Business Blog: Work SMARTER, not harder!
We spend a large part of our lives working. Working on business, dreams and family. It would make sense that we define and apply techniques that allows us to get work done quicker, better and effectively.
It’s easy to fall into a pattern of working that isn’t even beneficial to us. We are often putting in the hours and can’t even measure the results.
This, because we’re caught up working harder instead of “working effectively”. Anyone can work hard. We’re prone to doing things “the way we always do it” instead of – simply WORKING SMARTER.
Like many other business owners, I too find myself managing my time down to the last minute. During a lot of my coaching sessions, many clients struggle and get comfortable with the phase “I don’t have time”. This is where we enter the red-zone, the NO-TOLERANCE ZONE! If you want the results to change, you will have to change the way you add it all up.
Common questions I get business-wise and private-wise, “how do you do it, where and when do you have the time?”
So, here are a couple of tricks, healthy rituals, daily routines, I apply to my day|week to get “ish done” and still have time to do the simple things I need to do and keep me happy.
-
[exercise] In today’s rapidly changing world, our ‘temple’ is a finely tuned tool that needs to be moved and driven. I find that whenever I work-out, my mind is sharper, I’m able to think through problems quicker and come up with new ideas without much effort. A simple 15-30 minute-exercise on YT (#YouTube) can work wonders.
-
[tomato – tomatoe] It’s an app - the Pomodoro Techniques is an effective way to get work done – simple and effective at the same time. I work in [BLOCKS] of hours, you might want to identify your personal “most productive hours”. For me, this is between 9 AM-12 noon or 9 PM – 12 midnight. I decide on a task, set the 25 minutes timer and start to work. In between, I take 3-5 minutes “water” break and get back to another set. I do 4-5 sets depending on the task. This technique helps reduce interruptions. 2 birds with 1 stone: working and staying hydrated!
-
[pressure management] I’m very strict on myself, I am my own boss, however, I am responsible for my time and how I spend it. Like most entrepreneurs, I too have the corporate experience and this helps me keep myself motivated and driven by RESULTS I can measure. Ever had one of those yearly review on your performance? Me too! This is why I give myself less time than I need.
When I was in school, we had 45-50 minutes class-based work. When helping my kids with their planning I tell them to do the same. You should be able to get it done within the “globally selected” time for a lecture.
By giving yourself less time and setting a deadline to complete the task, you are putting yourself under pressure to achieve the goal.
-
[work where you’re most productive] Some people work better in a shared-space, others in a coffee shop, library or at their “home” office. Well...most modern business owners. Just like finding your productive-hours, you want to find your productive space.
-
[productivity triggers] For some reason, I find myself listening to one song or the same playlist on repeat while working. The more it plays, the less I pay attention to the music and can focus on my work. - I got that super-mommy-zone-out power.
Another trick is staring out a window. Yes, whenever I feel stuck I end up turning to a window and taking a break from my workspace, this helps spark my creative burst.
Working isn’t easy - It’s tough, takes time, takes a lot of energy, and most of the time, we hardly feel like doing it. Let’s work smarter, not harder.
Business Blog: 5 steps I take boost productivity and be successful
“Every day, you have to set your mind in the right direction” – as an entrepreneur or small business owner, we tend to find ourselves super busy trying to be successful.
I myself have been caught in the act having many different roles lately. I’ve been everything from the marketer to the customer service representative in my business and next to that, I still have the leading role as a mom, a woman, a friend, a daughter, a sister and the list goes on.
I want to share with you 5 steps I take to achieve my balance when it comes to being successful and productive. Here are a couple of tips to boost productivity and to be successful in your leading role as an entrepreneur or small business owner:
Wake up early; it’s a challenge in the beginning, however, I swear it is worth it! I do advise you take little steps, start off by setting your alarm to 15-20 minutes earlier and gradually grow from there. They say successful business people are up before 6am. I wake up at 5am!
Have a single purpose focus; I constantly remind myself of my business model! You just have to choose that one thing and make sure you do this better than anyone else in the world.
Block distraction; super successful busy entrepreneurs teach themselves to concentrate on concentrating. There is effectiveness to be gained by using technology and to block out distractions. I use simple apps and alarms on my telephone to schedule my productive time and breaks. I just an alarm depending on the task to be carried out and if you have to right phone, you can voice-in to take notes. “Okay, Google!”
Set up productivity rituals; I prioritize one key task I will like to have done for the day and this is what I start my morning with. I use the most productive time of my day to achieve greater success and throughout the day I’d use my email rules to maintain order in my inbox.
Tag for reading later; in today’s digital world there are many interesting articles you would like to read, unfortunately as an entrepreneur or small business owner you don’t always have the luxury of doing this. There are many ways to tag and save a post or article to read later. [Instapaper] allows you to save web pages to read later when you have time, a great way to upgrade break-reads.
If you are looking for new ways to increase your time-management and productiivity, apply some of these tips and tricks into your life today.