Reading Time: [25] Minutes

Welcome to my July 2024 productivity report! If you want to catch up, check out where I started in October 2023. You’ll find November 2023 here, and December 2023 here. For this year, January 2024 is here, February 2024 is here, March 2024 is here, April 2024 is here, May 2024 is here, and June 2024 is here. August coming soon!

🌱 How I Felt Going into July 2024

Heading into July, I was on cloud nine. After seeing so many of my friends and colleagues, I felt happier than I had in a long time… but I also knew there was much more to come. And I was ready for it. In fact, the theme for this month became a perfect fit: preparation. I wasn’t sure what was in store for me or what I had been preparing for, but I could sense that it was upon me.

🌻 When Preparation Meets Opportunity, You’re Unstoppable

It’s funny how the right things tend to find us at the right time. It’s kinda what I talked about last month when I shared how I like to follow my intuition. When you take action – even just a little bit of action – things just seem to fall into your lap. I guess some would call it selective perception. That means you look for opportunities intentionally when you are ready for them, and because you do that, you see them.

I believe things come your way when you’re ready for them, so if something is not working, it’s because there’s another lesson to bank somewhere first. Perhaps you’re not seeing that open door because you don’t yet have the key? There’s another piece to the puzzle that you need in order to find the right opportunity, and because you haven’t done the foundational work, you have no point of reference to draw from. But when you’re ready, you know you’re ready. And when preparation meets the right opportunity, you’re unstoppable. Just like at what Taylor Swift accomplished in May.

At this point, I don’t know what I am preparing for, but I know it’s going to be big, and I know it’s going to involve marketing to some extent. How do I know this? Well.. because a lot of marketing opportunities are currently presenting themselves to me. In fact, as I’m writing these words to you, I just had an incredible opportunity come my way, and I’m jumping in feet first. I feel the winds of change blowing.

Marketing is something I happen to be pretty good, and it’s a topic that I love studying. As an entrepreneur, I have to be good at it. My sales depend on it. Any type of behavioral science interests me, actually, but how to sell and make people take action is a skill everyone needs. You’re always selling yourself in some form or another, and the key is to know what the other person needs to hear. That means you need to be good at listening. That’s something I do well. Most people talk way too much to hear other people; I prefer to let others do the talking, so I know exactly what they’re thinking.

This fall will be full of marketing on my end, and I’ll be wearing both a teacher and a student hat interchangeably. I’ll be coaching a lot on marketing strategies at the fall boot camp for The Photo Managers, for example, which I am really looking forward to. If you’re a member, be sure to sign up. I also have several new clients for whom I’ll be strategizing new ways of promoting their businesses. That’s gonna be amazing. For my own benefit, I’ll be attending a marketing seminar in Los Angeles in October with some music mavens that I really admire. It’s gonna be amazing; and not to mention, let me clock some networking at the same time. Now, that’s productive.

There are so many ways to market yourself, but sometimes we forget that easiest way is to just get out and talk to people. Tell them about what you do. Show them how you do it. But most of all, listen to them. Understand what they’re saying, and predict what they need. I’m not saying change who you are or what you offer – not at all – but adjust your strategy if it doesn’t immediately hit the bullseye. If your ears are open and your eyes are focused, people will usually tell you what they need, directly or indirectly.

That said, I know it’s hard for entrepreneurs to find time for marketing, especially networking. I’ve spoken to many of my clients about this very thing a lot lately. As a solopreneur, you have to not only market and sell your services, but you often also have to fulfill the service. You have to know how to do it all. It’s a lot of work, so you get strapped for time. When you don’t know where the next project will come from (as you often don’t), it feels like a bit of a gamble to take the time to network.

I have found that networking actually is the safest form of marketing. The results come – it just takes a while to develop the relationships. It’s not instantaneous. That’s why it’s so important to network on a regular basis as a part of your overall, bigger strategy. A one-time show-and-tell at BNI isn’t gonna do it. You have to make an impression and place yourself at the top of their mind, so that when an opportunity comes up at a later date, they immediately think of you. It requires a bit of confidence, sure, but that comes with practice. If you know your value and what you bring to the table, it becomes a lot easier.

