Issues with productivity usually ranks highly on the list of entrepreneurial problems. Business owners, particularly those who are self-employed and work from home, find it hard to maximize their output, with distractions derailing progress. Simple productivity tricks, however, can free up time, enabling you to work on the tasks that bring about the biggest changes.
The following productivity tips can be used to positively alter the way you run your business, ultimately creating greater output for less work.
Plan
Planning is at the heart of productivity, but you don’t need to obsess over every detail. Creating a list of tasks helps to focus your attention, avoiding the likelihood that you forget important details. A good method is to create your plan at the end of the previous day, so you can get started at the beginning of the next day. Don’t stress if your plans are not met, but adjust as you begin to understand just how productive you can be.
Prioritize
Along with planning, it is important to prioritize tasks. Everybody has a limited amount of willpower, so you can easily use this up on less essential busy work. Getting the important tasks out of the way also creates a sense of accomplishment, increasing the chances of working through the remaining parts of the plan. If you don’t prioritize, difficult tasks can often hang over you for the whole of the day.
One Task at a Time
A common problem online is working on a few tasks at once. The mind of an entrepreneur is usually racing, so it is easy to dart between various projects. Instead, work solely on a single task, ensuring it is completed before moving on. When you dedicate yourself to one thing, you don’t need to keep refreshing your memory as you shift focus.
Schedule Emails
Email is a major hazard in the quest to being productive. Most people have become accustomed to scanning for new emails on their computer or phone, with most inboxes inundated with mail. When you are constantly looking for new emails, invariably you will respond to messages. Reading and writing new mail prevents focused work, so look to schedule blocks of time for dealing with email throughout the day.
Focus
Along with email, there are plenty of distractions to damage productivity. Social media, YouTube, and blogs are all capable of derailing work efforts, with constant updates meaning you can always find new content. Try to treat these content platforms as recreation, setting aside break times for checking them. There are various apps you can add to your browser that will block certain sites when engaged.
Low productivity is one of the biggest problems with online businesses. Working online requires serious focus, with so many distractions potentially holding you back. Social media and email, for example, can all be considered important for your business, but ill discipline can severely reduce their benefit.
Taking a firm approach to productivity should be at the forefront of an online business, allowing you to increase production, improve results, and reduce your working hours.
Craig Cecilio is the CEO and Founder of DiversyFund, Husband, and Father to three daughters. Craig’s mission is to break down the barriers that keep most Americans from investing like the wealthiest 1%.