How productive are you in your biz? If the answer is “not as much as I’d like to be” here’s some ideas on ways to boost your productivity on a daily basis.
Of course, what works for me might now work for you, so I’ve included different methods you can try until you find a combination that works for you.
But remember, changing a habit takes time, so you’ll need to stick with it.
Find your most productive time
I have been a morning person for as long as I can remember so I do my best work as soon as I sit down at my desk. But I know that doesn’t work for everyone. Work out what time you’re most productive by determining if you’re:
The early bird who is most productive first thing when your mind is fresh and the phones haven’t started ringing yet?
Most productive mid-day when your momentum is up and going?
A night owl who is most productive later in the day after your ideas have had time to settle?
Once you know where you fit, you’ll be able to plan your most important work at that particular time of day.
Focus on one thing at a time
Practice single tasking: working on one task at a time until it’s complete before moving onto the next. Single tasking is best when you have a high focus task that will take quite a bit of brain power to complete, like writing a blog post or completing online research.
Set up templates
Set up templates in your email client for messages that you send repeatedly, templates for repeating tasks in your task management / project management system as well as document templates.
Organise your tasks by difficulty
I like to complete the easy ‘low hanging fruit’ first. If I get those done first it motivates me to tackle the harder tasks (or tasks that I’m just not that into). I then mix up my day with the remaining tasks to keep things interesting.
Time block
You assign specific tasks (or groups of similar tasks) to specific blocks of time. It’s loosely based on Parkinson’s Law, which is the idea that work will expand to fill the time available for its completion. If you’ve got a long to do list or a deadline to meet, time blocking can help keep you on track while keeping distractions, procrastination and unproductive multi-tasking at bay! Best practice is to spend around 10 minutes at the end of each day planning your ‘time blocks’ for the following day. Make sure to schedule your hardest work at your most productive time as well as scheduling your reactive work (emails, phone calls etc) and your breaks.
Get your systems talking to each other
Use a program like Zapier to send information between systems (eg when I add a new client to my accounting software Zapier sends that information to Toggl and Hubspot; this saves lots of data entry).
Remove distractions
Silence your phone, close all unnecessary tabs on your laptop, close your email, tell people not to disturb you or go to a meeting room.
Keep your workspace tidy
A cluttered environment = a cluttered mind. Take some time to make your workspace work for you. It doesn’t have to be Spring to spring clean.
Take regular breaks
You’ll be much more productive when your mind is fresh. Take the puppies for a walk, stop for lunch or try to take some time out for exercise.
Track your time
Tracking your time will make you more aware of where your minutes go every day. But even more importantly, tracking your time allows you to identify what is misusing, or wasting your time; And once you know that, you can make changes to reduce it in future.
Get your data in the cloud
Using cloud-based apps can significantly improve efficiency. When you [or your team] are on the road or working remotely, you can work from anywhere. You should consider getting your project management, documents, and task management in the cloud.
In summary
It’s not always easy to make changes, but, if you identify your productivity zone, plan and prioritise your tasks, and nut out a system that works for you, you’ll be so much more organised in no time. How good would that be?
Marie Robertson-King
After decades working in mining, aviation and oil & gas, Marie founded Empress of Order, a virtual assistant service, in 2018 and quickly became fully booked. With a background in operations and safety, focussing on processes, systems and procedures, Marie now supports busy business owners and helps them bring order to their lives!
She’s certified by the VA Institute and was named in the Inside Small Business Top 50 Business Leaders in 2020. Marie facilitates a coworking day each month in her hometown of Perth, where business owners get together to work and build connections. This year Marie expanded her empire with the purchase of The Digital Mums Directory, an online membership and directory for female digital experts in Australia, with a biz friend. She lives in the beautiful Perth Hills with her husband Simon and fur-baby Jasper. She can’t function without her morning coffee and loves a glass of bubbles or a cocktail in the evening.
