How To Be More Productive As An Entrepreneur
Have you wondered how some entrepreneurs and small business owners seem to have their stuff together? Chances are they probably don’t, they just appear to.. In this post I will show you how to be more productive as an entrepreneur or business owner.
I think it’s easy to assume that small business owners will automatically be good at organising their time and juggling various tasks but it’s not always the case. If you’re struggling with productivity as a business owner, just know you’re not alone and I’ll give you some steps you can follow to me more productive as an entrepreneur.
14 Ways To Be More Productive As An Entrepreneur
It’s no surprise these days that people struggle with productivity, maybe you have family commitments or just generally overwhelmed by everything that needs to be done for your business.
Are you considering hiring a Virtual Assistant for your business? I’ve written a post outlining how a Virtual Assistant can help your business to help you decide if you’re in a position to hire a Virtual Assistant for your business.
I collected some really useful tips from successful entrepreneurs on Facebook, to get a good idea of how other business owners manage their time for productivity.
Tackle The Hardest Task When You’re The Most Productive
This is definitely key to being more productive during the day. I know for myself I’m the most productive in the morning and therefore any of the most important tasks that I need to do, I’ll ensure I do them in the morning after the school run. I know for some people they like to wake up early in the morning and do those tricky tasks first thing.
However, if you’re a night owl and find it hard to wake up in the morning, then this might not be the best time for you to do those hard tasks. It’s about finding the time of the day that works best for you! I know for some people they like to save large important tasks for the evening when their children are in bed and that’s what works best for them.
This super helpful tip came from Victoria, check out her website on Coded Vector for all things tech.
PRIORITISE WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS
Say you have a list of your important tasks for the day, whether that’s digitally or on a note pad. You can highlight the tasks that are top priority tasks for that day. That way as long as you complete those essential tasks then you know you’re on track.
As a business owner you might find some days that you can’t complete everything you planned to, and that’s really ok! Sometimes family commitments take over, things go wrong. Ensuring that you prioritise will really help you keep on top of everything regardless of what is thrown at you that day.
WRITE A TO-DO LIST THE NIGHT BEFORE
This is my favourite way to be more productive as an entrepreneur. If you’re not a fan of to-do lists we can’t be friends.. kidding but really having a to-do list ready for the day can be so so helpful! When you wake up all blurry eyed in the morning it’s so helpful to know exactly what your main tasks are for the day.
I like to write a to-do list for a few days in my Google Keep Notes app on my phone but really if you think that might overwhelm you, then you can just write a to-do list just for the following day or even do it first thing in the morning if that works better for you.
Using the previous tip about prioritising the most important tasks, you can write your to-do list to reflect this as well. It’s such a simple tip but you should find it super helpful to increase your productivity.
AVOID MULTI-TASKING AND CONCENTRATE ON ONE TASK AT A TIME
This might sound a bit counterproductive but bear with me. How many times do we find ourselves watching some TV but also trying to do something on our phones at the same time? The problem is that we can’t concentrate on both fully.
The same applies to work tasks, if you’re on a call to someone it would be considered rude if you were continuing to work on something else at the same time and it’s more likely that you’ll miss important things that are being said.
I don’t know about you but I’m definitely guilty of trying to juggle too many tasks at the same time, eek.
Honestly though it doesn’t work, avoid multi-tasking if possible and just concentrate on one task at a time so that you can complete it to an exceptional standard.
DECLUTTER YOUR WORKSPACE
When you’re a busy entrepreneur it can be easy to let your workspace or desk become cluttered. However, it’s surprising the difference that it makes to clean and tidy your desk on a regular basis. Not only is it easier to then see everything that you might need to reach for during the day, it also can really make you feel better. Tidy house, tidy mind is something I usually think.
There is also some science behind it too, Scientists at Princeton University discovered that our brains like order and when things are visually disorganised in front of us, it drains our cognitive functions and reduces our ability to focus. Fascinating, right!?
This super helpful tip came from another entrepreneur, you can check out the full post get shit done: how to supercharge your business productivity.
BLOCK OUT TIME IN YOUR CALENDAR
If you haven’t heard of time blocking in your calendar this is such a game changer for productivity! If you are the sort of person that finds it hard to concentrate on what you need to do accomplish through the day or if you’re just a bit forgetful, time blocking is soo useful!
Time blocking is essentially a time management system you use on a digital calendar (although you can definitely do this on a physical calendar). The idea is that these blocks of time in your calendar are dedicated to certain tasks you have to accomplish. You can colour-code them as well depending on what type of task it is or how important it is.
For me I colour code work tasks as Green, family commitments such as school runs as Blue and things I do just for myself ie workouts as Red. You can set these tasks to repeat every day if you need to, or only on certain days. You can completely adapt this to however you need to and the bonus is, if you know you have a meeting during a certain time, you can set your notifications to remind you prior to the meeting.
Using time blocking in your calendar does mean that you won’t necessarily need a separate to-do list so everything is in one place. However, personally I like to have a to-do list as well for those tasks which might change from day-to-day.
USE THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE
Something else that might be useful for you to increase your productivity doing certain tasks is to use the Pomodoro Technique. This is a really interesting technique and similar to the time blocking calendar. Sheree a Virtual Assistant recommended this one to me and I love it!
What you do is you concentrate on tasks in 25 minute intervals with a 5 minute break in between. The 5 minute break is important because it is said to help your brain absorb what you’ve just read or the work you’ve completed. After completing 4 Pomodoros, you should take a longer break, between 15-30minutes.
