Eight Productivity Hacks for Small Business Owners
We are always looking for ways to work smarter and get more done. Below are some productivity hacks to get you started.
1) Understand the value of your time
If you have tasks that would be better suited to a skilled expert, but you are not ready to hire a full or part time employee, then outsourcing to a freelancer, contractor, or other professional might be a good alternative. If your biggest objection is price, consider how much money you could make if you fully focused on the things you do best for your business. Leave everything else to others.
2) Batch your day into productive chunks
Bouncing back and forth between tasks can be time consuming. The ability to focus on one task at a time, and keep a consistent rhythm, can make it easier to finish that task in less time. As a solopreneur for example you may:
• Check and respond to emails at the beginning, middle, and end of the day.
• Check social media network notifications and post a new update to
your social media networks twice a day.
• Set aside an hour or two before you need to leave to drop off
packages or before your carrier comes to pick up packages to do shipping and handling preparation.
3) Use your most productive hours for deep work
Deep work is a way of setting aside a certain undisturbed amount of time for the most difficult tasks. The goal is to eliminate any external distractions (phone, social media, etc.) and have at least 1-2h of deeply concentrated work. Research suggests that out of 8 working hours, an average worker is truly productive just 2h 53min. Some might find their peak is in the morning, some might work best in early afternoon, and so on.
4) Plan for tomorrow at the end of the day
Spend the last 15 minutes of your day planning for the next morning. Write down a to-do list at the end of each day, so you can hit the ground running the following morning.
5) Find creative ways to complete difficult task
Try using a game such as ‘Beat the Clock’ to get repetitive tasks done. To take advantage of small windows of time, use the timer on your phone to set a specific number of minutes (10-15) to complete the task. Remove all distractions during that time and completely focus on doing this one thing for the limited time you have determined.
Institute ‘no meeting’ Wednesdays
Block out one day where no one in the office has meetings. If you are an entrepreneur, have one day in which you do not schedule meetings. This gives everyone an opportunity to churn out some work on a major project, or simply to take care of all those little tasks that pile up during the week.
6) Eliminate EOW (End of Week) from your vocabulary
It is easy to accept End of Week as a reasonable time for deliverables but it may keep you on the hook for working late on a Friday. You may find that EOD (end of day) Thursday is an attainable deadline. This will leave an extra day after delivery for implementation, or to ask questions, and will make you and your teams happier and more productive as they close out the week
8) Take care of yourself
Forgetting about self-care is a common issue for entrepreneurs.
• A Fitbit or similar device will help you stay active, monitor your
sleep and encourage eating right.
• Try out a financial service like Mint to track what you’re spending.
• Use a virtual assistant like EasilyDo to help you stay on top of your
schedule.
• Set up a few triggers on If This Then That to stay relevant on social
networks without having to manually post.
• Finally, download an app like Coach.me that allows you set and
track goals like increasing productivity, improving your health, etc.
Adapted by Shellecia Brooks-Johnson from Productivity articles by Tracey Wallace and Anna Dizon on Bigcommerce.com and Fitsmallbusiness.com
