7 Productivity Tips for Entrepreneurs

As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats. Learning to juggle your various responsibilities is one of the keys to maximizing your business’s chances for success. Here are 8 tips to help you increase your productivity.

1. Do an 80/20 Analysis – Being busy is not the same as being productive. It is a commonly held business principle that 80 percent of your productivity comes from just 20 percent of your tasks. Identify the 20 percent of your activities that most help you accomplish your goals and focus on those.
2. Leverage the Latest Technology – There are plenty of apps out there that can help you complete tasks more efficiently. Take some time to find some productivity/time management apps that work for you.
3. Don’t Micromanage Employees – If you hired the right people, you should feel comfortable delegating tasks to them. Empowering employees improves company morale and frees you up to tackle other more important tasks.
4. Exercise Regularly – Research shows that lack of physical activity is linked to lower productivity in the workplace. Consider getting in the habit of exercising in the morning while also promoting healthy lifestyles for your employees. You won’t just see the results in the mirror, you’ll see them in your effectiveness at work.
5. Cut Down On Meetings – Meetings may be useful, but they are also notorious time sucks. You may want to consider having one meeting-free day every week. Furthermore, when you do have meetings, try to keep them to 30 minutes or less.
6. Prioritize – Multitasking is proven to reduce productivity. Prioritize the tasks in front of you and then focus on those tasks one at a time.
7. Don’t Let Email Control You – Set specific times of day for composing and responding to emails. Keep your correspondences brief and to the point. Being “in the loop” is obviously important, but if you’re being CC-ed on every single email in your company, you’re headed for trouble time-management wise.