10 productivity hacks for overworked entrepreneur
Do you feel like you’re constantly ‘busy’ but don’t seem to actually be getting much done? Or maybe you struggle to actually sit down and work on your business because all your time is taken up by your demanding 9-5 or restless two-year-old?
This blog post was inspired by multiple conversations I’ve had over the past few weeks with my private clients. I see this come up for so many of my clients, regardless of their situation, so today I want to discuss how to stay productive and effectively manage your time as an entrepreneur.
Whether you’re side hustling whilst still working your 9-5, a busy mum who with irregular working hours or you simply struggle to get s#!t done - the tips I’m sharing with you today will really help you with your productivity so that you can get more done in less time!
1. AUDIT YOUR DAILY HABITS
The route of your success lies within your daily habits. It’s important to identify how you’re currently operating and monitor how you’re spending your time so that you can work smarter, not harder.
Go and grab your journal, get comfy and answer the following questions:
When answering these questions, ensure that you’re 100% honest with yourself. There’s no judgement here!
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
When do you feel my most productive and how can you take advantage of that time?
How much of your time is actually spent being productive vs doing ‘busy work’?
What does procrastination look like for you?
What small ways can you start creating momentum?
How much time do you spend scrolling through social media? How can you be more intentional with that time?
And lastly, there’s one simple question that you should be asking yourself throughout the day in order to ensure that you’re being as productive as possible and not just engaging in busy work:
“Am I being productive? Or just active?”
I read about this concept in the book The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris and it completely blew my mind! It’s such a simple question yet so effective!
You could even set a reminder on your phone to ask you this question periodically, or write it on a post it note and stick it to your computer as a constant reminder.
Recommended reading: The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. Sign up to listen on Audible here.
2. ROUTINES
Even if you think you don’t need a morning routine, you do.
Morning routines create intentional living. They set the tone for your day and work to prevent potential stress and burnout before they occur.
Creating, implementing and sticking to a morning routine will help you to:
Improve on your physical health
Start the day feeling refreshed
Exercise your mind, body and soul
Become more productive
To create your morning routine, consider journaling on the following:
What does your current morning routine look like?
How does it make you feel?
How do you want to feel in the mornings?
What practices can you implement to create those feelings?
Here’s an example of my morning routine for inspiration:
5:30 - 5:45 : Wake up
5:45 - 6:00 : Shower
6:00 - 6:30 : Go for a walk and listen to a podcast / book
6:30 - 7:00 : Journal eat breakfast
7:00 - 8:00 : Business boosting activity
Remember that practices take practice - start small and allow these routines to evolve with you.
Recommended reading: The 5am Club by Robin Sharma. Sign up to listen on Audible here.
3. TASK BATCH
At the end of each week, create a list of all the tasks you have to do for the next week and organise them into categories. Here’s an example:
Creative work - Content creation, graphic design, course creation etc.
Admin work - Emails, planning, CEO tasks etc.
Client work - Client calls, sales calls, client projects etc.
Once you’ve grouped your tasks together, avoid transitioning between categories. This is called context switching and the reason it should be avoided is because it takes our brain a significant amount of power to continuously switch from one task to another, hence making us less productive.
According to a University of California Irvine study, “it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.”
In other words - you’re wasting a hell of a lot of time by context switching throughout your day!
Instead, segmenting your tasks by each day over the week will reduce the amount of time you spend shifting your energy and make you significantly more efficient in executing.
Here’s an example of how you can plan your week for maximum productivity:
Monday - Creative work (content creation + marketing)
Tuesday - Client calls + work
Wednesday - Creative work (current project e.g. offer creation)
Thursday - Client calls + work
Friday - Admin work (CEO + catch up)
4. TIME BLOCK YOUR DAYS
Similar to how we discussed task batching earlier, time blocking your days is a great way to manage your time and stay on top of your tasks.
If you’re unfamiliar with time blocking, it can seem a little overwhelming at first.
