July 3, 2025 • 17 mins
Feeling busy but not productive? These five powerful strategies will help you take back your time and get more done with ease.
Jessica Rosario shares her top productivity secrets for entrepreneurs who are tired of spinning their wheels. From creating simple systems and optimizing your morning routine to identifying your peak productivity zone, these tips help you eliminate distractions and reclaim your energy and focus. Whether you're chasing quick wins or tackling big projects, her approach will help you get things done without burnout.
You don’t need to do more—you need to do what matters most. Start building habits that fuel your focus, freedom, and fulfillment.
https://Jessrosario.com/fbgroup
Now that you've listened to the Married to the Hustle Podcast, it's time to join the community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/marriedtothehustle
Another way to support the podcast is to leave a review. Your feedback helps us to continue creating valuable content and reach a wider audience.
Thank you for your support!
Alex & Jessica Fortis
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
Hello and welcome to the maximize your day podcast, a
place for entrepreneurs forbuilding their business, in
pursuit of freedom andflexibility to do the things
they love.
I'm your host, jessica Rosario.
I'm a New Yorker turnedFloridian who knows a thing or
two on how to effectively manageyour time while juggling
multiple priorities.
I'm an ex-corporate leader whowalked away from my nine to
(00:39):
five-ish to launch and grow mybusiness.
In this podcast, I shareinsights on mindset, business
productivity, habits andstrategies to help you take
control of your to do list andmaximize your day, which will
help you feel more confident andless overwhelmed and getting
more done in less time.
I'm so excited you're here.
Go ahead, listen in.
Welcome back.
(01:10):
In today's episode, we're goingto be talking about how to be a
productive entrepreneur and I'mgoing to be sharing five
secrets to getting things doneto help you be more productive.
Every entrepreneur wants to beproductive.
It just feels good to look atsomething tangible and say you
know what?
I created this, I made this, Idid this To get things done, to
(01:31):
check things off a list, to makea serious dent in your
checklist.
You want to feel a level offulfillment in everything that
you do and those are the thingsthat make you feel more
productive.
But you see, productivity looksdifferent to different people,
but the feeling as a whole isuniversal.
(01:55):
For one person, creating anincredible presentation or
meeting the needs of a specificclient can make them feel
amazing, fulfilled and they justreally got things done.
But for another, it may meandeveloping a new product or
coming up with a new design.
For you it may be somethingcompletely different, but you
(02:20):
know the good feeling that youget by putting in a productive
day.
You know exactly what I'mtalking about.
Productivity encourages a truesense of purpose and it offers a
deep feeling of accomplishmentthat's important to a happy and
fulfilled life.
Being productive also gives youthe freedom to spend more time
with the ones that you love andless time worrying about the
(02:43):
things that are left unfinished.
There's nothing better thanmaximizing your day If you're
looking for that sense ofpurpose and happiness that can
come from being productive.
I'm sure in this episode you'regoing to find some ways to focus
on the things that will get youthere.
Now don't get me wrong.
(03:06):
Productivity isn't always easy,especially when you're dealing
with life.
There are so many things thatcan cause your productivity to
falter and even come to acomplete stop.
Trust me, I've been there.
As an entrepreneur, you'reconstantly battling a thousand
distractions that can blockcreativity and derail a
(03:28):
productive morning or afternoonor evening, whatever your most
productive state is.
And these distractions may stemfrom your personal life.
They may be work related.
It could be, you know, familyrelated, family issues, or it
could be perhaps that your carbroke down or anything like that
(03:48):
that can cause you to getdistracted.
But on the other hand, there'sthese other distractions that we
kind of have control over right.
All day long you're receivingnotifications, text messages,
slack messages, emails oh mygosh, social media pings,
(04:09):
mentions, you name it or itcould be calls.
It could be that you startedscrolling one moment on your
phone and you didn't realize 45minutes had already passed.
So just as you start to get toimportant matters, you start to
realize that unless you put yourphone aside or shut off all
(04:34):
distractions and notifications,you're going to be sucked into
that big black hole of socialmedia.
