Running a business is not an easy task – it can be extremely stressful. Identifying and resolving the problems that arise within and outside the organization is important to uplift business productivity. You need to be as efficient and productive as possible. Here are 5 productivity hacks to help you kick your small business into gear.
Limit distractions
Stephen King famously said that he is very easily distracted and to keep interruptions to a minimum his office is telephone- and computer-free. While most of us can’t really afford to completely shut the outside world, we can still achieve some kind of serenity.
Do you jump to your inbox every time the ‘new mail’ icon pops up on your screen? Schedule a time slot for emails and only check them then.
Does your mobile phone ringing prevents you from focusing on a task for longer than 20 minutes at a time? Put it on silent for a few hours.
A to-do list
Some people hate them, some people love them but the truth is they are really useful.
Even if you don’t scratch off every single item, the actual act of writing a to-do list helps you prioritize your assignments for the day, stay focussed and organized.
And to-do lists are a lot more fun and interactive than what they used to be. You don’t have to be limited to the old pen and paper. Try Evernote or the InTouch Calendar tool to stay up-to-date on important tasks. You can set yourself reminders as to what is due when and colour-code tasks based on importance. Turn organizing your day into fun!
Delegate
As much as we all want to be involved in every single thing that happens in our business, delegating is essential. So leave your ego at the door and allow your employees to do their jobs. Learn to trust others by giving them the power to make and execute decisions without having to consult you all the time. Do you really want to be disturbed and asked about every little assignment or would you rather have an efficient team that can get stuff done?
Avoid micro-managing by giving team members clear goal and objectives. Don’t forget that different people have different working styles so give team members the freedom to approach tasks in the style that fits them best. Resist the urge to interfere. Once you have given somebody a task, don’t nudge them every half hour to see how they get on. Don’t be that boss.
Be mindful of bad habits
Look at how you spend your time and soon enough you’ll begin to discover habits that you may not have been conscious of. As the old saying goes, the first step to solving a problem is recognizing you have one. Recognize your bad habits. Maybe what you think is only five minutes spent on Twitter usually turns out to be forty-five.
Perhaps you discover you get your best thinking done when you go for a walk. If this is the case, then you can start to schedule more outdoor time.
Use clever apps to make your life easier (and more efficient)
There are so many apps out there that can help you work in a much more clever and efficient manner. Like automation.
Be it social media automation or marketing automation. Automation can be a life-saver to a business. Tools like Buffer and HootSuit allow you to schedule social media updates instead of having to log in every time you want to post something.
Writing the same old repetitive emails is a thing of the past too. With InTouch CRM you can automate follow up emails, you can schedule campaigns and so much more!
Instead of you having to spend time every day, writing monotonous emails, why not add this task to your To Do list and spend few hours preparing the content of emails and a few email campaigns, schedule them for when they need to go live and voilà! The rest will be taken care of by the software! Let the marketing system do your job for you!
So check out these apps and they might just shave off a few hours of your anyway busy day!
We live in an age of distraction, making it more difficult than ever to stay focused and be productive. Hopefully these 5 tips will help you combat the onslaught of disruptions and help you stay focused so you can take care of business.
About the author:
Didi is the Content and Digital Marketing Executive at InTouch CRM – the leading small business CRM and Email Marketing Automation provider.
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