While I appreciate curiosity and efficiency more than most, there is something important missing from that line of thinking. You see, excellence lies in the understanding of the fundamentals. No shortcut will ever work if you don’t build a foundation, and I’ve learned that holds true for everything in life – from setting goals to building relationships. Without looking at a big picture map, you will never have a thorough understanding of the landscape you’re in, and you’ll wander around the woods completely lost. Not the best way to approach things.

Shortcuts are tools — not substitutes. They’re designed to save time for those who’ve already invested in the effort to understand the process and the limitations of any give system. In other words, you cannot break the rules unless you know what the rules are… right?

Let’s take software as an example. You could memorize all the keyboard shortcuts in the world, but if you don’t understand the program, those shortcuts would be pretty useless. Pressing [Cmd]+[S] doesn’t help if you don’t know what you’re saving — or why. The same goes for business, creativity, and life. Shortcuts optimize what you already know — they don’t build the foundation for you.

I’ll be the first to say it: learning the basics can really suck. There’s trial. There’s error. There’s the messy middle where nothing clicks, and it’s frustrating as hell. It’s really not that much fun. That’s why most people want to skip that part, but if you truly want to success, you can’t sidestep the learning curve. It’s a required part of the process. So-called shortcuts only show up after you’ve earned the right to use them.

Mastery requires respect — for your time, for your coaches, and for the skill itself. If you want faster results, start by understanding the system. The more fluent you become in it, the more opportunities you’ll spot ways to work smarter, not harder.

The next time you’re tempted to find “the secret” to achieving a result, pause and ask yourself if you’re truly committed to the outcome. If you were, you wouldn’t have had to ask.

🤔 Where are you trying to skip a beat?

Let me know in the comments below!

🏆 How Productive I was in June 2025

June was a good month for me in terms of productivity. Overall, I felt motivated, happy, and engaged. Much different than how I felt in April and May, and that can be attributed to the change in my environment. I wrote back in 2023 about how much the environment influences what and how much you can achieve, and it became pretty obvious in June how I can take my life and career to the next level.

📁 Projects Completed in June 2025

I hit my goal with precision this month. My goal is to finish three projects per month, and I did. Exactly three. One was much larger than the other two, so it took up most of my attention and that was fine. I expected as much.

If you’ve attended any of my Quarterly Planning sessions, you might be wondering what’s going on here… I recommend three projects only for my students (no more), so how come I get to work on more of them and it’s ok? Well, it’s because of focus. As a pro, I can do more because I understand efficient project management. That’s all. I have no problems focusing. Many of my students do.

You can have as many project on your list as you want, but you just can’t work on all of them at the same time. For that reason, three is a good bench mark. Once you are a skilled project manager, you can comfortably work on more projects at the same time. During most months, I work on between 8-10 different projects. That being said, I rarely have more than three active during any given week. That gives me the focus I need to complete enoughof them and move my business and life forward.

🚀 My Favorite Project in June 2025

My favorite project by far this month was my trip to Canada. 🇨🇦 Lately, I’ve been in a very social mood and have felt the need to connect more in person. This trip helped a lot because I had more people around me than usual. Not only did I get to help out a friend, which is always rewarding, but I also go to move many of my business plans forward. I met a lot of people that I had only ever said hello to over the phone up until now, so it was nice to finally be able to give out some hugs.

⏳ Hours Worked in June 2025

In June, I clocked just under 87 work hours, which breaks down to about 22 hours a week. That’s right on target, so I’m happy with that result. For the past two months, I’ve had a steady decline in work hours, but now that I’m looking at it objectively in hindsight, I can say that it was just a bit of fatigue from a heavy travel schedule.

We’re back on track.

I was never really worried about working too little. I know what needs to happen in my company, and I get that done regardless of how I feel. What I was a little worried about, however, was whether or not I was enjoying what I was doing long term. I’m please to report that the answer to that is still a resounding yes.

Anyone can have a moment where they’re not feeling up to things, but the key is to bounce back quick enough. It’s about recovery time more than anything. In other words, you can afford to have a bad day; not a bad month.

⌨️ Digital Images Organized in June 2025 

This month, I took a bit of a break from content creation, so I only ended up with 347 new files. Out of those, I kept about 200. As a ratio, that’s pretty heavy culling, but it needed to be done.

