5 Productivity Tips For Busy Business Owners

It’s not enough to just hope for success. It’s not even enough to set goals for yourself. The only way to reach your goals and build the business you dream about is to just do it. Sounds simple enough.

But that’s where many of us…well, fail is a pretty strong word. But it’s the act of doing that trips us up most of the time. We overbook ourselves until today’s to-dos become next week’s past dues. We drag our feet on the things that are important while attending to things that are really just “nice to-dos.” And sometimes, we take on too much—even though we know better.

The answer? Embrace these five productivity tips that busy business owners use to get more done in much less time.

Your Rituals and Habits

A ritual or habit is the consistent way you do something. You may have a morning ritual (you wake up, you brush your teeth, work out, shower, and head to your desk), your evening ritual (check kid’s homework, cook dinner, watch a little Netflix, and hit the hay), then your weekend ritual (sleep later than normal, tend to the lawn, binge a movie or tow, chat with your mom), and many so on.

The problem is, if you’re not careful with your habits, they can turn into productivity killers. Is checking Facebook or your email a part of your morning routine? Is checking messages, email, or comments part of your work routine? Distractions (yes, distractions) such as these can turn the best intentions into hours upon hours of wasted time.

So take a good hard look at your habits and your routines. What is just sucking up your time with little to show for? It’s time to make your rituals more effective, and you’ll automatically get quite a bit more done.

One thing that has worked for me is to avoid email throughout the day. Rather than checking it here and there, I check it only about three times a day. And you know what, nothing bad happened. Same with social media. I try to do more scheduling so that I am not feeling the need to be on there, and I only go on once a day to mingle. Because I know that my good intentions of 10 minutes of networking could easily turn into an hour of some rabbit hole that probably isn’t moving me closer to my goals.

Your Calendar Management

Want to know how much time you actually have available for your new project? Try blocking in time on your calendar for all your current projects. Fill in each of your client calls, all your business admin tasks, account for time for your meals and breaks, every outside appointment, and everything else you’ve committed to. And what’s left might shock you.

Make it a habit to schedule out your calendar for every commitment you make, and you’ll find you no longer over-commit since you have a better handle on what’s really available to you.

Learn to Let It Go

News flash. You don’t have to do everything in your business. Really. You can (and should) hand off all those low-level tasks to someone else. Hire a part-time VA to do things like creating documents and managing your calendar. Let your tech person manage your blog and even your email. Turn over all your bookkeeping to an accountant. The time you are able to free up will allow you to work on what’s truly important—and those things that only you can do.

Work Hard, Play Often

You’re not a machine. And that means you cannot work all day, every day, and wish to be at your best all the time. You are just asking to burn out, make mistakes, and get overwhelmed.

So take a day off. Get some extra rest, or relax on a long, slow walk. Take your friend out to lunch. Go shopping with your kiddos. Grab a movie. Start doing other things—anything—other than working.

Not only will you return to your desk feeling more refreshed, but you’ll find yourself more creative, effective, and productive, as well.

Your Focus

Multi-tasking is bullshit; you know that, right?. You can’t efficiently create a new program while you’re simultaneously cruising Facebook, keeping an eye on your kids, and answering every email the second it pops in.

Instead of lying to yourself that you can “do it all!” use your calendar to schedule out time for your important tasks, then when that time comes, turn off everything else so you can actually focus.

No phone, no Facebook, no kids or clients or pets demanding “just a few minutes” of your time. Tune out everything, and you’ll get your work done much quicker and have time left over for everything else. Multi-tasking only lengthens the time and degrades the quality of everything you try to do at once.

Managing your time better and boosting up your productivity is not something that comes naturally to most of us, but when you learn to master these skills and use these productivity tips, you’ll find your business grows right along with you.

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Here’s to working SMART.