Even if you're able to set asidethese distractions, you may
still feel like you're notreally accomplishing anything.
So you're feeling busy butyou're not productive.
(04:55):
You're getting things done butyou're not getting the right
things done.
You answer a whole lot ofemails.
You reply to a whole lot oftexts and messages, a lot of
people that are waiting for yourresponse, whether it's Slack,
whatsapp or Voxer but you stillcome away each day feeling like
(05:18):
you didn't accomplish what youwanted to do.
Have you ever felt like youwere working really hard but
getting nowhere?
You go to bed exhausted, wakeup exhausted, but you don't feel
like you have anything to showfor it.
(05:38):
You know there has to be abetter way, but you just don't
know where to start.
So I've put together someexamples for you on how to
become a more productiveentrepreneur, and although
there's only five examplesdoesn't mean this is the end.
All be all of the list.
(05:58):
Examples doesn't mean this isthe end all be all of the list.
Make sure that you identifysome of these and feel free to
add some things that you canimplement on your own as well.
So example number one it'simplement systems.
Oh my gosh.
Systems are lifesavers for everysingle thing that you do, are
(06:18):
lifesavers for every singlething that you do, whether it's
a system on how to follow up,whether it's how to strategize,
whether in your business, or ifyou're in your corporate
position, creating templatesthat you're constantly doing
(06:42):
over and over and over again.
Why are we reinventing thewheel?
And even grocery shopping?
Do you meal plan for the week?
And it doesn't have to be toocomplicated, I promise you.
I remember the first time thatsomeone told me about meal
planning, I thought I don't havetime to meal plan.
But now the way I look at it is, if I don't meal plan, I won't
have time to meal plan.
But now the way I look at it is, if I don't meal plan, I won't
(07:02):
have time to do the other thingsthat I want to do.
So you can implement systems inalmost every aspect of your
life in order to make your lifeeasier and feel more productive.
Example number two and somepeople will frown upon this, but
I will just say wake up earlier, whatever that means for you.
(07:28):
That could be 30 minutes, thatcould be 45 minutes, that could
be one hour.
What does your morning routinelook like?
Are you waking up in themorning and running around Like,
as I always say, like a chickenwithout a head?
Like you just wake up in themorning and running around like,
as I always say, like a chickenwithout a head.
Like you just wake up in themorning, the alarm goes off.
You jump off the bed.
You barely have time forbreakfast.
You're yelling at the kids toget ready because you forgot to
(07:51):
set your alarm, or perhaps yousnoozed the alarm.
All of those things have animpact on the rest of your
productivity for the remainderof the day.
So it's really important totake the time to do you in the
morning.
You know whether it's anadditional 15 minutes, 30
(08:13):
minutes.
What can you do during thattime?
Just so many things you canjournal, which I highly
recommend.
Time Just so many things youcan journal, which I highly
recommend.
You can just meditate, and I'mnot saying fall asleep again and
wait for the nine minute snooze, but taking the time to just
sit there and make space foryourself.
(08:39):
Find the room to start your dayright on a positive note.
Is it a devotional that you'rereading, or is it a professional
or personal development book?
And hey, it doesn't even haveto be any of those books, right,
(08:59):
it actually can be a fictionbook that you absolutely love.
What book is sitting on yournightstand ready for you?
So identify what are some waysthat you can change up your
morning routine in order to helpyou boost your productivity for
the remainder of the day.
(09:20):
Example number three eliminatedistractions.
Oh my goodness, turn off thenotifications or put your phone
on.
Do not disturb.
How about phone face down?
There's something about mereading a book and having my
phone next to me and the momentI see it light up, I
(09:41):
automatically shift my eyes tomy phone and I lose my line on
my page.
All of those seconds take timeout of your day.
So if you could have finishedreading a chapter in a book, you
probably got through half of itbecause you were constantly
looking at your phone.
Probably got through half of itbecause you were constantly
(10:03):
looking at your phone.
So a good way just put yourphone face down or keep your
phone where it's not withinreach.
Set boundaries.
