Everyone I’ve spoken to in the last week has asked the same question: how can I get more done in the time I have?
Coincidentally, this is also a question I’ve been considering myself recently – odd you might think for the owner of a business that offers outsourcing and opportunities to take on some your workload!
Coincidentally, this is also a question I’ve been considering myself recently – odd you might think for the owner of a business that offers outsourcing and opportunities to take on some your workload!
Be more productive & get the work done
As with most small business owners I can work long hours, at weekends, and find myself snatching 5 or 10 minutes here and there around my family and other commitments. With bigger demands on my business, I need to be more productive.
So I’ve spent some time evaluating how best to address this, and I thought I’d share my discoveries and look at how they could help you to be more productive:
1. Work at the most productive time of day
You’ll probably laugh when I say this was my epiphany of the week – others might call it ‘obvious’!
I’ve fallen quite happily into my family’s routine over the years. Working hours come between the school runs, and when the children are in bed, work resumes and I work until late.
However, I’ve never been a night owl and when I thought about it, the productivity:number of hours worked ratio wasn’t as good as it should be.
So I now choose to get up early, and the difference is amazing. I’m definitely more productive early in the day. My to do list is eaten into rapidly and I am much more focused.
With a busy day ahead, I then also find that I am not so distracted by the stress of otherwise untackled tasks.
Consequently, I feel free to give more time to other commitments, whether it’s spending more time with my family, friends, or getting to the gym.
As a result of that I’ve got more ‘brain space’ and so find I’m able to generate more ideas, and plan more. Perhaps a vicious circle as this could result in more work, but hopefully better incorporated into a more productive working style!
2. Recruit support
To help with this new routine, I’ve recruited the help of my better half. He gets the children ready for school, and does the morning school run two days a week, to allow me to make the best of my most productive time of day.
3. Avoid interruptions
Working early in the morning also means I don’t have interruptions of the phone ringing, meetings, or people stopping by my desk. I also tend not to log into my email or on to my social media accounts unless I specifically need them for the tasks I’ve set myself. This way, I’ve found, I can really get my teeth into a large task, or tick lots of small jobs off my ‘to do’ list.
So how could these discoveries help you to be more productive? Whether you’re an early bird, a night owl or somewhere in between, try allocating that particular time of day for getting the work done. This might result in a shift in your routine so find people that can help you make this happen – delegate tasks that someone else can do. And lastly, when you are working at your most productive time of day, do your best to get away from any potential interruptions – turn your phone off, close your email, shut your office door.
What helps you to be more productive? Please do share your thoughts with our readers below or join the MicroBusiness Monday group on LinkedIn where productivity is this the focus of this week's discussion.
If you’d like to discuss how The Business Greenhouse’s business support services can help you get more done, please do drop me a line at: [email protected] , telephone 07546 409 664, or use this contact form.
You’ll probably laugh when I say this was my epiphany of the week – others might call it ‘obvious’!
I’ve fallen quite happily into my family’s routine over the years. Working hours come between the school runs, and when the children are in bed, work resumes and I work until late.
However, I’ve never been a night owl and when I thought about it, the productivity:number of hours worked ratio wasn’t as good as it should be.
So I now choose to get up early, and the difference is amazing. I’m definitely more productive early in the day. My to do list is eaten into rapidly and I am much more focused.
With a busy day ahead, I then also find that I am not so distracted by the stress of otherwise untackled tasks.
Consequently, I feel free to give more time to other commitments, whether it’s spending more time with my family, friends, or getting to the gym.
As a result of that I’ve got more ‘brain space’ and so find I’m able to generate more ideas, and plan more. Perhaps a vicious circle as this could result in more work, but hopefully better incorporated into a more productive working style!
2. Recruit support
To help with this new routine, I’ve recruited the help of my better half. He gets the children ready for school, and does the morning school run two days a week, to allow me to make the best of my most productive time of day.
3. Avoid interruptions
Working early in the morning also means I don’t have interruptions of the phone ringing, meetings, or people stopping by my desk. I also tend not to log into my email or on to my social media accounts unless I specifically need them for the tasks I’ve set myself. This way, I’ve found, I can really get my teeth into a large task, or tick lots of small jobs off my ‘to do’ list.
So how could these discoveries help you to be more productive? Whether you’re an early bird, a night owl or somewhere in between, try allocating that particular time of day for getting the work done. This might result in a shift in your routine so find people that can help you make this happen – delegate tasks that someone else can do. And lastly, when you are working at your most productive time of day, do your best to get away from any potential interruptions – turn your phone off, close your email, shut your office door.
What helps you to be more productive? Please do share your thoughts with our readers below or join the MicroBusiness Monday group on LinkedIn where productivity is this the focus of this week's discussion.
If you’d like to discuss how The Business Greenhouse’s business support services can help you get more done, please do drop me a line at: [email protected] , telephone 07546 409 664, or use this contact form.
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