The Pomodoro technique is named after the Italian word for tomato and it was created by a college student where he used a tomato shaped kitchen timer to track his intervals.
The reason that this technique is so helpful for people is because it forces you to concentrate on one task at a time and the timer reminds you when you need to take a break.
Don’t be tempted to miss that break, it’s very important so use it to have a toilet break, make a drink or even just rest.
LISTEN TO MUSIC TO HELP YOU CONCENTRATE
Another great way to improve your concentration when you’re working is to listen to music. This is another productivity tip which might not be suitable for everyone, if you’re someone that can concentrate much better in complete silence then music won’t help you. You can use noise cancelling headphones instead.
However, if like me you enjoy listening to music to get you in the zone for working, than this should help.
A lovely entrepreneur I was talking to said that she specifically listens to Lo-Fi music to help her concentrate on tasks. Lo-Fi music is basically ambient chilled music to listen to, which doesn’t usually have any lyrics so you’re less likely to get distracted by the music.
BE WILLING TO CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE
This might sound obvious but being willing to change and adapt your routine if you need to is so important to increase your productivity. Take the time to look at your schedule regularly and change anything which is not working.
An example of this is I recently turned off notifications for emails on my phone and added certain times of the day to my calendar to check my emails. This is useful because I’m not constantly in and out of my inbox dealing with emails as they come in.
Being willing to change anything within your daily routine if you need to will really help you to keep on top of your business tasks. I know as humans sometimes we’re a bit resistant to change but it is necessary if what you’re currently doing is simply not working..
CONSIDER JOURNALLING TO CLEAR YOUR HEAD
Journaling has grown in popularity in the last few years and it’s been used by entrepreneurs and for people practising mindulness in general. The main way people find journaling beneficial is because you can write down whatever is in your head, perhaps at the start of the day or the end of the day if that suits you better.
Some people find it difficult to know what to write initially but you could just start by writing what you are grateful for or things that are on your mind at that time.
This is one of those tips that might not be useful for everyone but if you’re someone that finds yourself overthinking at night or in the morning, you might find you feel a lot better once you’ve put pen to paper and written down your worries.
PHONE AS FAR AWAY AS POSSIBLE
I’m calling myself out on this one! š© I’m terrible for getting distracted by my phone when I sit down to work on my laptop. Perhaps you can relate? *Moves phone away*
The problem is if you are constantly checking on your phone when you’re trying to deep work, you are more likely to make mistakes, lose your train of thought and your task could even take you much longer to complete.
If you’re somebody who is easily distracted by those notifications on your phone and you’re thinking how can I increase my productivity? You might just find that something as simple as putting your phone on silent and moving it away from you – will make a world of difference to your productivity!
DOING SIMILAR TASKS IN BATCHES
This is a great way to be productive as an entrepreneur and this was another great recommendation from the Facebook group I’m in. If you have a number of similar business tasks that you need to get done you can do them together so that you’re in the right frame of mind. Otherwise you’re jumping from different tasks and that can be confusing and it could be more difficult to complete.
An example of this could be that you check comments on social media a bit before you check your emails. For me I would check my personal emails on my phone and organise the inbox and I would then move onto checking social media accounts. However, it could be anything that works well for you and makes sense.
It’s a very efficient way of using your time if you batch non-essential or personal tasks at a time where you have low energy eg for some people this would be towards the end of their working day or after lunch. You can also prioritise those more complicated essential tasks to be at a time when you feel the most productive and you can get stuck in.
COWORKING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Co-working is normally where separate businesses or self-employed individuals share the same office space to keep costs down and share equipment, ideas and knowledge. It can be useful to find a co-working space if you’re an entrepreneur working from home that misses the company of others.
Having a co-working group that you talk to on Zoom or Focusmate is another affective way to boost your productivity. It’s like when you have a gym partner or somebody to check you’ve completed your workouts, it gives you that accountability partner or partners so that you can support each other and ensure you’re staying on track.
This can be just as useful when you’re an entrepreneur or business owner and want that extra support and motivation. Not only that, these people will likely need your support just as much as you do. You can hold each-other accountable for what you plan to accomplish that day, for your business.
KNOW WHEN TO OUTSOURCE
This another great tip but I thought I would leave this for the last tip because if you’re just starting out with your business, outsourcing is probably not going to be something you will be thinking about for a while. However, at some point you will reach a stage where your business will be unable to grow further until you can outsource those tasks that are taking up so much of your time.
Of course I’m biaised on this subject… since my business relies on the fact that certain business owners will eventually need to outsource certain tasks to a Virtual Assistant. This will then allow them to concentrate on the parts of their business which are important for growth and most importantly reduce stress!
Knowing when to outsource in general though is really important, you should have a certain amount of consistent income. Outsourcing could be beneficial if you actually want to grow your business further. The thing to look out for is if you’ve reached a point where all your valuable time is being spent on general maintenance of your business and not growth – then you should consider outsourcing some tasks or delegate if you already have a team.
How Can I Increase My Productivity
The key takeaway is to prioritise those important tasks and do them at a time of the day which works well for you. Avoid multitasking, just concentrate on the task at hand, so that you can fully focus. Choose a time of day when you are less likely to be interrupted, move your phone away from you during this time and consider using calendars and reminders to schedule your business tasks.
If you’re wondering what the 5 daily habits of successful people are, you should read my post next.
I hope this has helped you get some ideas for how to be more productive as an entrepreneur. As you can tell there is a variety of different things you can do to increase your productivity and organise your time well. Feel free to use the ones that you know YOU can benefit from, I’m a big believer in doing what is sustainable for you!
Damaris
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