So if you're done reading, ifyou're done meditating or
whatever that routine is goingto be in the mornings and you
want to jump on social media fora couple of minutes, what is
the purpose of it?
Are you going to jump inwhether you're managing a
(10:26):
business and you're going to goin there and see if anyone
mentioned you or commented andyou're going to respond?
Have a purpose for your socialmedia scrolling and then some of
those boundaries can be timeright.
So jumping into your socialmedia in the morning, it could
(10:46):
be maybe five or 10 minutes, orjust don't jump into social
media at all in the morning.
You can leave that for yourlunch break or perhaps in the
evening time.
You know, I highly recommendthat you eliminate distractions
that are keeping you from beingmost productive.
And when it comes to boundariesand we can do a whole new
(11:09):
episode on that by itself butboundaries are so important when
it comes to family matters aswell I remember a client of mine
who said that when she getshome from work because she was
in a highly stressful job shewould lock herself up in the
bedroom for one hour.
She had three children, one ofthem who was a teen, and that
(11:33):
one hour they knew that theycould not knock on that door
unless it was urgent.
They knew that if it was tocomplain about you know, this
one took my clothes, or this onewore my shirt without my
permission, or, mommy, can Ihave a snack?
Or anything like that they knewnot to interrupt her for that
(11:54):
one hour because that one hourwas her me time and the family
knew about it.
So, setting those boundariesand getting buy-in from family
as well is really important.
Example number four identifyyour most productive state.
Oh my goodness, I cannot tellyou how important that is.
(12:15):
When I have a conversation witha client, I always ask them
what is your most productivestate?
Because if your most productivestate is in the mornings, then
that is the best time for you toget things done.
Now, if you're not a morningperson, that may not be your
most productive state.
For some, their most productivestate is in the afternoons, so
(12:41):
they might drag themselves alittle in the morning, but once
the afternoon hits, they knowthey have this boost of energy
that they're ready to conquerthe world.
Hey, if it works for you,that's fine.
Just know that it's importantfor you to identify your most
productive state.
I actually polled in my Facebookgroup about six months ago and
(13:02):
I asked that specific questionwhat is your most productive
state?
And you'll be surprised howmany night owls are inside of my
Facebook group.
I had so many entrepreneurs andcorporate career women's who
women who were working at allhours of the night past midnight
(13:26):
, to be up already at six, seveno'clock in the morning.
I don't know how they do it,but that is their most
productive state, when everyoneis sleeping and there's
absolutely zero distraction.
So identify your mostproductive state and run with it
.
And if you're not sure whatthat is, play around with it.
(13:46):
Get yourself your to-do list oryour project list.
Work on that time for that weekand the following week change
it to the afternoon and see howmuch you can accomplish between
the two.
But identify what that is and Ipromise you you will boost your
(14:07):
productivity every time.
And my last example, number five, is eat the frog or grab your
quick win.
There is a book that talksabout this, about grabbing.
You know, tackle your biggestproject or your biggest item on
(14:29):
the to-do list and crush itfirst.
Now I will tell you, to somethat causes procrastination, so
beware of that.
For me, I like to grab a quickwin.
If I have a major project in myhands, for me, it is really
(14:50):
important that I eliminate everyother smaller thing, that I can
just accomplish those littlequick wins before I tackle my
big project, then that's exactlywhat I'm going to do.
So for some people they want todo the hardest things first.
Hey, do you?
(15:12):
But for others, they want tograb that quick win that's going
to help them feel like theyhave some level of momentum.
It eliminates procrastinationand when you have that feeling
that you're in the zone and thatyou're in your most productive
state, the zone and that you'rein your most productive state,
you're going to be able to crushthose other larger goals.
So there you have it, my fiveexamples on how to be a more
(15:36):
productive entrepreneur.
And let me just recap thoseImplementing systems is number
one.
Number two wake up earlier.
Number three eliminatedistractions.
Number four identify your mostproductive state.
And number five eat that frog.
(15:59):
I'm sure you've alreadyimplemented some of these steps
and you've put in the work andyou can be fulfilled in what
you've already completed.
I know that you'll find thesefive steps helpful.
