Starting your own business is an exciting journey. You’re the boss! You make the rules…and you are largely responsible for setting your own hours, keeping your own workspace organized, and making sure your company reaches scheduled goals.
Keeping your employees on track – not to mention staying productive yourself – can be a difficult task. These helpful tips show you how to make a few small changes which will dramatically increase your business’s overall productivity.
Once you step away from the “normal” 9-to-5 workday, you run into a problem: deciding when to work. With the entire day available to you, it’s surprisingly easy to fall into the trap of “I’ll do it later”.
Many small business owners find themselves struggling through the difficult early days of company growth working late into the night, battling endless distractions and adopting unsustainable sleep schedules.
Avoid this by setting a schedule and stick to it. Work in 3 to 5-hour chunks with time blocked off for breaks in between. Once the workday is over, log out of your business accounts to avoid the temptation to keep working ‘round the clock.
Office administrators often do all the behind the scenes work to help your office run smoothly, even in times like these where everyone is fully remote. To show your appreciation for all the work they do to keep things running smoothly and everyone in good spirits, consider getting them a gift for Administrative Professionals Day on April 22nd.
There are plenty of remote gift ideas like sending them new home office tools or signing them up for an online meditation class to help them destress. For more inspiration on how to celebrate your office admin remotely, head over to Wikibuy’s blog post.
You may be surprised to find that the average human is much more productive in the mornings. Our brains are awake, we’ve just gotten plenty of sleep, and distractions are less frequent as our friends and family are generally also working.
Even if you’ve never been a “morning person,” you should give it a try! Wake up an hour – or even just a half hour – earlier than usual and spend that time working.
You might be surprised to find out just how much you get done before lunchtime. Those formerly miserable morning hours can turn into prime productive, business-growing time!
Another productivity-destroying trap many small business owners get caught in is the desire to “do it all”.
Wanting to be aware of everything that goes on, they waste time struggling through small, tedious tasks such as entering data, fussing with payroll details, and even keeping track of every employee’s schedules.
Delegate some of these tasks to partners and employees within your business.
This will give you, as the owner, more time to focus on the big picture: setting goals, securing funding and building relationships with clients and customers.
This will benefit the entire business – workers will have clearly defined tasks and goals as well as be given chances to develop their own initiative, leadership and organizational skills.
Today, a wide variety of productivity tools are available, ranging from websites to smartphone apps to good old-fashioned journals and calendars.
Take advantage of these tools to keep yourself and your employees organized and on track at all times!
Set up a chat client so you can stay in touch with your team without needing to exchange endless emails.
Have employees set up to-do lists on a shared web site or app so that you can keep up with in-progress projects.
Create your own weekly schedule and check in at the end of each workday to see whether you’re on track to meet company goals.
Finally, remember that the true secret to productivity isn’t forcing yourself to work endless hours and produce maximum output at all times – it’s taking breaks to focus on yourself!
A good, well-scheduled self-care focused break will leave you feeling mentally and physically refreshed and ready when it’s time to get back to work.
Schedule breaks throughout the day, ranging from shorter 15-minute pauses to longer 45-minute to 1-hour gaps.
Use these break times to engage in self-care, whether that’s taking a hot bath, doing mental exercises for work-based positive thinking, or listening to your favorite music.
Exercise is an especially great option – get yourself away from the desk and treat yourself to a nice walk or run!
Encourage your employees to take breaks and utilize similar self-care techniques. Organize occasional company-based rewards such as a group lunch or yoga session.
These will help you bond as well as keeping everyone at their most productive! And, of course, make sure to positively reinforce all this productive behavior with frequent compliments on successful projects and quality work.
When your small business is just starting out, it may feel like you can’t have it all – a successful small business, low stress, a regular sleep schedule, and a stable work-life balance? Well, there’s no need to pick and choose. You absolutely can!
Just a few small changes can take small business owners from “constantly stressed and overworked” to “being productive while remaining happy, healthy and well-rested”. Adopt these helpful tips in the workplace today and you’ll be noticing the changes before you know it.
Michael has been working in marketing for almost a decade and has worked with a huge range of clients, which has made him knowledgeable on many different subjects. He has recently rediscovered a passion for writing and hopes to make it a daily habit. You can read more of Michael’s work at Qeedle.
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