The life of an entrepreneur can be overwhelming sometimes, with a lot of highs and lows, with an agenda full of meetings, an inbox with thousands of emails and a never-ending to-do list.
In this article, we will reveal the best and most effective productivity life hacks and time management methods to have the best impact on your business and your team and on you.
Related listening: E365: The Best Productivity Hacks for Entrepreneurs with Chris Bello
Topics Covered
Time management and Productivity
Sometimes we find out that the day needs more hours because simply it doesn’t have enough to complete all that you want to do. We race against the clock to finish assignments and meet deadlines. Yes, we've all been there at some point.
At the end of the day, it’s very difficult to measure the human capital involved in each of the tasks. We focus so much on observing the number of zeros ($$$) to will reach our goal that sometimes we aren't aware of the time it took us to get there and assume that time is not valuable (if we even think about it).
Time is our most valuable resource. So how should we manage our time as entrepreneurs?
Life Hack #1: Avoid an infinite to-do list and prioritize
Entrepreneurs face many tasks and wear multiple hats. From monitoring Amazon listings, taking care of packaging and shipping, Facebook ads, and PPC to handling your website on Shopify, all these seem like an endless list of to-dos. Just by reading all these tasks, one already feels exhausted.
Don’t multitask to become more productive. It’s important to prioritize your tasks and create a plan at the beginning of every week with a focus on listing the core assignments to be completed during the week.
First, you should list the things that need to be done in the short term. Then, once these tasks are completed, get to work on those that have a more flexible or long-term deadline. This is the first hack to win the battle of time management.
Life Hack #2: Be assertive. Learn the value of saying NO
Master the art of saying NO. Another life hack is being able to say no to opportunities or favours, and this will save you time and money. Remember, plan and prioritize, otherwise, your to-do list will grow quickly. Remember: Time is your most valuable equity.
But saying NO does not mean that it is a resounding NO, but simply you’re focusing on other objectives and if you decide to go ahead you will find yourself with more time to reach your goals. You have to stop for a moment and ask yourself if this favour or opportunity is worth it. If so, you will have time to plan it.
Life Hack #3: Set your goals and stop multitasking
Many entrepreneurs are running around like headless chickens trying to do 100 things at once. Research has shown that multitasking can actually decrease your productivity and therefore it will also affect your time management.
Stop multitasking and you'll be able to work faster, and better and save time and money. Setting your goals and focusing on accomplishing one task at a time is way better than having a thousand tasks started and none of them completed.
Establish a priority hierarchy and define the purpose of each task if you want to keep your productivity levels high.
Life Hack #4: Delegate responsibilities and tasks
Let someone else help you to drive your business. If you have a virtual assistant or a team, remember that everyone is rowing in the same direction, so try to relax and delegate some work to your employees. That way, you will have more time to do activities that only you can do or that you simply like better.
In addition, employees will notice their importance in the team. You will also be able to reinforce teamwork and, above all, everyone will grow together.
Delegate responsibilities and this will free up your schedule so that you can start managing your time better.
Life Hack #5: Take a break
Give yourself a break, cool off and reward yourself like going out for lunch, walking to a coffee shop or taking a nap. Everyone needs frequent breaks throughout the day to clear their minds.
When you’re rested and in a better mood, you tend to be more productive.
You may also want to think about going on a much-needed vacation if you feel like your hair is falling out of stress.
Life Hack #6: Reduce the number of meetings
Meetings are time management killers. You should ask yourself: do I really need all these meetings? We aren’t omnipresent and we can’t be everywhere.
Well, once you have the important meetings scheduled – and where your presence is really needed- remember to assign homework so that way the participants will be ready.
Creating an agenda for your meeting is a good way to keep you and your team focused on the meeting and on time management.
The key is to organize short-time and goal-based meetings.
Conclusion
Making the best use of your time management and staying productive are essential ingredients for success in e-commerce. An entrepreneur's goal is to maximize the impact of every activity they do. In order to do this, you should try to apply these life hacks to get more productive and optimize your day-to-day processes.
Have you ever felt like you have way too much on your plate? What are the life hacks that you have applied to improve your time management and productivity?