I love feedback and I justcan't wait to hear what new
habits you've been able toimplement to maximize your day.
(16:21):
And don't forget, justsubscribe to the podcast to be
notified the second a newepisode is released and share
with your friends who youbelieve could benefit from
listening.
Contact me at JessRosariocom toshare your feedback, ask
questions and make some topicsuggestions.
You never know what the nextepisode is going to be about
Until next time.
Maximize your day and own it.
Hello and welcome to the maximize your day podcast, a
place for entrepreneurs forbuilding their business, in
pursuit of freedom andflexibility to do the things
they love.
I'm your host, jessica Rosario.
I'm a New Yorker turnedFloridian who knows a thing or
two on how to effectively manageyour time while juggling
multiple priorities.
I'm an ex-corporate leader whowalked away from my nine to
(00:39):
five-ish to launch and grow mybusiness.
In this podcast, I shareinsights on mindset, business
productivity, habits andstrategies to help you take
control of your to do list andmaximize your day, which will
help you feel more confident andless overwhelmed and getting
more done in less time.
I'm so excited you're here.
Go ahead, listen in.
Welcome back.
(01:10):
In today's episode, we're goingto be talking about how to be a
productive entrepreneur and I'mgoing to be sharing five
secrets to getting things doneto help you be more productive.
Every entrepreneur wants to beproductive.
It just feels good to look atsomething tangible and say you
know what?
I created this, I made this, Idid this To get things done, to
(01:31):
check things off a list, to makea serious dent in your
checklist.
You want to feel a level offulfillment in everything that
you do and those are the thingsthat make you feel more
productive.
But you see, productivity looksdifferent to different people,
but the feeling as a whole isuniversal.
(01:55):
For one person, creating anincredible presentation or
meeting the needs of a specificclient can make them feel
amazing, fulfilled and they justreally got things done.
But for another, it may meandeveloping a new product or
coming up with a new design.
For you it may be somethingcompletely different, but you
(02:20):
know the good feeling that youget by putting in a productive
day.
You know exactly what I'mtalking about.
Productivity encourages a truesense of purpose and it offers a
deep feeling of accomplishmentthat's important to a happy and
fulfilled life.
Being productive also gives youthe freedom to spend more time
with the ones that you love andless time worrying about the
(02:43):
things that are left unfinished.
There's nothing better thanmaximizing your day If you're
looking for that sense ofpurpose and happiness that can
come from being productive.
I'm sure in this episode you'regoing to find some ways to focus
on the things that will get youthere.
Now don't get me wrong.
(03:06):
Productivity isn't always easy,especially when you're dealing
with life.
There are so many things thatcan cause your productivity to
falter and even come to acomplete stop.
Trust me, I've been there.
As an entrepreneur, you'reconstantly battling a thousand
distractions that can blockcreativity and derail a
(03:28):
productive morning or afternoonor evening, whatever your most
productive state is.
And these distractions may stemfrom your personal life.
They may be work related.
It could be, you know, familyrelated, family issues, or it
could be perhaps that your carbroke down or anything like that
(03:48):
that can cause you to getdistracted.
But on the other hand, there'sthese other distractions that we
kind of have control over right.
All day long you're receivingnotifications, text messages,
slack messages, emails oh mygosh, social media pings,
(04:09):
mentions, you name it or itcould be calls.
It could be that you startedscrolling one moment on your
phone and you didn't realize 45minutes had already passed.
So just as you start to get toimportant matters, you start to
realize that unless you put yourphone aside or shut off all
(04:34):
distractions and notifications,you're going to be sucked into
that big black hole of socialmedia.
Even if you're able to set asidethese distractions, you may
still feel like you're notreally accomplishing anything.
So you're feeling busy butyou're not productive.
(04:55):
You're getting things done butyou're not getting the right
things done.
You answer a whole lot ofemails.
You reply to a whole lot oftexts and messages, a lot of
people that are waiting for yourresponse, whether it's Slack,
whatsapp or Voxer but you stillcome away each day feeling like
(05:18):
you didn't accomplish what youwanted to do.
