Productivity is the secret to success, satisfaction in our work, and more free time. Yet most of us find that being productive incredibly difficult to achieve. This applies even more to business owners who have several people working underneath them and new projects happening all the time.
With this in mind, it’s amazing to think about all that has been accomplished by early businesses and brands with hundreds of employees before the internet and co-scheduling/meeting tools were in place.
At the same time, there are other business owners and project managers who are incredibly “productive” but who suffer from productive procrastination, in which they avoid doing the difficult tasks that matter by spending hours planning what they need to do or clearing out their inboxes. Are these tasks productive? Well, sort of. Yes, they are getting something done, but those tasks aren’t moving their companies forward.
If we want to be successful, healthy, and happy business owners with productive teams, we need to master the art of time management and productivity. Get started by following these seven productivity tips:
1. Eliminate mindless and tedious tasks from your daily routine
There are plenty of tasks we complete every day or week that we should not be doing. Some of these we do to procrastinate from work that’s hard; some of them we do because we genuinely enjoy them. Regardless of the reason we do them, it’s time to let them go.
Make a list of all the tasks you complete each week—from talking to clients to clearing out your email inbox—and ask yourself if a task can be eliminated or delegated, or if it truly furthers your business. If a task is important to your company, then it is still a task you should be doing (at least for now). If it is a task you shouldn’t be doing or can delegate, then it’s time to give it up. An assistant (virtual or otherwise) can be surprisingly affordable if you start with just a few hours a week and hire someone who is self-employed.
If you have employees, make sure you are scheduling them effectively. Are you doing admin work they could be doing for you? Are you spending hours trying to figure out whether you have enough staff and where you need more support? All of these tasks are time suckers, and can be easily managed with scheduling software and mobile applications focused on time tracking.
For small- and medium-sized businesses that have staff working different shifts throughout the week, this type of software can be a lifesaver so you can have more time to focus on what actually moves the needle for your business or pass off the responsibility to another member of staff.
RELATED: 8 Proven Time Management Tips From Top Business Execs
2. Plan your ideal day
Now that you know which activities you need to let go of or eliminate, you can reassess how your time is best spent. Depending on your schedule, plan your ideal day or week and schedule how you will spend your time.
For example, if you travel a lot, then plan your ideal day in the office. You aren’t planning your ideal day because you expect every day to be the same. Of course, you will need to be flexible within your plan, but if you establish a productive routine for your average day, you won’t be wasting time wondering what to do next or what to prioritize.
Also take the time to delegate and outsource tasks and projects to other team members or staff. Your job should be running the business and ensuring everything is being done correctly—not dealing with tedious tasks.