🤔 How often do you take the time to network?

I’d love to know, how often do you take the time to network? And what opportunities have come your way lately as a result? Were they the type of projects that you had been preparing for, or something completely different? Let me know in the comments below!

🏆 How Productive I was in July 2024

July was incredibly productive for me in terms of marketing and networking. I spent every single day with someone else, and it was time well invested. I picked up projects that I didn’t expect on picking up, and that was an interesting turn of events. Marketing at its finest, yet it wasn’t on purpose. How funny!

Remember how I stated last month that I spent an extra 30 hours on networking, and even though it wasn’t part of any goal? I measured that time because I wanted to see just how valuable that time was, if a project should come my way from it. Well, we’re about a month in, and so far, that time has yielded four new projects and over $6000 in revenue. If I break that down, it’s $200 per hour of ROI a this point. And we’re just only getting started! It’ll be really interesting to see where we’re at next month, both from the perspective of revenue and from impact. I have a feeling some of those projects will have a long-term impact on my career, one that will go far beyond the value of money. But let’s see.

📁 Projects Completed 

In July, I completed three projects. All of them were actually quite condensed in size, which is how I found the time and space for networking so much. Two of my projects were related to growth and marketing, and one was related to fulfillment (see below).

If you have checked out a productivity report before, you already know that my goal is to complete three projects per month. It’s a sweet spot for me, not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of spacing. WIth three projects as a goal, I have an opportunity to mix and match a bit without falling behind, so it works really well. Naturally, I have to be strategic with resource management, but I’ve been at this long enough to know how to manage that.

Project management is such an underrated skill to have because it drastically improves how well are able to manage life when a lot is coming at you. If this is not a strong area for you, I highly recommend that you practice. A simple reflection routine is a great place to start.

🚀 My Favorite Project in July 2024

My favorite project this month was to work with one of my clients in a VIP day. I can’t say who, of course, but let’s just say that she’s the best, and it’s a such a privilege to get to collaborate with her. Every time I get to do a VIP day, it’s a special feeling. I love being able to go deep into conversations with my clients and create positive change with such a fast turnaround.

VIP days are a great way to get a lot of stuff done in a focused way. I offer them in person and remotely at my day rate. Not gonna lie – they do take some preparation to pull off, but it’s so worth it. Clients get a tremendous amount of value, and the takeaways are usually quite powerful. There have been so many pivot points that I can think of related to VIP days, that I really feel they have a huge ROI. When we set aside time to really focus, purposefully make decisions, and then take immediate action on those decisions, something magical happens. And it’s a joy to behold every single time. ✨

If you’re interested in exploring what a VIP day could do for you, reach out! I’d love to chat! I do custom ones and I also do private versions of my Quarterly Planning workshops.

⏳ Hours Worked in July 2024

This month, I worked just over 90 hours, which is 22.5 hours per week. Out of those hours, twenty-four went towards networking. Just like last month, I wanted to measure how much time I invested in meeting new people, just in case any new projects would originate from the interaction. Not surprisingly it did, and I’ll have more tea to spill on that next month. For now, let’s just say that it was 24 hours well spent.

During most months, I work on 4-8 projects at one time. That being said, I rarely finish that many; three is my goal. Some of them happen to be larger and multi-layered, so they span several months and just aren’t possible to complete in one month. Course updates are great example of this, and so are bigger client projects. Any time, you have multiple people involved in one project (as you often do), you can plan on it taking longer than expected. The more you are used to collaborating with certain people too, the more you learn their ways, so you know what to expect.

For the past two months, I’ve been updating my course The Organizing Formula and I’ve taken my time on it. First, I rewrote it from a newer vantage point that will speak more to my ideal audience. Second, I recorded a video version of it. The videos turned out OK, but since I was on the road, I didn’t have great control of the audio. As such, I’ve decided to re-record it again to make it much quality better. Not part of the original plan, but that stuff happens. I won’t be able to complete it the end of August, so that project will not close until early to mid-September. I had hope to get it done sooner, but since the email course is up an running already, it’s not a big deal.