Anything under 2000 photos and videos is unusual for me, but I think I needed a bit of a break, so it wasn’t a big deal. Two hundred good files is still great. It’s about quality, not quantity.

Here are just a few of the snapshots from June:

If you love photos as much as I do, but aren’t sure how to manage them, 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 June 2025 

This month, I walked 202,879 measured steps, which breaks down to about 6750 steps per day on average. Not bad, considering that we did a lot of driving around. Since I was on the go, I didn’t really have to worry too much about hitting this step goal. We’re seen plenty of times before that when I am in Chicago, I struggle more with it. When I’m elsewhere, it’s usually not a problem. For that reason, I didn’t pay as close attention to this goal this month. I just get my pedometer on, and logged the results.

I did enjoy the change of scenario for walking. Quebec is a very picturesque place with lots of natural beauty. It is a bit remote in places? Yes, but all the more interesting. A change of scenery is always helpful when trying to spend time outside.

📣 Language Progress in June 2025

In June, I accelerated my French with 114 new words (or phrases), and that is well beyond my goal of 15 words per month. 🎉 I can thank my friends in Canada for the assist. I spent the first half of the month in Quebec, and as I’ve said in the past, nothing works better than immersion. 💥

🎧 Books & Learning in June 2025

This month, I re-listened to The Prosperous Coach: Increase Income and Impact for You and Your Clients by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin via Audible. I first listened to this book about five years ago, and I didn’t like it, so I thought I’d give it another shot now that my business is more evolved. Would I see it differently now than then? As it turns out, no. I still don’t like it. This book clashes with a lot of my values, so even though it’s a popular read, I’m not in agreement with some their advice.

First of all, the book advices giving away free 2-hour sessions to prospective clients to help them understand the experience. While this can work, it’s far too inefficient as a strategy, IMO. Your time is the most valuable thing you have, and if your prospective clients aren’t sold on your services by the time they get to you, they’re usually not ready to sign up anyway. Sure, there are always exceptions to every rule, but by the time someone jumps on a Discovery Call with me, it’s merely a formality for figuring out the logistics. They’re already ready to invest based on my content or referral system. If they’re not, 20 minutes of chatting will do just fine.

Another part of why I don’t like this strategy is because it feels like a guilt trip. If you are selling high-ticket coaching offers, but aren’t charging for 2 full hours to get started, it feels like you’re desperately trying to guilt people into buying from you as a return favor. It doesn’t feel aligned. For that reason, I’m not a huge fan. Will you get a few clients? Of course. Enough? Probably not.

Would I recommend this book? If you’re a coach, have a look at it. Just because I don’t agree with some of the advice, doesn’t mean you won’t. I’m up for the debate. 😉

☕️ Meaningful Conversations in June 2025

Nope, no FIKA with Caroline sessions in June either. Family and friends are getting every moment of my attention when I’m not working on my business, and that is enough for now. I do plan on bringing them back, but not quite yet.

⭐️ Success Celebrated in June 2025 

This month, I got Certified as a Photo Manager – again. It’s been a while since I had to recertify last time (maybe like 10 years or so?), so I suppose it was overdue. The Photo Managers (for whom I am a Masterclass trainer) updated their certification program, so I got to retake it and refresh my skills. I’m happy to say that I got a perfect score, so well done me. 🎉 I still know what I’m doing.

That’s worth celebrating, don’t you think?

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

What hubs, tools, products, and services do I use to be more productive? Lots and 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, unless i bring it… 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.
• Canva → I love using this graphic design platform for a wide variety of marketing materials. I also feature it in some of our workshops, for example The People Index.
• Backblaze → Highly recommended in DPO PRO. For just a few dollars per year, you get full computer backups and easy retrieval. It’s by far the cheapest insurance you’ll ever buy.
• SparkLoop → A recommendations network for content creators and email marketers that’s fun and easy to use. I have it integrated with my ConvertKit account.
• Ibotta → This cashback site helps you make the most of your personal shopping. It’s an easy way to cut down on the grocery bills, and make a little extra money back. Totally legit.
• 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

This month, I’m highlighting Moroccan Mint, a wonderfully light blend from Harney & Sons. It’s made up of organic gunpowder green tea and peppermint.

Many flavored teas are way too overpowering, but not this one. It’s just the right balance of fresh and bitter, so I highly recommend it if you’re in the mood for something minty.

📐 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.

🎬 Prefer to Watch This Report?

• 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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