6 Productivity Tips for Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

A productive work environment leads entrepreneurs and business owners to success, happiness, satisfaction at work, and leisure. Most of them strive to be productive, yet, attaining it is exceedingly challenging. Having to juggle multiple tasks simultaneously can be draining for them. Entrepreneurs are driven by productivity, which is synonymous to fuel for cars. 

So, how can entrepreneurs increase productivity?

Business owners should understand that their operational duties don’t obligate them to work 60+ hours per week and sacrifice their mental health just to be productive. Research reveals that productivity decreases by 50 percent if you work for more than 40 hours a week. In simple terms, the return on investment dwelled on long working hours might result in a diminishing rate of productivity. 

A winning mindset and discipline are crucial elements that contribute to the increased margin of productivity. Having to work 24 hours a day in today’s competitive environment may sound like an attractive option, but that’s not what you should do. 

The following productivity tips will prove helpful for entrepreneurs and business owners to increase their output considerably:

  1. Don’t let tedious tasks pile up on your daily to-do list

In an attempt to work more efficiently, there are numerous tedious tasks entrepreneurs execute every day. This labels them as a multitasker and they ought to eliminate making it their routine in the long run.

To procrastinate from taxing work, you may do repetitive activities; in some cases, you do them genuinely because they are enjoyable. Whatever your reasons may be, you should opt to switch things up.

Identify and list down all the tasks you need to accomplish daily or weekly, including communicating with clients and checking your email inbox. 

Assess if any of those listed tasks can be eliminated or delegated, or if it is truly beneficial to advance your business. This will allow you to organize your tasks as per recurring priority and you can further set a deadline to accomplish them. Moreover, among those, if any tasks can be delegated, it’s time to cut them off your list.

  1. Breaks allow you to re-energize your focus

When you’re busy running a business, carving out time for yourself might not be your top priority. However, doing so will certainly improve your productivity. According to research, the human body is not designed for continuous exertion, but rather for an intraday cycle of exhaustion and restoration.

Another Research indicates that we function best when we work in 90 minutes periods followed by a break that serves as a “refresher” for our brains, yet we often attempt to keep ourselves energized by infusing it with the aid of coffee, sugar, or other stimulants.

Let your brain enter an unstructured mode of thinking by standing up, taking a walk, and stretching in the middle of the day.

  1. Establish self-discipline to accomplish wider goals

A goal-oriented approach requires self-discipline. Your ability to focus is affected by your level of self-control. Keep an eye on your entrepreneurial journey and devise a clear plan. It’s impossible to overstate the benefits of cultivating self-discipline on your productivity.

Below are some suggestions on how to go about it:

  • Goals should be specific and clearly defined
  • Do not give in to temptation or distraction
  • Unwavering patience is the key
  • Perform tasks others are unwilling to do
  1. Keep distractions at bay

Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. And time is short. – Adam Hochschild

It is impossible to avoid being distracted no matter on-desk or off-desk throughout the day. People with negative attitudes, social media browsing, smartphone notifications, and noises in the background are just a few examples.

It is imperative to stay focused throughout and get rid of distractions to ensure the energy invested towards work is fruitful. Focus can only be achieved via the suppression of distractions, and accomplishing it is a journey in itself. 

Defeating them can be achieved in the following ways:

  • Setting deadlines and prioritizing your daily tasks to stay focus at present can help you stay on track
  • Disable social media and smartphone notifications while on the desk
  • Don’t schedule any unanticipated meetings or visits
  • Avoid environments that are noisy or uncomfortable
  • Don’t take personal calls or texts during work hours
  1. Reward yourself when you achieve success by being accountable

As an entrepreneur, it can be a perplexing task to find someone who shall stick beside you and be tough on you about accomplishing your own goals in a stipulated time frame. However, most entrepreneurs possess a strong work ethic and stick to excellence; a fact that made them successful, to begin with.

Additionally, as you hold yourself accountable for the operations you execute, it is recommended for you to employ someone that keeps an eye on your employees and manages the way they spend their time to boost overall productivity in the workplace

Furthermore, it is important to celebrate every success, regardless of its magnitude. Having completed your daily tasks, ask yourself – how do you spend your time post working hours? Do you accommodate yourself time to relax or stick to further mundane tasks? Do you celebrate your achievements when you achieve big goals or is it less important for you to consider? The feeling of progress or achievement can keep you motivated and productive day after day, but if we never pause to appreciate our successes, we will not feel like we are making progress.

  1. Use technology to your advantage

It’s no secret we are surrounded by business productivity apps these days, probably because we’re drowning in to-do lists and are overwhelmed with information. Because of this, prioritizing is next to impossible. 

Moreover, productivity is affected by a myriad of factors such as your attitude towards work and social circle, your sleeping habits, your health habits, your stress levels, your communication skills, and your control over time and tasks.

Luckily, technology can be used to your advantage. There are numerous productivity, management, team communication and collaboration, and mobile device management apps that you can rely upon for your business and teams.

Here’s what’s for you:

Calm: An app for meditation and relaxation. Stress can be reduced through meditation, which leads to more productivity.

Sleep Time: An app that monitors your sleeping pattern. Sleep deprivation can affect your health. Focus towards work will be impaired if you do not sleep enough. This application can bridge the gap.

Fitness Buddy: Your workout companion! The benefits of exercising include boosting your energy and reducing your stress.

MyFitnessPal: An application for tracking your diet. A healthy diet promotes one to a healthy mind.

For your business and employees:

NuovoTeam: A productivity, communication, and collaboration suite that facilitates instantaneous communication between your workforces no matter where they are and wherever their jobs take them. Moreover, it empowers businesses with administrative and communication functions such as monitoring of employee location tracking, VoIP calling, workflow management as per shift and schedules with clock-in & clock-out functionality, instant messaging, and unified corporate directory management. Inefficiency is the result of miscommunication and this can be precautionarily eliminated.

Sendtask: Businesses can communicate with their clients, colleagues and suppliers via this cloud-based collaboration solution. The product also assists with workflow management by providing a customizable dashboard, built-in layouts, filters, and so on. Furthermore, users can set reminders and receive notifications, enter due dates, create custom tags, and create notifications for projects.

Google Drive: A “multipurpose” tool. The Google Drive cloud storage and synchronization solution simplifies the management and organization of documents and data, ability to edit, view and share it among the workforces across the organization to establish organization-wide communication.

Time Doc: An application that tracks your work hours. A good time management approach enables you to produce more in less time.

Business productivity and success—take things step-by-step

Running a successful business isn’t just about cash flow and profits – a number of factors are outlined in this article, including ones that go beyond the obvious. It’s imperative to make sure that your time management and productivity levels are always optimal, regardless of the size of your business. Your employees and you will be well prepared for any unexpected event thanks to these guidelines, tools, and best practices.

Heron Nelson
 

Heron is a business blogger with a focus on personal finance and wealth management. With over 7 years of experience writing about financial topics, Heron has established herself as a trusted voice in the personal finance space. She has a deep understanding of financial concepts and strategies, and is able to explain them in a relatable and actionable way for her readers.