Entrepreneurs’ workday are often not standardized. Many of them work for more than 14 hours at a time. Of course, it is not healthy even from any perspective. However, most entrepreneurs think that 24 hours are not enough to do their work. You might be one of them who work long hours on daily basis. The problem with this is, there is no guarantee that your days are truly as productive as you thought.
Structuring your day to be more productive
Being an entrepreneur and small business owner often leave you with no choice but do everything on your own. You have so much on your plate just to make sure everything runs well. However, it is also important to know if your days are productive or not with how much you work. Because you can make your workdays more productive without straining your well-being.
Rely more on your calendar to spend your workday. Do the tasks that are stated on your calendar. Hence, it is important to set up your calendar to manage your schedule. By relying on your calendar, you know how much time you have in a day. It also helps in eliminating distractions. It helps you to keep up with your schedule better.
Make your meeting short and simple. Meetings are often time-consuming. You can make it short but with great outcomes using three elements. You need an agenda, a two-minute rule, and a person to lead. With those elements, the meetings will be much more efficient. Agenda will make everyone stay in the topic. The two-minute rule allow every participant to talk only for two minutes not more. The leader helps monitor time and keeps the agenda flowing.
Sort out your tasks and separate the small and big ones. Finish your bigger, arduous tasks when you are in productive mode and motivated mindset. Then, group small tasks together and finish them when you don’t have to spend a lot of mental energy. Smaller, mindless tasks can be finished quicker together. It is also recommended to tackle touch tasks first so you have more energy to do the other tasks because you know that you are capable with how you succeeded in completing the tough tasks.
Plan in breaks in your workday. Working constantly for 12 hours without a break will not make your workday more productive. When you are tired, you will be distracted. You will be unable to stay focused and end up completing your task longer. Set 10 minutes breaks to go escape from your work by going on a walk, looking at the landscape, and just clearing your head. Two or three short breaks a day will make you more productive.
Eliminate things that can distract you. So many distractions that can hold you back from working productively. They can be your phones, foods, noise, etc. Silent your phone during work and make sure your stomach is full already. Block noise by using a canceling-noise headphone. Set a reminder/alarm so you know when to take a necessary break.