20 Tips to Increase Your Business Productivity Now

With January here, you may find yourself with goals to get more done. Whether you work full-time, run a side hustle or two, or are raising a family, you know that it’s hard to do everything you want to get done.

Wouldn’t it be even better if you could get everything on your to-do list done in less time?

Since we only have 24 hours in a day, here are tips to increase your productivity with the amount of time that you have available to you.

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1 | Write your goals

The first step towards being more productive is knowing what you’re working towards.

Your goals don’t have to be grand or exciting. It may be to get dinner on the table each night this month without stress or to make $200 in profit from your side hustle this month.

Once you’re written your goals, everything you do from then on should be to help you to achieve those goals.

2 | Make a plan

The next step is to plan out how you’re going to get your goal done. That will guide you in determining what’s important to do each day, how much time you’ll need to devote to it, and

If you want to get dinner on the table each night without stress, then you may have to decide on dinners in advance. That means making meal plans on weekends, ordering meal delivery kits, or deciding where to eat out.

If your goal is to earn $200 reselling clothes this month, you have to calculate backward to see where to start: make $240 in sales and spend $300 on inventory for the month. To get $300 worth of inventory, you may have to source once a week for the month.

Once you’ve determined your goal for the month, decide what you need to do each week to meet it. Then as each week starts, plan your days so that you know what to do get done each day.

3 | Do the most important and difficult task first

The most important or difficult task is often the hardest one to do. It could be writing emails you don’t want to write or calling a client you don’t want to talk to. You may feel like putting it off.

Make it a point to get it done the first thing in the morning. You’ll feel better having it off your mind for the rest of the day. You’ll have been productive having gotten it done too.

4 | Work at your most productive time of day

Most people have a time of day when they work the best. For some, it’s the morning when they first wake up, while others like to work late into the night.

It doesn’t matter what time of day you work. The key is knowing what time is best for you. You’ll get more done with less effort when you’re at your peak productivity time.

I used to be a night owl but have become a morning person due to the nature of my work. If I have to get something done, I have to do it before lunch because that’s when I’m most alert and focused.

My attention starts to wave as the afternoon progresses. So I now plan my most important tasks to get done in the morning.

5 | Prioritize what to work on

This is similar to working on your most important or difficult task first. You likely have many things on your to-do list, more than you can reasonably get done in the time that you have.

Prioritize tasks that have to get done because they will make the most impact on your business. It may be sending out invoices so that you get paid or listing more clothing online so that they’re available for sale.

Pick a maximum of three things to work on in a day. The rest can wait for another time.

6 | Eliminate distractions

Productivity isn’t about multi-tasking to get everything done at once. In fact, most people get less done when multi-tasking because switching attention between tasks is tiring.

Don’t multi-tasking if you can help it. If you’re a mom managing taking care of your baby while running your business, you don’t have a choice.

Otherwise, silence your phone. Cut off access to the internet. Find a quiet place to work. And focus only on the task at hand for the time that you have.

7 | Clear your environment

Make your work area a clean comfortable space. Many people find that a clean environment helps them be more productive.

Less clutter around you means fewer distractions or stresses on your mind. That can also mean not eating while you work to keep food from being a messy distraction as well.

8 | Set aside time to get things done

Set aside time in your day to get your most important tasks done. Because I work my day-job during typical work hours, I try to set aside the hours 8-10 or 9-11 at night to work on my side hustles.

You may have a spouse or partner, children, or co-workers who require a lot of attention and time. Try setting up activities to keep the children busy. Set up the expectation that you need an uninterrupted hour or two to get work done.

It may take time for people to get used to the idea, but they’ll eventually catch on and you’ll get more done.

9 | Get off social media

We have access to so much information nowadays and immediate access at that. How much of the information that you recently saw on social media is important? Chances are you didn’t need to know it right away.

You can spend hours on Instagram or Facebook and afterward wonder where your time went. Getting off social media will free up a lot of time and mental space.

Sign out of them after every visit to make it more difficult to get on them. Or be bold and delete the apps or even your accounts if you don’t need them for your work.

10 | Turn off notifications

Similar to above, many notifications you receive are for things that aren’t important. You don’t need a notification for every new email, text message, or direct message.

