Creativity and productivity. Professional-types tend to see them as two separate things. I certainly used to.
But when you’re leveraging thought leadership marketing for your brand (aka content creation, public speaking, etc.), you need tools and practices that help you be both creative and productive for your business.
In my role as a communication coach & influence strategist, I help my clients behind-the-scenes to build habits and systems that allow them to be both creative and productive. The trick is to come up with creative ideas for your message and brand, and have systems in place for you and your team to quickly follow through on them.
Moring Pages Practice
The short version:
You need to give yourself the time and space to clear out your “head junk” so that you can find clarity. It’s great for problem solving and being creative.
Voice Messages
(Telegram)
Long road trips. Walks in the park. Showers. That’s when some of my best ideas pop in my head. And in those moment, I record a message to myself to capture the idea. (Well, technically, after the showers).
Are you wanting to take your Thought Leadership Strategies
to the next level? My team and I can help!
We help relationship-driven entrepreneurs turn creative content
ideas into successful strategies that scale.
I love love how voice messages help me be more productive with asynchronous conversations. They’re the next best thing after actual conversations.
With voice messages, I’m able to stay up to date with my clients and stay in touch with friends and colleagues around the world without the coldness of emails and texts. Thanks to voice messages, I’m able to build deeper relationships and maintain a larger network. Plus, bouncing voice messages back and forth among awesome people tends to spark creative ideas. And it’s certainly productive for a relationship-driven business like mine.
Transcription Tools
Do yourself a favor and get those voice messages transcribed! Use transcriptions as a springboard for content ideas, sales funnels, etc.
Transcription tools are becoming more and more common. If I need to transcribe a larger file, I use Temi. But I’m using Temi less and less because Telegram and Slack offer AI transcriptions. And I have no doubt that ClickUp will be right behind them soon enough.
ClickUp
Holy. Grail.
I use this for ev-er-y-thing. Project management, CRM, daily tasks, …even meal planning!
Screen Recording Tool
(Loom or Clickup)
Loom (and now, also ClickUp) lets you record your screen with voice over and webcam options. Screen recordings are great for talking through creative ideas while showing examples. I often send screen recordings when I have copy and design edit requests – like when we updated our brand recently. (Oh, you haven’t seen the new site yet? Well, mosey on over and check it out!)
Time Tracking
It’s a game-changer when you know how long it ACTUALLY takes you and your team to finish tasks and projects. ClickUp‘s time tracking feature works great for my needs.
Mindmapping
(Miro)
I love mindmapping out ideas, project plans, and workflows. Using Miro + my iPad mini has been a dream come true. Plus, their templates make idea generation and organization that much easier!
Honorable Mentions
- Notability
This one is new to me, but so far, I’m a fan. It’s recoding feature pretty dope. You can record while taking notes. The app syncs your notes with the recording so that you can listen to what was being said when you took that note. - LoFi Playlists or Brain.FM
When I need to get into a creative/productive flow, that’s what’s playing. - HabitMinder (iPhone widget)
I am my most productive and creative when I’m supporting my body. And to help me do that, I use the Habit Minder to log daily healthy habits – like workouts, hydration, meditation, etc. - Other Healthy Habit Apps
Bodbot (workout creation and tracking), Down dog (yoga awesomeness), MyFitnessPal (nutrition tracking) and Waking Up (the best damn meditation app I’ve ever used)
Life is just a little bit better when you’re getting stuff done and having fun while you do it! I hope you find some new favorites in this list that help you be more creative and productive in your business.
Happy Influencing!
Sharí Alexander
Communication Coach & Strategist
P.S. Here are a few other ways I can help you increase your influence, whenever you’re ready.
1. I’m putting out a lot of great tips on LinkedIn and Instagram.
2. Grab a FREE copy of my Mindreader Blueprint. It’s the step by step guide for finding your influential message.
3. I do one thing better than anyone else…help industry speakers and subject matter experts* leverage their communication strengths and build strategies that: 1) educate their target market, and 2) increase sales.
If this is you, we should probably have a conversation.
*I especially excel when an industry topic is “boring,” “technical,” “visionary,” “complicated,” or “difficult to explain.”
