Shortage of time and maintaining productivity are two commonly faced concerns but they become a consistent challenge for budding entrepreneurs. All tasks suddenly become urgent, projects need to get done in time, a living has to be earned, networking has to be done to find new prospects, time for your family has to made, and you have to stay sane in the process at the same time. Pretty overwhelming, isn’t it! Here are four ways you can start overcoming the productivity challenge and start making real progress:
The Only Person Who Understands You Is You
Only you can understand the things which are holding you back from being productive i.e., either you are a procrastinator and keep delaying things until they become urgent, or you are a perfectionist and are unable to finish a started project. Maybe the current company you are keeping is uninspiring professionally or your familial obligations are too demanding. Once this insight gets developed then you can initiate the change process.
Wake Up Early Rather than Stay Up Late
We all want more hours in day but can’t have them, so we try to contrive them by working late into the night. Burning the midnight oil is not creativity but a habit that has short term results and causes long-term damage to your health, social life and productivity and eventual burnout. If you want more hours in a day, start early in the day, so you can have enough time to plan, prioritize, execute, adjust, reprioritize tasks and accommodate emergencies. I wake up ahead of the family and work in the quiet hours of the morning when the baby is asleep, before the phone starts ringing and official emails start coming in. This of course means going to bed the night before at a reasonable time.
Make Your Time on the Social Network Worthwhile
Unless you use social network for your work, take a break from social network. You really don’t need to post every detail of your personal life and feeling, go through the endless memes, see what your friend had for dinner, and check out Pinterest for dishes and crafts that you are never going to make. Make your time on the internet worthy. Start following budding entrepreneurs and women of influence on twitter, Facebook and linked in. Subscribe to pins from other entrepreneurs on Pinterest.
Get Help from Proven Systems
Subscribe to relevant newsletters, bookmark blogs, attend workshops related to personal success and efficiency that can give you insight into the productivity challenge and provide helpful tips and systems. Buy software that can help you manage your work routines, make more space for creativity and increase your productive output.
Being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean staying busy all day in a haphazard manner. It means furthering our creative endeavors and achieving financial goals in a systematic and mindful way. I am Luci McMonagle, a life coach. I help women gain the confidence they need, establish systems that work for them, and find ways which can help them succeed in business and in life.