If you are just starting out on the entrepreneur journey, or even if you’ve done it before but you need a few hints and tips, there is one thing that you need to know for sure: you need to know how to make the most of your time and be as productive as possible. It isn’t always easy. There are many distractions that come our way on any given day, and sometimes time runs away from us before we even realize what is happening. These useful ways in which successful entrepreneurs stay productive will help you through.
Artificial deadlines
If you are like many entrepreneurs, you work best when there is a deadline involved – you work even better if that deadline is looming, or about to pass! By creating artificial deadlines and including them in your work calendar, you can ensure that you get everything done ahead of schedule.
Of course, some of your deadlines will be real, and they will be mixed in with the fake ones, but that’s not a problem – look at them all with the same sense of urgency and everything should get done. You must be realistic, though, and don’t overload yourself or, even if the work does get done, it won’t be done to a high enough standard.
Put the phone down
It’s difficult to disconnect when you’re running a business as someone always seems to need you. However, if you want to get work done quickly and done well, you should leave your cell phone in a different room altogether.
Work ‘phone breaks’ into your work schedule so that you can go and check your voicemails and emails and even – if you really feel the need (although it’s best not to get too distracted) your social media accounts. By not having the phone by your side, you can really concentrate on what it is you are supposed to be doing, and not taking a minute here and there to look at the screen next to you. Those minutes soon add up.
Delegate
If things are getting too much, as they sometimes can do, it’s okay to delegate some tasks to another member of your team. If you don’t have a team, it’s okay to outsource if you need to. For example, unless you’re a website designer in your free time, then hiring a professional to design and build your website is the wise options.
Such professionals will be able to cater your website to the industry you’re in so, for instance, if you’re in the cleaning business, then they will be able to produce a tailor-made cleaning company website design for your business. Your website is the first impression many people will have of your company, and if it is attractive, user-friendly, and informative from the start, you will gain much more business.
Listen to your body
Your body likes to tell you things, and successful, productive entrepreneurs will listen. If you are hungry, you should eat. If you are thirsty, you should drink. If your eyes are feeling strained or your head is aching, or you’re uncomfortable in your seat, go outside and get away from the screen.
Sometimes you will be in the middle of writing a report, or about to make a phone call, or organizing a dispatch of some goods to a customer… but if you want to be totally productive, listen to your body and do as it says. You can come back to these things later – just remember not to get too distracted, and to stick to your deadlines.
