As a business owner, you’ve already mastered the art of being productive. Whether you rely on a great playlist or a double shot of espresso to keep you on your A-game, you know how to conquer your to-do list. That said, you’re probably wondering—how do I achieve the same goal-smashing results in my business?
Read on to learn a few tips and tricks to make your business the picture of productivity.
Organization is the Name of the Game (and the Secret to Success)
Running a business means keeping track of more moving pieces than you can count. If you don’t have a system in place to help you keep track of projects, delegate assignments, and monitor deadlines, you’re automatically limiting how productive your business can be.
If your organizational toolbox currently consists of excel sheets and sticky notes, consider utilizing one of the many project management platforms on the market like:
- Monday
- Hive
- ClickUp (this one is free!)
- Trello
With these tools, nothing will slip through the cracks while you’re juggling various assignments. Plus, having a dedicated space where you can see exactly what needs to be done will help you (and your employees) manage time more efficiently.
Don’t Get Bogged Down by Tedious Tasks
Managing payroll, filing taxes, enrolling new employees under your health care insurance, and changing the paper towels in the office bathroom are all parts of operating a business. These daily to-dos need to be taken care of.
However, they don’t always need to be taken care of by you.
Allowing them to siphon time and energy away from more pressing matters is a sure-fire way to watch productivity plummet. So how do you avoid wasting yet another morning dealing with time-consuming tasks that don’t contribute towards your bottom line? Take a look:
- Hire an office manager – Hiring someone to re-stock the snack drawer and figure out why the printer isn’t working is an investment. However, we can almost guarantee it will pay off when you don’t have to postpone your big meeting because you’re bogged down by a pile of paperwork.
- Take advantage of technology – These days, there’s software for almost everything. If you want your business to be productive, you need to take advantage of these powerful tools. Whether it’s a whole suite of professional tax software bank products or an online HR service that’s as powerful as an entire department, your technology options are endless.
- Create systematic workflows – The more streamlined you can make every aspect of your business, the better. Create a system for everything from paying invoices to naming documents—your day-to-day workflow will be so much more productive.
Multi-Tasking Doesn’t Guarantee Better Results
Today’s business world is rife with short attention spans and information overload, which makes it tempting to try and tackle too many tasks at once. Although this might feel productive, multi-tasking often means accomplishing less (and producing lower quality results).
Encourage your employees to focus on one thing at a time, and to give 100% of their attention to the task at hand. Let your team know that it’s okay (and encouraged) to take breaks if it helps them stay in the zone when they’re working. They’ll be more productive if they’re not expected to respond to emails in the middle of a meeting or take phone calls during their lunch hour.
What Are You Waiting For?
Our final piece of advice might be the most important—there’s absolutely no reason to delay implementing these productivity-boosting strategies.
The sooner you start taking steps to make your business more productive, the sooner you’ll start seeing higher profits, better business relationships, and more fulfilled employees. It’s only up from here!
