4 Tweaks You Can Make To Be More Productive
Being an entrepreneur can be a real juggling act. There are so many things pulling you in different directions. You need to draw new customers in, satisfy your existing customers and address the needs of your business all at the same time.
You need to always have one foot in front of the other. But how many times do you start your day off slowly, or end it without getting a quarter of your to-do list done? Your abilities are not to blame. It’s your productivity you need to work on. You need to constantly be trying to improve your productivity, or it's only a matter of time before all those balls you’ve got in the air come crashing down.
For me, it has changed over time. I used to be ready to rock and roll first thing in the morning and putter out of steam in the afternoons. These days, I tend to move slowly in the mornings, but I gain momentum and speed as the day goes on.
I get most of my work done between 1-4p.m. So, lately, I have adjusted my productivity strategy to make the most of my afternoons and choose tasks for the morning that allow me to take my time. You can do the same and be way more productive with some simple tweaks to your day.
Here are my four tips for improving your productivity as a busy entrepreneur.
Get Out Of Your Own Way
Sometimes, all you need to do is look at how you are sabotaging yourself. Self-sabotage can be obvious, like when you completely avoid moving forward with projects. Other times, it can look like perfectionism, where you are never satisfied with the end result and so never quite do your best work.
You might start looking at all the external factors of why you can’t be more productive. Then when the blame cannot be directed externally, desperately searching for a justification that will give you comfort about not getting the work done.
Put results before comfort if you really want to change how productive you are. It may be difficult to find your focus at first, but once you get out of your own way and stop making excuses, you’ll find that life and your business will get easier overall.
Talk To Yourself Differently
Productive entrepreneurs think very differently than others. A productive person avoids thinking about all the things they won’t be able to do and instead, they tend to ask themselves the following questions.
What is the best way for me to get everything done?
What is causing the stress, and what needs to change so that I manage this situation better?
What can I do to improve this?
The words and phrases you use immediately empower you, or they make you feel more stressed. The words you use are pivotal to everything in life because they will be your guide, whether they support you or not. Being more productive will get much easier when the words you use build you up instead of tearing you down.
Adjust The Suit To Fit Your Body
Time management supports productivity, so it’s an important skill to develop when you want to know how to be productive. However, time management is not a one-size-fits-all skill though, and what might suit you might not suit someone else.
You need to personalize your time management tactics to your needs. If some tips and techniques don’t work for you, find a way to adjust them to suit your situation. Maybe time blocking your calendar doesn’t work for you or your specific job, but can you set a timer and work on something only for a certain amount of time? Adjust your time management strategy to find the best way or organize your time and get the most done.
Identify Your Time Thieves
Oh boy! This is a big one. We all have time thieves. The difference between productive entrepreneurs and unproductive ones is that unproductive ones haven’t yet identified their time thieves.
It can be the apps on our phone that we scroll through, the bad habit of constantly checking email, or spending more time taking breaks than actually working during our peak productivity hours. If you can identify your biggest time thieves, whatever they are, you will improve your results much more quickly.
If you just aim to change one of your worst time management habits, you will change your results immediately. Can you identify one thing that, if you changed it right now, would have the biggest positive influence on your productivity? Write this down, think about what causes or contributes to this, and what your solution will be moving forward. Good luck!