Have you ever felt like youwere working really hard but
getting nowhere?
You go to bed exhausted, wakeup exhausted, but you don't feel
like you have anything to showfor it.
(05:38):
You know there has to be abetter way, but you just don't
know where to start.
So I've put together someexamples for you on how to
become a more productiveentrepreneur, and although
there's only five examplesdoesn't mean this is the end.
All be all of the list.
(05:58):
Examples doesn't mean this isthe end all be all of the list.
Make sure that you identifysome of these and feel free to
add some things that you canimplement on your own as well.
So example number one it'simplement systems.
Oh my gosh.
Systems are lifesavers for everysingle thing that you do, are
(06:18):
lifesavers for every singlething that you do, whether it's
a system on how to follow up,whether it's how to strategize,
whether in your business, or ifyou're in your corporate
position, creating templatesthat you're constantly doing
(06:42):
over and over and over again.
Why are we reinventing thewheel?
And even grocery shopping?
Do you meal plan for the week?
And it doesn't have to be toocomplicated, I promise you.
I remember the first time thatsomeone told me about meal
planning, I thought I don't havetime to meal plan.
But now the way I look at it is, if I don't meal plan, I won't
have time to meal plan.
But now the way I look at it is, if I don't meal plan, I won't
(07:02):
have time to do the other thingsthat I want to do.
So you can implement systems inalmost every aspect of your
life in order to make your lifeeasier and feel more productive.
Example number two and somepeople will frown upon this, but
I will just say wake up earlier, whatever that means for you.
(07:28):
That could be 30 minutes, thatcould be 45 minutes, that could
be one hour.
What does your morning routinelook like?
Are you waking up in themorning and running around Like,
as I always say, like a chickenwithout a head?
Like you just wake up in themorning and running around like,
as I always say, like a chickenwithout a head.
Like you just wake up in themorning, the alarm goes off.
You jump off the bed.
You barely have time forbreakfast.
You're yelling at the kids toget ready because you forgot to
(07:51):
set your alarm, or perhaps yousnoozed the alarm.
All of those things have animpact on the rest of your
productivity for the remainderof the day.
So it's really important totake the time to do you in the
morning.
You know whether it's anadditional 15 minutes, 30
(08:13):
minutes.
What can you do during thattime?
Just so many things you canjournal, which I highly
recommend.
Time Just so many things youcan journal, which I highly
recommend.
You can just meditate, and I'mnot saying fall asleep again and
wait for the nine minute snooze, but taking the time to just
sit there and make space foryourself.
(08:39):
Find the room to start your dayright on a positive note.
Is it a devotional that you'rereading, or is it a professional
or personal development book?
And hey, it doesn't even haveto be any of those books, right,
(08:59):
it actually can be a fictionbook that you absolutely love.
What book is sitting on yournightstand ready for you?
So identify what are some waysthat you can change up your
morning routine in order to helpyou boost your productivity for
the remainder of the day.
(09:20):
Example number three eliminatedistractions.
Oh my goodness, turn off thenotifications or put your phone
on.
Do not disturb.
How about phone face down?
There's something about mereading a book and having my
phone next to me and the momentI see it light up, I
(09:41):
automatically shift my eyes tomy phone and I lose my line on
my page.
All of those seconds take timeout of your day.
So if you could have finishedreading a chapter in a book, you
probably got through half of itbecause you were constantly
looking at your phone.
Probably got through half of itbecause you were constantly
(10:03):
looking at your phone.
So a good way just put yourphone face down or keep your
phone where it's not withinreach.
Set boundaries.
So if you're done reading, ifyou're done meditating or
whatever that routine is goingto be in the mornings and you
want to jump on social media fora couple of minutes, what is
the purpose of it?
Are you going to jump inwhether you're managing a
(10:26):
business and you're going to goin there and see if anyone
mentioned you or commented andyou're going to respond?
Have a purpose for your socialmedia scrolling and then some of
those boundaries can be timeright.
So jumping into your socialmedia in the morning, it could
(10:46):
be maybe five or 10 minutes, orjust don't jump into social
media at all in the morning.
