Do you ever take a look at you to-do list at the end of the day and wonder why you weren’t able to get more crossed off it? Do you feel like sometimes you slide into unproductive time wasters? I’m looking at you Instagram!
Being self employed, particularly if you work from home, can be full of challenges to keep you on task and being productive. But with years of owning businesses and working freelance, we’re sharing some of our favourite productivity tips for getting stuff done in your work day.
Let’s do this!
Organize Your Workspace
If you’re working in clutter and don’t have the tools needed to take on the day easily accessible then you’re wasting time. Not only does a clean workspace help lower your stress level, it also helps you stay on task. If you work a traditional work schedule, take a moment on Friday before you ‘clock out’ to set yourself up for a successful Monday by putting your workspace back in order or if you’re in a more relaxed schedule with your office work be sure to stay on top of the clutter during the times that make most sense to you.
Get Focused
By picking one thing to work on at a time and then setting a specific length of time to work on it, it will help you stay on task. Apps like Toggl or even simply the timer on your phone are great because they help you stay on schedule. Be sure to still schedule in breaks to give yourself (and your brain) time to reset, these little breaks to refresh yourself will actually lead you to being more productive in the long run.
Ditch Distractions
Say it with us, ‘I will not waste my day on social media!’ We get it, many of our businesses are reliant on social media marketing to fuel our bottom line but that doesn’t mean we can allow our days to pass mindlessly scrolling other people’s content when we have work to do. If you find yourself too easily distracted, try removing your notifications or even delete the app from your phone during the work day when you have a big project on the go. Another great way to avoid the black hole is to preschedule your social media content using a third party app like Planoly so you don’t need to interrupt your day to make a post on social media where you’re more likely to waste valuable time.
Set A Schedule
If you find yourself lacking the motivation to get your day started, set yourself a proper work schedule just like before you started your entrepreneurial journey. Set the alarm, get your butt out of bed and get yourself ready for work. Some people might be able to run flexible work schedules and work from bed in their pj’s but if that’s not you then it’s time to make a change and set yourself up for success.
How about you, what are your favourite ways to stay productive in your work day? We’d love to hear it — I think we could all use some extra tools when it comes to the entrepreneurial hustle!