Most of those things can be addressed later at your designated times. Remove the option for notifications to keep your focus on what you’re doing.

11 | Check your email at set times throughout the day

Email consumes a lot of people’s time. It’s usually not very productive either, so don’t leave your email open. That leads to checking it too frequently.

Schedule when you check your email. It can be three times a day: first thing in the morning, at midday, and at the end of the workday.

If you’re concerned that people expecting quick replies from you, let your most frequent contacts know that you check email only at scheduled times. They’re welcome to call you about more detailed topics or plans that require multiple exchanges.

12 | Use auto-responders

If you’re a blogger with a business email, you likely get lots of spam mail or emails that are irrelevant to you. While it may seem strange at first, it’s okay to not personally answer every email.

It’s important to always write back to clients or potential clients, but you don’t have to answer emails that are irrelevant, spammy, or just not a good fit.

Set up that expectation by writing it on the contact page of your website. Let people who use the contact form know that you may not write back given your limited time. Or use an auto-responder that lets people know that you’ll get back to them if/when you’ll get back to them.

You can set auto responses to your most common questions as well. Then every time someone writes to you with those questions, you simply copy and paste your answer.

13 | Put systems in place

Systems are the routines and procedures that you follow to make your business run efficiently. Some examples:

Following a checklist to create a blog post from start to finish
Using a step-by-step guide to listing clothes online without missing anything
A procedure to follow when someone requests a refund

It’s not just about saving time. You’re also saving mental energy by doing a routine instead of having to think about it.

14 | Say no

Why is “no” one of the hardest words to say sometimes? Do you ever find yourself saying yes to something when you wish you had said no?

Now’s the time to put yourself first. If someone asks you to do something non-urgent or non-essential and it’s not going to help your productivity, it’s okay to say no.

That doesn’t mean you can’t help the person later, only that you’re putting yourself first right now.

15 | Get rid of FOMO

Sometimes being productive and taking time on one thing means giving up something else. Accept that you won’t get to do and be everything.

You may miss out on a lot of opportunities available to you, but many of them would take you away from being productive. The things that you are doing will instead have a pronounced effect on your productivity or business.

16 | Outsource or delegate work

Your time is valuable! Calculate how much you’re making by doing your business. If you’re making $30 an hour selling online and it costs $15 an hour for a housekeeper, outsource the cleaning if your use.

This is particularly true if you don’t like cleaning the house or it’s a point of contention in the family. Your time may be worth more doing the things that you like and/or are profitable.

If you aren’t able to pay for additional help, ask family members if they’d be able to take on additional tasks. This will free up more time for you to work on your business.

17 | Track your time

Tracking your time is a great way to see how you’re spending your time. More than likely, you’ll be surprised at the results.

Use paper and pen for a simple time tracker. There are free time-tracking apps available as well.

Whether you decide to do it for a week or month, I bet you’ll see places to cut time on tasks such as time online or cleaning the house. Use that time on things that matter more to you or will help your business.

18 | Make yourself accountable

Accountability goes a long way towards being more productive. Some people let others know of their goals or having an accountability partner. That’s enough to keep them motivated and in action.

Others prefer to be accountable to themselves. Have a reward in mind to give yourself when you meet your goals.

19 | Take breaks

It may be tempting to power through hour after hour and day after day. Your brain needs breaks to stay most productive.

The Pomodoro technique is a popular method for getting more done. The idea is to work for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. After 4 cycles of this, take a longer break.

You work intensely when it’s time to work but still get regular breaks to recharge.

20 | Take time off

Don’t be afraid to take time off from your business. This is important if you’re feeling burned out. It may be that you need a vacation to recharge your mind and body.

One business I know has a unique model. The owners work for 5 months and then take 1 month off. They work Feb-June and Aug-Dec taking off January and July.

I know not everyone has that luxury, but if you can schedule time off into your life, you’ll find yourself more productive when you do have to work.

You now know many of the tools to help you increase basic productivity. Although some tips can be implemented right away, sustained high productivity can take time and practice to achieve.

Don’t be hard on yourself if the gains don’t happen overnight. Try to implement one or two of the tips at a time and you’ll see progress as the days go on.

What are some of your favorite productivity tips?