Improve Your Productivity and Make More Money Now
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Everyone wants to improve productivity when it comes to their business. We all realize that we can make more money if we get more stuff done. But this is much easier said than done.
The reality is, there is one major bottle neck in every business and that is the business owner. The success of our business is directly linked to our performance. So as business owners, it makes sense to look at how we can make ourselves more productive. We can also work towards removing ourselves from the process of running the business but we’ll talk more about this in a second.
What you’ll find below are my biggest tips for improving your productivity that I’ve learned while living the entrepreneurial lifestyle. While there will be some information you’ve heard before I promise there will also be some you haven’t. But increasing your productivity has nothing to do with reading, understanding, or knowing the following information. It’s only when you take these strategies and put them into practice that they will make a difference.
How goals really work
If you’ve read anything like this before you should know that you need to have your goals written down. The reality is if you’re not prepared to set your own direction someone else will. So it’s time to stop procrastinating and just do it.
But I’m not talking about big pie in the sky goals either (although you need those as well). I’m talking about small actionable goals that you use every day. You should have clear goals for 1 year, 9 months, 6 months, 3 months, 1 month, this week, and today.
By breaking down your big goals into all the small steps you must successfully work through to reach those big goals you’ll find that they’re much more attainable. Take it from someone who has always written down huge goals and struggled to achieve them. You need something you can look at every day and go to work on.
Get focused on the right things
This is one of the biggest struggles I’ve had in my life and one that curses most business owners. It could be the latest new fad or an emergency that crops up and immediately we’re distracted from our goals. We need to ensure we’re working on what’s most important every hour of every day.
How do we decide what those things are? Well the ultimate measure is how much money they make for our business. But we must be careful and remember that we need to separate our focus equally between the short and long term.
It does us no good to focuse solely on the short term where we make money if we don’t also focus on creating a sustainable business model for ourselves for the long term. This is where most “successful” business owners end up going wrong. They’re so focused on the money that they create a business that needs their constant care and attention.
Create systems and remove yourself from them
Your long term focus should be on building systems within your business. Instead of chasing after one new money making idea after another (trust me I’ve been there) you need to buckle down and create systems. Then when you find a new way to make money in your business you can systematize it and move on.
This way you’re steadily adding revenue to your business that doesn’t require your direct involvement. It’s all about finding ways to make money without you having to do all the work yourself. This will really stifle the growth of your business.
If you have yet to read ‘The E-Myth Revisited’ by Michael Gerber make sure you get yourself a copy. It’ll completely change your outlook on how to create a business that gives you freedom rather than taking it away. It’s a must read for all business owners.
Learn to let go and delegate effectively
Part of creating effective systems is learning to delegate and let go of your work. While it may be hard for us as business owners to give up control if you want to have freedom rather than a prison then it must be done. I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is when you find staff that can take the burden off your shoulders.
Sometimes you have to take a step back and accept that other people won’t know your business as well as you. While they may not do a perfect job right from the very beginning if you take the time to train them properly eventually they will. You’ll also have to release yourself from perfection and realize that sometimes the job just has to get done.
The truth is no salesperson will sell your business as well as you. No office manager will handle customer service as you would either. But at the end of the day you have to ask yourself a hard question. Do you want everything to be perfect all the time or do you want to make more money and free yourself from the daily grind?
I’ve heard of business owners who have offices but never go there because if they do they’ll end up trying to “fix stuff.” You have to let go and accept that if the numbers are good then you need to just leave it alone.
Always put yourself in peak state
If you want to be highly productive you must also ensure that your mind and body are in a peak physical state. This means you should be exercising, eating well and drinking lots of water. If you’re not performing at your best then neither will your business.
So set aside time in the morning to exercise and get ready for the day. Try to find your body’s natural balance and stop pumping it up with stimulants (like caffeine) to get you through your day. You should drink 8 glasses of water every day including 2 glasses of water immediately after you wake up.
If you take the time to make these changes you’ll be more focused and productive when you’re on the job. The truth is the business owner who abuses their body by constantly working will be much less productive than a person who focuses on working effectively. Believe it or not but working 12 hour days doesn’t necessarily mean you get more done.
Become more productive by working less time
I found myself most effective when working in blocks of 2 hours each (thanks to Eben Pagan for this). I work for 2 hours and then take the next 30 minutes to switch off and eat a small meal. During these 30 minute breaks i’m completely banned from doing anything work related including checking emails or other “light” tasks.
I now notice the difference when I take my break and when I don’t. The days I don’t I end up sifting through mindless tasks and not ticking anything off my goal list. But by taking a small break I find myself more focused and productive when I return to work.
My current work schedule is 10am – 12pm, 12:30pm – 2:30pm and 3pm – 5pm, which is only 6 hours a day. However I’ve never been as focused or more productive and this includes when I worked very long hours. If I really want to complete something I might add another work session from 5:30pm – 7:30pm as well.
Turn off your emails and eliminate other distractions
In this day and age we’re surrounded by constant distractions. Studies have shown that when we get interrupted from a task it takes 18 minutes or more to get back into the rhythm of what we’re doing. Add that time together and you might be able to understand why we get nothing done all day.
The easiest rule for being productive is only checking your email at a specified time of day (I prefer at the end). This means that you’re avoiding all those little beeps of incoming emails and that you’re not rushing off to attend to “urgent” tasks. You’ll be amazed how these “urgent” tasks melt away when you change your working habits and become more effective.
The same goes for phone calls, text/instant messages and people stopping by the office. Set up boundaries for yourself and try to filter everything through your email. If you do need to talk to someone on the phone have them schedule an appointment by emailing you.
I set aside the first 2 hours of every day for writing without interruptions. This means I can get important articles (like this one) written that help promote my business and also create resources for my email subscribers and clients. This means I have my other tasks assigned on a schedule so that I don’t even look at my email until 4pm.
You can improve your productivity too
By following the guidelines presented here you can increase your productivity dramatically. However I understand that some of these guidelines may be slightly overwhelming right now. But you don’t need to implement everything to get the benefits. I guarantee that you’ll still notice a difference even if you start trying just one thing.
By breaking down the ideas in this article into smaller chunks you can implement them on a schedule that works for you. Maybe you start by drinking more water and then scheduling in 30 minute breaks. Then start creating your goals around creating systems in your business.
I realize that I’ve presented a lot of information here but I’ve found that the combination of all these techniques can ultimately increase productivity. I also know that they’ll make a huge difference in both your life and your business. All it takes is a little bit of groundwork for you to start working more effectively and for your bank account to begin to flourish.
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