April 2025

Sometimes it’s just easier to do it yourself. I’m confident this sentiment rings true for many of you, whether you’re running a household or a business. Am I right?

Recently, this bubbled to the top of a Q&A session during a presentation I was giving to a women’s business development group. Someone lamented that it’s really overwhelming to consider hiring a virtual assistant because she just wouldn’t know what to give them.

All of us could empathize. So, I directed the conversation to two of my top-six tips for productivity. Tip #3 is to create Workflows and processes by creating documents for repeatable projects so that you’re not reinventing the wheel each time you do them.

Once you invest the time necessary to accomplish documenting processes, you’ll save exponentially more time either by repeating the process yourself without nearly as much thinking or by delegating it. It won’t be easier to just do it yourself because you’ll have prepared for someone else to do it!

What puts the cherry on top is Tip #4, which is to track how long it takes you to do a task so that you know how much time to block out for it next time. Doing this will ensure your time blocking for this task will be realistic, setting you up for success and making you feel accomplished. Or you can delegate the task, and both of you will know what to expect and how long it will take.

This all goes back to basics as to why I launched Workflows by Ronna. I’ve spent years figuring out productivity strategies that will make you more effective and happier as you free up time for other things. I can help you document processes, create Workflows, and learn tools and tricks. Figuring this all out is not something you need to tackle by yourself – let me help you!

- Ronna

My Favorite Things 

A cup of my favorite highlighters taught me something recently. Yep, there were lessons learned from highlighters at a recent Notebooks with Ronna workshop when one participant made the directions on one worksheet work better for her.

The directions said to cross off all tasks that aren’t your responsibility or don’t pertain to you. She chimed in and said she was going to highlight the ones that she does handle. “That’s how my brain works!” she said.

I flashed an enormous smile because I always preach that I’m teaching a process, and the tool is yours to choose whether digital, paper, hybrid, pen, pencil, marker or highlighter!

I, too, love highlighters so I’ll share with you my favorite ones here. And, I'll be putting out a cup of them at every workshop (or suggesting them at every virtual workshop) moving forward, offering up yet another way to customize productivity to each one of you.

My daughter and I on spring break in Costa Rica, proudly wearing our UW-Madison shirts

What I’m Thinking About

I’ve got some really exciting news, and thus it’s a lot of what I’ve been thinking about lately. My daughter committed to the University of Wisconsin-Madison – my alma mater and one of my happiest places on earth!

So, now that she's made this impressive and wise choice (Go, Badgers!), I've got so much to think about and plan. And she’s my oldest so I’ve never done this before.

But true to my personality, I’ve done the research and collected best practices from all of my very smart friends who have already sent kids to college. I’m building a Workflow for all of the college-prep to-dos once your child is admitted. It even includes a packing list with links! You might have noticed an underlying theme here I mentioned earlier in this newsletter: Tip #3, create Workflows and processes for repeatable processes.

I have a younger son who, in the blink of an eye, likely will be on the same journey.  That sure sounds like a repeatable event to me. I’ll be lucky to have a process in place to tackle it productively!

Also, I’ve got an announcement!

Recently I was honored to be a guest on the Daily Influence podcast. I sat down with host Gregg-Brooke Koleno to chat. We touched on many of my favorite topics: 

• the power of proactive planning

• the impact of structured processes (Workflows!)

• how productivity helps in personal and professional lives

• how responsible influence plays a role in people working smarter, not harder

The podcast inspires its listeners with stories, insights and interviews that help people build a life of positivity and purpose. Give my episode a listen and let me know what you think – hope I met those lofty (and amazing) goals!

Are you ready to explore how to avoid burnout, relieve stress and be more productive with customized time-management tools?

Fill out my contact form to set up a free 30-minute consultation.