There is so much that can be written about productivity… and so much has been written already. If you have felt the time crunch, perhaps you’ve been thumbing through the multitude of content about personal efficiency and productivity.
Instead of rehashing all of it, I’m going to simply give you the top 5 techniques from one small business owner to another. These techniques are simple but they’re effective. When it comes to being productive, don’t reinvent the wheel. Get back to the basics and you’ll get more done in less time with less stress. Here’s how:
- Find a time management system that works for you and use it. Don’t use your PDA if it’s not useful to you. Use a system that works and don’t be afraid to try out a few different kinds until you find the one that works. A system I use — which happens to be paper-based — took me a couple years before I found it. I tried all kinds of others and they simply weren’t very useful. It works for me and I now have time to laugh at the other guys who slowly tap away at their PDA to get their data in there. They spend more time fumbling with it than I do with my paper and pen. And although I can’t Hotsync my 8.5″ x 11″ 3-hole punched paper, I’m also not worried about spilling coffee on it or sitting on it. And it costs me far less. On the other hand, if you’re lightening quick with your PDA, then use it! Bottom line: find the time management system that works for you and use it. The primary reason why people don’t use them is because they don’t have one that fits who they are and how they plan.
- When scheduling, make sure that you schedule specific goals, such as: “complete and post 5 pages of new site” instead of “work on new site.” The specific nature of your task will help you stay on track and know when you’ve accomplished it. If my task was “work on new site” and I worked at it for 5 minutes, I could cross it off but never get any real work accomplished. However, by measuring specifically what I need to do, I can attack my goal and I know exactly when I’m done.
- Touch a piece of paper once and then move on. Deal with it by taking action on it, (pay the bill, delegate the work, etc.), or throwing it out. You have enough to do in the day that you shouldn’t have to deal with more of the avalanche than you need to. If you’re sitting in front of a pile of papers, don’t shuffle them from the front to the back. That’s for dealers in the casinos. Touch the top paper, give it your full concentration, deal with it, and move to the next one.
- Write down the things you have to do and prioritize them. Some people suggest simply doing the top 3 things and taking the rest of the day off. That may work for big-wig CEOs of mega-corporations, but not for entrepreneurs like us. So prioritize all of your work and chip away at it. I suggest writing down everything and prioritizing them all… then starting at 1 and working your way toward (infinity!). If you have the kind of job where you are occasionally interrupted with new and important work that needs to have a higher priority, consider using a time management system that allows you to re-prioritize very quickly.
- Businesses in the start-up or early growth stage require a lot of attention. Don’t spend your time doing administrative work. Instead, spend your prime time marketing and selling. Spend the downtime doing administrative work. That way, you can grow the business while you are at your best and leave the boring work until you’ve got a lull in your activity level. Too many people, especially salespeople and entrepreneurs, avoid real work by doing administrative work during their prime business hours. Schedule time to do administrative work, just make sure you schedule it outside of your prime marketing times.
These are the top 5 productivity tips that can get you through the early stages of your new business. Yes, there are lots of other techniques out there. But from one entrepreneur to another, these ones work. Period.
