As we approach the end of the month and our New Year motivation and drive starts to dwindle, it’s important to make sure you are doing all you can to remain productive and develop habits that will support your productivity throughout the year. This productivity is important because it determines whether your company moves forward and thrives, or whether you continue to work hard just to survive. You, as an entrepreneur or business owner, need to work on ensuring that your days, as well as those of your employees, are fully productive so that you can accomplish more work in less time, translating to higher profits and better returns.
We thought we’d share some of our favourite tips to boost your productivity this year:
- Set time limits for each task
One of the ways to ensure that your days are productive is by setting a time frame for each task and sticking to that. This will ensure that you complete all your tasks for the day without fail. Ensure that you check the deadlines and urgency of each task when assigning them to your schedule. For each task, assign the minimum time possible because you never know what will come up during the day. However, don’t compromise on the quality of work that you do in order to save time. Quality comes first and speed should follow. Also, consider assigning more tasks to the morning hours when the brain is most productive.
Having a schedule has three main advantages. One, you maintain a busy and productive day. Two, you are able to accomplish tasks before they become urgent. Three, when you focus on one task at a time, you can maximize on efficiency to give the best output.
- Check your schedule every evening
Every evening before you finish work for the day, you should check your schedule for the next day. This helps prepare your brain for the next day. It is also important so as to ensure that you have all the resources necessary for the next day’s work. Looking for a file in the morning not only wastes time, but it distracts your brain. Thus, ensure that you have everything ready for the next day before you leave the office or switch off.
- Avoid distractions
In order to accomplish the tasks scheduled for the day, you have to keep off all distractions. These distractions might include social media, your phone, emails, and even visitors. Log off your social media pages when working unless you are working on social media campaigns. If your phone is a distraction, you can put it on silent mode until you are done working. If your emails are a distraction, but you feel that most of them need an immediate response, then consider hiring a virtual assistant (our team can help with that!) to keep track of your email activity and social media pages and respond on your behalf when you are working. This will give you enough time to focus on tasks that cannot be delegated.
- Have an accountability partner
Sometimes you need the help of others to remain focused. Therefore, if you are having a hard time meeting your deadlines, consider having an accountability partner whom you report back to every day. Your accountability partner can be a colleague, a friend or a relative. Knowing that you will report to someone at the end of the day can boost your morale to stay productive, particularly if you largely work alone.
- Outsource tasks
Outsourcing tasks to another person can help in propelling your company forward. Whether it’s outsourcing your marketing to allow you to focus on increasing production and sourcing better deals, or outsourcing admin to allow you to work on sales and business development personally, there are plenty of ways you can work with other professionals to support you on a part time basis. The key is to focus your energy on what you do best and the hire others to do the rest.
- Take breaks and energize
Working for long hours without taking breaks can result in fatigue and poor quality work, so consider taking short breaks between tasks. Make sure you are eating proper meals and take on plenty of fluid throughout the day as an energized and hydrated brain works better than a dehydrated one.
Productivity really does draw the line between success and failure, so as your energy and motivation for 2018 might start to waiver, ensure that you have a solid plan to boost your productivity of your company and that of your employees. With the right productivity, you will boost profits and meet your business goals sooner rather than later and save yourself a lot of headache in between. Get in touch with the MY PA team to see how we can help increase your productivity today!