⌨️ Digital Images Organized in July 2024 

In June, I took 1565 photos and videos, and got rid of very few of them (46), leaving me with a net sum of 1519 new files. Not as many as during most months, but still plenty. I got a lot of great memories with friends, and even snuck in a combo photo shoot with my friend Jaleh on her book tour.

Once again, I only kept my photos safe this month. I didn’t get home until the end of July, so I decide to organize both June and July’s photos during August instead. More to come on that. It’ll be a bigger batch than usual, but it made sense to tackle everything as one trip instead of breaking it up into two months.

In the meantime, enjoy some of my favorite photos from July:

If you’d like to learn my workflow for organizing photos, join us in DPO PRO: The Ultimate Photo Organizing Masterclass. In it, we cover the entire digital photo organizing process, plus go in depth on the three most popular software options on the market: Lightroom, Photo Mechanic, and Apple Photos.

👟 Steps Walked in July 2024 

In July, I walked a total of 243,491 steps, which breaks down to about 8000 steps a day when spaced out evenly. Being on the move in Los Angeles helped tremendously, but then again, so did the warmer weather. My goal has been to consistently cross 5000 steps per day on auto-pilot, I’m pleased with this result. I’m still dipping here and there, but we’re getting closer and closer to this becoming a reality.

Making outdoor activities a bigger part of my life has helped a lot in closing the gap. I still want to get back to more horseback riding and things like that, and while I don’t know how much it’ll help my step count, I believe it’ll be an important part of my overall happiness. At least I’ll be outside even more.

Most people don’t know that I had six horses as a teenager, and I competed in dressage, showjumping, and steeplechase with significant success. Had I stayed in Sweden, I likely would have continued to the national level, and possibly gone pro, but alas, that was not my destiny. After moving to the US, I didn’t continue beyond the occasional ride here and there when on vacation. I miss it terribly, so it’s something I look forward to exploring again in the future. There’s nothing better than riding bare back on a beach somewhere, so I’m planning on making that happen in 2025.

🍋 Home-Cooked Meals in July 2024

Just like June, July month was a doozy; I came in at 52.4% for home-cooked meals, and that’s using the word loosely. Once again, I knew this was going to happen because I was on the road. We had breakfasts ready to go, but for most lunches and dinner, we went out. It was a bit of a break for me anyways in terms of meal planning and cooking, so I actually didn’t mind.

Giving yourself a bit of a break every now and then is so important in goal setting. You have to be disciplined, but not too strict. It’s a fine balance to strike, but it’s crucial that you do. It’s the same as setting a budget; you need to give yourself a bit of breathing space now and then. If you don’t make room for any fun at all, you’ll end up feeling deprived and then you’ll complete fall off.

The long game is really important with flexible goals, and I touched on that last month. As long as you get back on track again fairly quickly, it doesn’t matter if you have an occasional bad day (or week or month). It’s the big picture that counts. If you constantly keep an eye on the metrics and stay committed, you’ll be just fine.

🎧 Books & Learning in July 2024

This month, I read Sandbox Wisdom by Tom Asacker. It’s a marketing book I’ve ready many times before, but it’s so down-to-earth and useful, that I wanted to revisit it. Since I’m heading into a marketing-heavy season, it felt like the right time to pick it up again.

This is the first tangible book I’ve picked up in a long time. Normally, I just do audiobooks while I walk or drive, but in this case, I happen to have it in my library. It was a nice change of pace to hold a real book for a chance, so maybe I’ll do more of that.

I have a lot of favorites quotes from this book, and one of them is surprisingly applicable to this month’s conversation. It’s this: “Many people have forgotten how to slow down, truly emphathize, and make each contact count as a genuine, sincere encounter. It’s still about people and their feelings.” This is such a good reminder for anyone who is into marketing on any level. Selling people too soon on your product or service doesn’t work. You first have to sell them on you. It’s only after they are sold on you that they will invest, and that relationship can’t be rushed. Therefore, networking makes a lot of sense. And not just networking, but developing real, genuine friendships that can last you a lifetime.

