7 Ways to Stay Productive
The best thing about running your own business is that your time is your own. The worst thing about running your own business is that your time is your own. Nobody’s going to tell you not to do your work while you soak in foliage at an inn in Vermont. But nobody’s going to give you a meeting, a task list, or anything to structure your day. When there’s no end to the ways you can use your time productively, it’s easy to get paralyzed. Here are some of the top ways to manage your priorities and keep yourself on task.
1. Brain Dump
If the stress of running a business is affecting you the way it should, urgent tasks are firing at you all day and night. I have a presentation at 2, I need to finalize the website content, I need to call that potential client, I need to pay my electric bill. Always write down tasks when they come in your head – whether it’s in a journal by your bed or an email to yourself. Then, at least once a day (ideally in the morning before you start to work), make a full list of everything – professional and personal – you need to get done that day. Divide it up by category to make it seem more manageable. Don’t forget to add things you know you’re going to do (like eating lunch) to make yourself feel extra productive when you get them done.
2. Make a Realistic Assessment
You’re not going to get it all done. Let that knowledge punch you in the face, and then take a deep breath and get over it. Make your peace with what you can genuinely accomplish in one work day, and figure out how the tasks before you fit into that. No matter whether you work 8 hours a day or 12, your time is limited. Trying to cram in too much won’t help you get more done, it will just make you feel crappy when you don’t reach your unrealistic goals.
3. Prioritize
What NEEDS to get done? What is pretty important? What would be nice? Make sure only one thing (two max) gets to the top of your list. If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority. Even if it just means picking a high-priority task at random, setting a task apart and deciding to commit to it is the only way to get anything done.
4. Make a Schedule
The first thing I do every day is literally set time limits for all of my tasks. 9:00 am – 10:00 am, is recon on the new logo. 10:00 am – Noon is content for the website. At noon I need to eat. Not only does this help you get a better sense of what can realistically get done in a day, but it helps you get things done faster. Setting realistic-but-tight time limits helps you work efficiently towards your goal (as the adage goes, you have as much work as time to do it in). It also helps you keep on task when you want to procrastinate, because you know you only have until your limit to get the job done.
5. Start with something you want to do
When you’re making your schedule, try and start with something you enjoy. The idea that you should get boring tasks out of the way is total bullshit. If you start with something you hate, you’re more likely to drag your feet and you can end up stopping before you start. If you start with something you love, you find your zone and are more supercharged to take on the rest of the day.
6. Check in at the End of the Day
When your day is over, check in on what you have accomplished. You may have gotten things done even without realizing it. Cross off what got done, and circle what needs to be moved to the next day. Congratulate yourself for what you got done. I bet it was a lot.
7. Turn. Your. Brain. Off.
Do it. Seriously. Do it. Whether you find something new on Netflix, go workout, get a drink with a friend, or just really enjoy your dinner, put your phone in airplane mode for at least 15 minutes and allow yourself to detox. Not only is it good for you, but it will make you all the more productive when you turn it back on.
Is design or branding one of the many tasks you’re stressing about? That’s an easy one to take off your list. Get in touch with Aura Creative to find out how we can help your business Glow Up.
