Everyone loves productivity hacks that make their lives a little easier and a little less frantic. For entrepreneurs, however, staying optimally productive is a way of life: your time is precious, and you can’t afford to waste a moment. Here are some key productivity tips for small business owners.
Small Business Productivity Tips
If you’re not doing them already, consider the following strategies to save time and turn your “to-do” list into a “done” list.
- Prioritize your to-do list. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed or just want a more efficient approach, rank each task by urgency level. Start with responsibilities for the coming month, then break that down into weekly and daily deadlines. For future plans, create manageable steps and set deadlines for each. Focus on making SMART goals— ones that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Eliminate tasks that don’t check those boxes. Try tackling the worst thing first to make the rest seem easier.
- Limit the time you spend checking email and social media. For your personal accounts, this is a no-brainer, but set limits on your business accounts too. Check them and send replies at a specific time of day, but not compulsively throughout the day, or they’ll distract you from more important tasks. Do stay on top of your business communications to the extent necessary, but don’t throw your overall productivity at the mercy of every stray email or post that comes in.
- Hire a virtual assistant to help with routine administrative tasks. Hiring a virtual assistant (VA) to handle things like calls, emails, and invoices will free up significant time for more meaningful (and fun!) big-picture tasks.
- Delegate more. Chances are that not every item on your to-do list demands your personal attention and expertise. The more distracting small tasks you can entrust to an employee or business partner, the more time you’ll have for tasks that only you can do. Make sure that you’re delegating tasks to the people who are most qualified or well-equipped to handle them. Doing so can actually help your employees feel more empowered.
You can find even more productivity hacks here.
Increase Your Productivity with a Business Accelerator Program
Enrolling in a business accelerator program and working one-on-one with a business coach is an excellent way to get guidance on optimizing your productivity and much more. If you own a small business in the Northwest Chicagoland area and are ready to accelerate your business growth with coaching, consider applying for admission to our business accelerator program with Next Level Northwest.
Next Level Northwest is a business acceleration public-private partnership serving the Northwest Chicagoland region. We support regional and local businesses through collaborative and innovative initiatives to help grow the economy. Download our Program Overview PDF here and sign up for our newsletter.
Ready to take your business success to the next level and become a Next Level Northwest graduate? Download and prepare your application following this process today!