You can leave that for yourlunch break or perhaps in the
evening time.
You know, I highly recommendthat you eliminate distractions
that are keeping you from beingmost productive.
And when it comes to boundariesand we can do a whole new
(11:09):
episode on that by itself butboundaries are so important when
it comes to family matters aswell I remember a client of mine
who said that when she getshome from work because she was
in a highly stressful job shewould lock herself up in the
bedroom for one hour.
She had three children, one ofthem who was a teen, and that
(11:33):
one hour they knew that theycould not knock on that door
unless it was urgent.
They knew that if it was tocomplain about you know, this
one took my clothes, or this onewore my shirt without my
permission, or, mommy, can Ihave a snack?
Or anything like that they knewnot to interrupt her for that
(11:54):
one hour because that one hourwas her me time and the family
knew about it.
So, setting those boundariesand getting buy-in from family
as well is really important.
Example number four identifyyour most productive state.
Oh my goodness, I cannot tellyou how important that is.
(12:15):
When I have a conversation witha client, I always ask them
what is your most productivestate?
Because if your most productivestate is in the mornings, then
that is the best time for you toget things done.
Now, if you're not a morningperson, that may not be your
most productive state.
For some, their most productivestate is in the afternoons, so
(12:41):
they might drag themselves alittle in the morning, but once
the afternoon hits, they knowthey have this boost of energy
that they're ready to conquerthe world.
Hey, if it works for you,that's fine.
Just know that it's importantfor you to identify your most
productive state.
I actually polled in my Facebookgroup about six months ago and
(13:02):
I asked that specific questionwhat is your most productive
state?
And you'll be surprised howmany night owls are inside of my
Facebook group.
I had so many entrepreneurs andcorporate career women's who
women who were working at allhours of the night past midnight
(13:26):
, to be up already at six, seveno'clock in the morning.
I don't know how they do it,but that is their most
productive state, when everyoneis sleeping and there's
absolutely zero distraction.
So identify your mostproductive state and run with it
.
And if you're not sure whatthat is, play around with it.
(13:46):
Get yourself your to-do list oryour project list.
Work on that time for that weekand the following week change
it to the afternoon and see howmuch you can accomplish between
the two.
But identify what that is and Ipromise you you will boost your
(14:07):
productivity every time.
And my last example, number five, is eat the frog or grab your
quick win.
There is a book that talksabout this, about grabbing.
You know, tackle your biggestproject or your biggest item on
(14:29):
the to-do list and crush itfirst.
Now I will tell you, to somethat causes procrastination, so
beware of that.
For me, I like to grab a quickwin.
If I have a major project in myhands, for me, it is really
(14:50):
important that I eliminate everyother smaller thing, that I can
just accomplish those littlequick wins before I tackle my
big project, then that's exactlywhat I'm going to do.
So for some people they want todo the hardest things first.
Hey, do you?
(15:12):
But for others, they want tograb that quick win that's going
to help them feel like theyhave some level of momentum.
It eliminates procrastinationand when you have that feeling
that you're in the zone and thatyou're in your most productive
state, the zone and that you'rein your most productive state,
you're going to be able to crushthose other larger goals.
So there you have it, my fiveexamples on how to be a more
(15:36):
productive entrepreneur.
And let me just recap thoseImplementing systems is number
one.
Number two wake up earlier.
Number three eliminatedistractions.
Number four identify your mostproductive state.
And number five eat that frog.
(15:59):
I'm sure you've alreadyimplemented some of these steps
and you've put in the work andyou can be fulfilled in what
you've already completed.
I know that you'll find thesefive steps helpful.
I love feedback and I justcan't wait to hear what new
habits you've been able toimplement to maximize your day.
(16:21):
And don't forget, justsubscribe to the podcast to be
notified the second a newepisode is released and share
with your friends who youbelieve could benefit from
listening.
Contact me at JessRosariocom toshare your feedback, ask
questions and make some topicsuggestions.
You never know what the nextepisode is going to be about
Until next time.
Maximize your day and own it.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.