Being an entrepreneur can be a real juggling act. If you aren’t constantly trying to improve your productivity, it’s only a matter of time before you begin to underperform.
Hoping to boost employee productivity and build a healthier team? Here are some helpful tips.
Use Time Blocks
These are mini blocks of scheduled time throughout your day (ie: Answer emails, 9:10 – 9:30 am). During each block, you focus on one very specific task and ignore everything else. This allows for maximum efficiency and ensures that you cross off all the priority items for the day.
Implement Accountability
Set goals, even if it’s just your to-do list for the day/week. Then, share them with a coworker, friend, or your team. Knowing that you’ll have to report back and answer for not meeting those goals might add the extra motivation you need to see them through.
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Learn to say no.
So many of us sign on to projects we don’t have the time, energy, or bandwidth for, but you have to learn how to say no. Let this serve as another reminder: Saying no more often will help you focus more and be more productive with the projects that matter most.
Don’t Multitask
When possible, though, avoid multitasking and hone your focus on the job at hand. When you’re being pulled in a hundred directions daily, it’s easy to bounce from task to task. However, this is inefficient because tasks are left open and incomplete, or mistakes are made due to simple oversight. Staying focused on one task until completion ensures that they’re crossed off and done to the fullest potential.
Eliminate distractions
Easier said than done, but try cutting unnecessary distractions throughout the day–like social media browsing. De-clutter your desktop and focus on the task you’re trying to accomplish, versus the twenty-or-so you started and never finished. If you find things you want to return to later, great. Use tools like Pocket to save articles for later, or you can use Evernote or Google Keep for creating lists of what to check out when you have more time.
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Make Lists
If tasks are written down in front of you, you decrease the chances of them being overlooked or forgotten. You can also streamline your day if you have a list of specific pending items, rather than jumping around to whatever you think of next.
Start a routine.
Becoming more productive is about getting laser focus around what’s most important to you. As an entrepreneur, you want your business to be successful. But in order to do that, you have to strip away the meaningless tasks that are keeping you from that outcome and reinforce the ones that are driving you forward. That’s where the power of habit comes in. Make a commitment to starting habits that bring you closer to what success looks like for you and your company and begin eliminating the ones that hold you back. With enough practice, you’ll cultivate a habit of success that feels like your nature.
Delegate
You know where your strengths lie, and what you do that grows your business, but you’re only one person. If there are menial tasks that are eating up your valuable time, hire them out. Hire a part-time assistant or help from a freelancer site to cross them off.
In conclusion, learn to unplug when necessary to avoid a mental burnout, you should force yourself to unplug sometimes. Take time out to relax your body and brain. This could be in form of a holiday break or a vacation.
My name is Chigozie Japhet. I am a content writer, and a brand strategist. I like writing, reading, researching and watching football, especially my team, Man United. i believe in working hard, and also in relaxation as all work without play, makes Chigozie a dull boy.
