Plan Ahead!
It might sound extremely simple, but making good use of a calendar in your business can have a big impact. Scheduling in advance – whether that means product launches or emails – means that you’ll always have something concrete to work towards. It also gives you more time to get things done, and it helps you stay organized when it comes to outsourcing. You can also add important holiday dates to your calendar to help you plan your marketing around these events. These are the kind of things you might miss if you were winging things and waiting until the actual day to plan things.
You can use a calendar app or a real life calendar, whatever works for you! And yes, the plans might change, but planning in advance will ensure you never go too long without doing something to grow your business.
Start Your Day Right
The way you start your day can often have a big impact on how the rest of the day goes. Start working on perfecting your daily routine. For example, if you know you can’t resist checking your emails and social media in the mornings, set a timer for 15 minutes to ensure you don’t get carried away on a conversation.
If you have a problem know what to start with each day, then start taking 5 minutes at the end of the day to plan the next one. It’ll take some time to make these routines a habit, but they can all add up to make you a lot more productive throughout the day.
Track Your Time
If procrastination is getting in the way of growing your business then it’s time to start tracking your time. Install an app like RescueTime and go on about your day as you normally would.
After a week or so, take a look at the results of the tracking. You can see, at a glance, whether you spent too much time watching online videos or social networking. This can help you identify your weaknesses and let you work on improving things.
Organize Your Emails
As an online business owner you probably get so much email that responding to it becomes a task in itself. Unfortunately, responding to emails is a necessary evil, especially when it comes to answering customer problems and questions.
One way to improve your business is to start responding to emails quickly, so that they never build up into an unmanageable mess. Choose a couple of set times a day for email (e.g. once in the morning and once in the afternoon) and respond to emails as soon as you email them.
This rule can apply to almost all emails, unless they need further thought or research. In which case, archive all the ones you’ve responded too and add the rest to your to-do list for the day. Responding to emails quickly helps you get more done, and it shows customers that you care about their emails.
Set a “Most Important Task” Each Day
Productivity is a tricky thing to master, especially when you work for yourself. If you constantly find that you end the day with items still on your to-do list, then it’s time to prioritize those tasks. One tip is to choose a “most important task” for every day. You can have other items on your to-do list, but you can only get to those once your most important task is completed. This ensures you’re doing something worthwhile every single day.
Create More Than You Consume
Here’s a quick thought that could help give you the kick you need to achieve more in business… ask yourself whether you’re creating more than you consume. If the answer is no, and you find yourself spending more time reading about things than actually creating things then it’s time change. Creating more than you consume means you’ll constantly be educating your customers and creating new products for them to enjoy. In short creating more = profiting more!
Last But Not Least, Don’t Let Business Take Over Your Life
If you’ve gone into business as a way to get freedom, then keep that goal in mind. If you’re working every evening, not spending enough time with family, letting go of hobbies that matter to you… are you really free?
Although sometimes you do need to sacrifice your personal life to improve your business, remember that it works the other way around, too. Sometimes it’s important to sacrifice some of your working time to enjoy some of that freedom you’ve worked so hard to create.
