As a small business owner, there is a lot on your plate. You need to wear many hats and take care of several responsibilities. Productivity is of paramount importance when you keep running on the treadmill of work. You’ve been juggling between many tasks. However, are you able to complete all the tasks effectively? Or do you feel you don’t have enough hours in your day for managing all the tasks effectively?

If you want to get the most done in the least amount of time, you’ll have to change your approach. Even little tweaks can help in increasing productivity.

“Productivity is never an accident it’s the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning and focused effort” – Paul Meyer

Productivity hacks to be more efficient 

Productivity is the key to success. You must avoid distractions, be more organized, and try to save more time. 

“The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”  

To grow your small business, you need to maximize your work productivity. 

Here are a few productivity hacks that can help you with it.

1. Rank your tasks – Have a list of priorities 

Yes, there a lot of things that need your attention. However, pause for a while and ponder over all the important things you need to do. Rank your task according to urgency and importance. 

Start with a blank slate to determine your priorities.

Think, what would affect your long term results? The answers are your top priorities. Focus on them. Create a plan of action to complete them. Allot time for each task. Track the activities to ensure you are completing your tasks on-time. 

2. Do not postpone – Complete the most difficult task first  

Delays often affect your productivity. People often tend to do the most difficult tasks in the end. In a way, they are trying to ignore the tasks. Instead of postponing the task, you dread the most, try to complete it first.

“Don’t put off until tomorrow. What you can do now” – Benjamin Franklin 

Ultimately you need to get it done, why not address it immediately. Otherwise, it will distract you and affect the other tasks as well. Besides, it is good to work on a difficult task with a fresh mind; you’ll get more ideas to tackle it efficiently.  

3. Time limit – work in 90 minutes blocks

Gain control over your time and tasks. Sometimes while working, small business owners lose track of time and spend too much time on a single task.

To increase productivity, work in 90 minutes blocks. One and a half hours are enough for each task. Do not stretch it for a longer time. You can use a timer app to keep track of your hours. Make sure you follow the 90 minutes segments strictly. Afterward take a small break, play a game of Solitaire or eat a healthy snack to recharge.

4. Use the talents – Delegate tasks tactfully to your team 

You’ve managed to hire one or two best talents for your small business. Now, use their skills wisely. Understand the strengths of each employee and accordingly assign tasks to them. This will reduce your work and allow you to invest time in creating new strategies for your small business growth.

Keep a tab on your employees performance. Make sure they are putting in cent percent effort to deliver the best results. 

5. Play it smart – never type the same messages twice 

As a small business owner, you’ll have to communicate with your clients through emails. Instead of typing the same messages repeatedly or copy-pasting it, create templates, and save it. Most of the best CRM software allows you to save templates.

Just create a few effective templates and use them to save your precious time. Track your emails to check if they are opened or ignored. If your response rate is low, then you must consider changing the content of your templates. 

6. Time is money – Use automation to save more time  

As a small business owner, you need to invest your time in the right places. Try to eliminate the repetitive tasks that consume a lot of time. Wondering how you can do that? Well, with the help of automation. 

You can automate most of the tasks, like sending welcome emails or assigning activities to your team. All you need is a smart automation tool. By embracing automation, you can add more time to your day and improve your efficiency.

7. Save your precious hours – only meet if necessary 

Before you decide to convene your team for a ‘short meeting’ (which isn’t often short), consider if the agenda could be discussed through emails or chats. A meeting can consume a lot of time. 

Have a meeting only if it is extremely necessary. However, make sure you have a clear agenda in writing beforehand to prevent the meeting from going off-course. 

Wrapping up

As a small business owner, it is necessary to focus on increasing productivity to boost business growth. Keep everything from your customer data to your email inbox organized to ensure you do not waste a lot of time.

Automate repetitive tasks. Systematically plan your week and stick to your plan. Avoid distractions. Mute your phone or social media notifications. 

Streamline and optimize your processes. Evaluate various activities and check where you are investing your valuable time. There are many mobile apps for small business owners that can help manage tasks effectively and increase your productive hours. So download and make the most of such apps.