I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Tom at a conference in Honolulu in the early 2000s, and he stood out as a generous and very encouraging person. We had quite a long conversation around marketing, and I learned a lot from him, so he deserves a shoutout. Thanks for the wisdom, Tom! If you haven’t yet picked up any of his books, now would be a good time.

☕️ Meaningful Conversations in July 2024

In July, I took a break from online catchups since I was spending so much time networking and catching up with people in real life. Suffice it to say that I would have a hard time choosing which meaning ful conversations to highlight since I had about 40 of them, well surpassing my goal of three.

If you’re on my mailing list, fear not – the FIKA with Caroline slots are not going away. They’re just taking a break while I’m on the road. I’ll likely pass in August too since I’ll be heading to Canada and New York to meet up with people there too, but I’ll bring them back in September.

⭐️ Success Celebrated in July 2024 

One of the workshops I had been looking forward to hosting for a while happened in July, and I want to celebrate that success! I called upon my dear friend and colleague Sarah Macnaught of The Photo Curators to present for my audience her take on the physical photo organizing process. It was a fantastic workshop, and the replay is now for sale in my academy.

In this workshop, Sarah covers how to organize physical media like a pro, and how to take your items all the way from complete mess to organized and scan ready. Yes, it is a workshop that I could have taught myself, but I wanted to bring in Sarah for three reasons: 1) It’s more fun to collaborate than do things alone and she is one of the best in the biz, 2) I get tired of hearing myself talk all the time, and 3) I have plenty of Australians and New Zealanders in my audience and they often need more local resources. Welcoming Sarah as a guest speaker took care of all of this at the same time. Score.

Shoutout to Sarah and The Photo Curators down in Sydney! I look forward to many more collaborations in the future!

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

What hubs, tools, products, and services do I use to be more productive? A great question! In an effort to be really transparent, I have a few recommendations below. Some of these are affiliates links, others are not, but I would recommend them regardless – they’re just awesome. Check them out!

Here’s my list of things I loved in July 2024:

• 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 now.
• 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. We have a workshop coming up on it this year, so stay tuned for more info on that.
• 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. Check it out if you’re a creative soul or a visual artist.
• Convertkit → This has been my email system for seven years now, and I love it. It’s so easy to use, and I love that I can keep my subscribers organized and properly segmented with just a few clicks.
• 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.
• Toggl → I’ve just switched away from Toggl, but that won’t stop me from recommending it. It’s a great tool to use for time-tracking. The free account can do a lot!
• 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.
• 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?
• Nuuly → I get so much use out of Nuuly (my rotating closet subscription service). It’s like shopping, except you never get tired of it. 🙌🏻 Highly recommended! 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.

🫖 Tea of the Month

This month, I’m highlighting Sadaf’s Cardamom tea, which I had almost every day while in California. This is a stronger black tea (from Sri Lanka) that’s caffeinated, and infused with Cardamom. You can drink it cold, like with any tea, but this one is really good hot, and with a bit of Saffron sugar. Normally, I don’t really use bagged teas at all, but this one is an exception. Get it from Sadaf’s online store, from any Middle Eastern grocery store, or from Amazon.

Sadaf Cardamon Tea

Yield: 1 Cup

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 1 minute

Additional Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 1 minute

Sadaf cardamom tea is a black tea from Sri Lanka, but it's very popular among many different asian and middle eastern cultures. It's quite strong, but has wonderful flavor. It's excellent with a bit of Saffron-infused sugar. Enjoy hot or cold.

Print

Ingredients

• Black Ceylon tea, Cardamom

Instructions

1. Bring water to boil
2. Pour over one bag of tea
3. Steep for 1-3 minutes
4. Remove tea bag and let sit for a minute
5. Enjoy!

Notes

Buy it on Amazon or directly from the Sadaf store online.

📐 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
• Most Recent Posts

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

• Mastering Your Emotional Self with Rationality Isn't Easy ... But Necessary.
• Talent Alone Isn't Enough... Determination is the Divide
• Kindness is Rare... and We Have to Fix That. Seriously.