Many small business owners, especially if working from home, are besieged with distractions and a plethora of opportunities … to consume their time. And often they work long hours, whether or not the things they do are likely to make them money.
Recently Adam Short and Alen Sultanic of Niche Profit Classroom (of which I am an affiliate) held a webinar regarding boosting productivity and regaining a balanced life, especially for internet marketers.
For one thing, they suggest focusing on tasks that make money. That usually means things like building traffic, writing follow up email sequences and sales copy, and improving product quality.
1) Before that, however, comes the first self-management principle: writing “to-do” lists. Brainstorm on paper, on a large white board, and/or online at a place like Base Camp.
2) One can then arrange the lists by priority, with money making potential driving items to the top.
3) Settling goals and deadlines for the items on the list logically comes third. Short and Sultanic recommend goal setting down to the hour of each and every work day … and setting goals for one month, three months, six months, and one year out. Base Camp helps with that too. Cross out the completed tasks.
4) Of course, goals without commitment isn’t going to get one very far. Short and Sultanic stated or implied three means of boosting commitment to meeting deadlines:
- a. Remembering the pain of long hours and an unbalanced life. And conversely the pleasure of time off.
- b. Find and use a mutual accountability partner. That’s what Adam and Alen are to each other.
- c. Reviewing goals and deadlines once in the morning and once in the evening.
5) Quit work on time. That means brief breaks every 45 minutes (or whatever you decide). That means stopping at 5:00 PM (or whatever you decide) rather than at 1:00 AM. In fact, that also means going to bed by 11:00 PM. Otherwise you will miss the most efficient sleep time, and your productivity will suffer from lack of sleep.
You are more productive if you work when you work, relax when you relax, and do not over-work.
6) Follow rituals and rhythms that work for you. Morning hygiene, breakfast, prayer, answering emails, tidying up, business, breaks — whatever. Your mind becomes more efficient following patterns.
In principle, you’ve got only so much time to get things done, and you set your mind to get them done in the time frame that the schedule allows. Ritual and rhythm help focus the mind to the “to-do” list that has been scheduled.
7) Attend to your health. Regular exercise. Enough sleep (seven hours minimum). Proper diet. Your productivity suffers when you neglect these.
Plan each day, then execute the plan for increased productivity. Can you beat that?
Tags: management, productivity
