Being an entrepreneur and a small business owner can sometimes be overwhelming – it may seem that there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done.
So, today I want to share with you 5 proven strategies that have helped me and the hundreds of entrepreneurs I have coached throughout the years, to increase productivity and get more things done.
My 5 strategies are: Eliminate, Prioritise, Manage, Leverage and Integrate.
(1) Eliminate
This is a BIG one!
Your goal here is to look at your daily and weekly activities, and cut out everything that is irrelevant, unimportant, or un-actionable.
Don’t check your emails every hour – believe it or not, I used to do that, but now I only do it once in the morning and once in the afternoon to get things out of the way.
You don’t have to reply to every text message on your phone right away! If the messages are not life-threatening, let them wait! It is okay to reply them after you are done with what you are working on.
Let the phone calls go into your voice messaging if you are in the middle of a project or talking with a client – you don’t have to respond to the World that very minute.
Don’t get addicted to Social Media – there are endless videos on YouTube, photos on Instagram, posts on Facebook. Don’t waste all your time there!
Be selectively ignorant. Ignorance may be bliss, but it is also practical. Learn to ignore or redirect all information and interruptions that don’t move you closer to your goals.
Learn to say ’No’! Remember, every time you say ’Yes’, you are saying ’No’ to something else. Guard your time wisely.
(2) Prioritise & Schedule
After eliminating some tasks, you should now see that you have more time to work on the things that are truly important for your business.
Prioritise on the the tasks that are important – focus on your ’Income-Generating Activities’. Eliminate, leverage or outsource the rest (more on this later).
Prioritise your important tasks and schedule them on your To-Do-List or Calendar right away – and follow through!
Plan your daily and weekly tasks in advance – put in all your most important tasks first. I have a Daily and Weekly To-Do-List, so I know exactly what I need to do every day to move my business closer to my dreams.
(3) Manage – Time Management
Be present!
When you are working from home, turn off the TV, shut the door and focus 100% on your work so you can be productive.
Spend your most productive hours and your peak business hours doing things that matter the most – your Income-Generating Activities, like setting up appointments, meeting with potential clients, following up on potential clients, closing the sales, networking etc.
Do your less important tasks during non-peak hours – such as replying emails, posting on Social Media, making connections by email/text/social media, replying to non-urgent texts/queries, reading up on industry information/news etc.
Social Media is a great way to promote your business, build your brand and connect with friends and clients, but don’t let it control your life! You don’t have to read every single posts on your Facebook wall, manage your time wisely.
(4) Leverage
Leveraging is one of my favorite strategies! Check out my post on the Power of Leveraging. Work smarter, not just harder.
Learn to ask for HELP – You are NOT a Superman/Superwoman and you don’t need to be – it is OK to ask for help!
If you have a business partner(s), play on each other’s strengths and play team together to get the projects done.
Hire an assistant if you need to. The way I see it, if that gives you more time to build your business effectively, that may be a good ’investment’! But make sure that you are using the time you freed up effectively on your ’Income-Generating Activities’.
Outsource your tasks if you need to. Hire a Virtual Assistant to complete some of your tasks. Websites such as Fiverr, Odesk (Now called ’Upwork’) are great websites to look into. The rule is that if you can generate more business and income by outsourcing and freeing up your valuable time – you should consider it.
Also, leverage on technologies whenever you can! I do many of my meetings with my clients and team online through web conferencing and that saves me a ton of time on commuting and the stress of traffic every day. Zoom.us, Go To Meeting, Skype, Google+ Hangouts are awesome platforms for web conferencing.
If you need to build your brand on Social Media, leverage on tools to manage your accounts and pre-schedule your posts. My favourite tool on this is ’Hootsuite’ – It is easy to use and can manage multiple social media platforms at the same time. I LOVE technologies!
(5) Integrate – Work-Life Integration
’Instead of work-life balance, try work-life integration.’ – Tony Robbins, World’s # 1 Life and Business Strategist.
Think of ways you can integrate your work into your daily lives.
I love reading business and marketing books, so I download my books as Audiobooks and listen to them while I work out in the gym or while I am driving.
If your business can be carried out from a phone/a laptop and an internet connection, then you are location independent. Fly to a country that you have always wanted to explore! Trust me, traveling can help you relax, increase your productivity and may even spark new ideas in your business.
After all, if you LOVE what you do (like I do), ’work’ is just part of life and is always fun!
So there you have it, my 5 proven strategies for increasing productivity and getting more things done in your business. I hope this has added value to you and your business. Keep rocking!
