Nowadays, there are tons of productivity apps claiming to help boost your productivity levels but ultimately, at the core of your productivity issues, is you! There’s no magical app that is going to make you more productive as this comes from a paradigm shift rather than a simple app purchase.
That’s why, in this article, we’re going to look at five productivity tips that are all about you. Now, of course, there are some great apps to consider that can help boost your productivity levels because they help keep you focused and organised… but unless you have your mindset right to start with, they’re just going to become a further distraction.
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EAT THAT FROG
World renowned expert on productivity, Brian Tracy, encourages us to tackle the most challenging, dreaded and uncomfortable task first – on the basis that once this is out the way we feel a tremendous sense of achievement and relief that we can use to build momentum, stay focused, feel increased self-esteem, and squeeze more out of each day.
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BATCH TASKS
The majority of small business owners are used to multi-tasking, and whilst this can be a great skill, it can also hamper your productivity and effectiveness. The opposite of multi-tasking then is batch-tasking. The premise being that you can decrease distraction and increase concentration by focusing on a single task at a time. Then, when you batch tasks, meaning you group similar tasks together your effectiveness increases per tasks, meaning your efficiency sky rockets.
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DELEGATE
A lot of times, small business owners find themselves working in the business, acting as everything from the receptionist… to the accountant… to the window cleaner – rather than on the business, as the leader navigating it toward success. This means that you are essentially working incredibly long hours, for potentially little pay, leading yourself into an early grave, with no time freedom to enjoy life. You are the business owner – you need to delegate. Your job is to run the business. You are the captain of the ship and require a team (whether virtual or physical) to support you.
The other aspect to delegation is to ensure you are supported by a number of external companies that can help guide you in the right direction, within their particular area of experience; for example, Poms & Associates in construction surety bonds or Deloitte in accounting. The key principle is to make sure that you have reliable professional resources to turn to for genuine advice, rather than sales hype, as this will save you a lot of time in research.
BONUS TIP: PISTOL FOCUS
As small business owners, many times, we spread ourselves out too thinly across multiple projects. This approach leads to us running around, chasing our tail, and not really finishing anything. Think of a shotgun. The shotgun shell itself is made up multiple components that spread out, meaning, there’s a strong chance some of those particles will hit the target. A pistol, on the other hand, is a single focused bullet that is being driven toward its target with absolute power.
