It also gets a little lonely, right? During the pandemic, like others, I have suffered terrible isolation working from home. Who do you bounce ideas off of? Who holds you accountable? How do you stay focused when you need to get sh*t done? These were all my challenges.. and I wasn't alone. When chatting to friends and other clients, they all moaned about the same things. Life is too distracting, tasks were taking too long to get done, to-do lists were cluttered and people were feeling helpless.
The pandemic fuels Zoom networking
Online networking really took off after the pandemic hit because face-to-face meetings became unfeasible. Zoom changed its whole product to accommodate break-out rooms and a variety of other aspects that make virtual networking meetings feasible and manageable. Over the past 2 months, I have been attending online networking meetings like Peppercorn and Pomegranate, which are fun, fast and interesting. I've loved the people I've met there and I'll be attending many more.
Productivity meets connectivity
So with this all in mind, I wanted to do something about the issues I was facing.
I'm a natural connector, so bringing people together and hosting something online is natural for me. And thank goodness for technology!
I've created a hybrid model of co-working and networking together with a productivity session. You come to meet, work and get sh!t done! And it's proving effective.
So much so that I have launched Let's Get Productive Networking, where I get to connect people (which is my strength), teach productivity or online business tip and get work done.
This feels like something unique to the world of online networking, where it sometimes feels like a speed dating session.
"Thank you so much for this morning. Combining networking and productivity in one session is a very clever idea and I hope that it grows for you" Yianna Greeks, The Purple Element
So what is it?
The Let's Get Productive Networking Circle is a fun, focused session where you will leave with a tangible outcome or deliverable you've accomplished, some productivity, marketing or content tips, possible feedback on what you've created and maybe even a new friend ;) You can work on anything during our time together - a blog post, design an image, write a proposal, do your taxes...Anything where you know you've been procrastinating for a while. Bring it! And the best part?... The circle is free.
When do they happen?
Let's Get Productive Networking Circles happen on every alternate Friday at 8.30am SAST (for the South African and UK/European crowd) and every alternate Wednesday, at 4pm SAST for the USA crowd.
How does it work?
It's so simple...
You sign up here.
On the day, you join the Zoom call - a link will be sent one day beforehand.
Introduce yourself and tell us what you’re planning to work on in the chat.
You’ll get a 2-minute productivity tip or template from me.
We’ll start the clock for 25 minutes for you to do your thing - cameras off, muted mic.
Then a quick 5-minute break
Then another 25 minutes of focused time
Once we’re done, we’ll break into groups of 2 or 3 to offer each other feedback on what we’ve done.
The results speak for themselves At our previous session:
Harsheila planned her content calendar for November.
Yianna created her value proposition and figured out what made her different to her competitors.
Mandy got through 1.5 proposals that had been plaguing her for weeks.
I focused on writing a new blog post on burnout and I shared a productivity tip for entrepreneurs to start focusing on money making tasks. All you need is 90 mins with us and you too can push through procrastination and beat the loneliness of being a solopreneur. So who is this for networking circle for? This circle is perfect for you if:
You are a speaker, creative, coach, facilitator, freelancer, small mom & pop business or even a consultant - If you have a small business, and you work from home, then you are welcome.
You want to get work done for your business but find yourself procrastinating or wildly distracted.
You’d like to get some feedback on your work
You're feeling isolated working from home alone. How to sign up
Sign up here https://bit.ly/letsgetproductivenetworking and co-work virtually for 90min, stay focused, connect with great people & be productive. This is effective networking. You're welcome ;)
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