Here’s how to get started with time blocking:
Compile a to-do list of all your tasks for the week
Separate them into your different categories (e.g. creative, admin, client)
Start by adding fixed appointments to your calendar (e.g. client calls, hairdresser appointments, meetings etc.)
Go through your to-do list, estimate how long each task will take you and block that time out in your calendar
When time blocking, don’t forget to schedule in rest time and social time - these things are important as well!
After you’ve completed your first week of time blocking, go back and review and reflect on the tasks you did / didn’t complete. Have you overestimated or underestimated how long certain tasks should take? Adapt and improve your schedule each week to fit with your findings
5. SET YOUR DAILY PRIORITIES
Another technique I love, especially for those who also work full time 9-5, is setting yourself 1-3 daily priorities.
Don’t ever sit down at your computer without intention - not knowing what your goal is leads to endless scrolling, surfing social media and engaging in ‘busy work’ that doesn’t move the needle forward.
Instead, take a second to envision your goal - the one big thing you’re working towards - and do at least one thing every single day to bring you closer to that goal, no matter how big or how small.
I call this the 1% rule - because you pull yourself 1% closer to your goal.
This is perfect for those who work full time and might not have all day to work on their business. By implementing the 1% rule every morning or evening, you can ensure that you’re still doing something everyday to move the needle forward in your business.
6. EAT THE FROG FIRST THING IN THE MORNING
I know, I know - it’s a gross saying. But it got your attention, right?
As humans, it’s in our nature to put off difficult tasks until later. This is why it’s important to do your hardest task first thing in the morning! This way, you’re alleviating the stress that would have built up all day as you procrastinated the one thing you know you need to do.
If you’re a service provider who’s weighed down with client work and often find yourself with no time to work on your own business, block 90 minutes out of your calendar first thing in the morning to engage in a business boosting activity.
This allows you to get ahead every morning and ensure you’re working on your own business, not just your clients!
If you only had 90 minutes to work each day, how would you fill that time? Set yourself a 90 minute timer and get as much as you can done!
7. TURN OFF DISTRACTIONS
A simple habit, yet one that people seem to find extremely hard to implement: turning off distractions!
When you work, you want to ensure that you’re working intentionally! We waste so much time when we’re unfocused and that’s why we can often spend all day working and then look back at the end of the day and think “wow, is that all I got done?”
I have built my business working 20 hours a week or less. And the way I’ve been able to do this is by blocking out my day to ensure that I’m engaging in focused, uninterrupted work and eliminating distractions.
So my challenge to you is to put your phone on do not disturb or, even better, in another room whilst you’re working.
Don’t worry - it’ll still be there when you’ve finished! And allowing yourself phone time once you’ve finished your work will feel so much better when you know that you’re not using it to procrastinate.
8. AUTOMATE
Automation eliminates the need for you to complete tasks manually by using systems or softwares to do them for you automatically. All the little things we do pull our mental energy away so automating them is the perfect way to preserve that energy so we can focus on the needle moving tasks.
What tasks in your business are you currently doing that could be automated?
Here are some examples:
Use Calendly to automatically schedule appointments and add them to your calendar
Set up email automations with MailerLite
Create a Frequently Asked Questions page
Use canned responses and scripts
Use Zapier to create workflows and automate thousands of tasks
9. OUTSOURCING
Outsourcing the tasks that aren’t in your zone of genius or could be seen as ‘busy work’ is a great way to free up more time on your schedule!
Running an online business by yourself isn’t an easy task and it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you have to do all the things and you keep seeing your to-do list pile up and up. This is where hiring a virtual assistant to outsource some tasks can free up your time and stop you from going insane!
Here are some questions to think about:
What tasks are taking up too much space in my life?
What do I need to say NO to so that I can say YES to the things that light me up?
What tasks can I outsource to others?
TOP TIP - If you don’t have the budget to outsource your tasks just yet, consider trading or bartering services with other entrepreneurs who are looking for support with something you offer.
10. PERSONAL TIME
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt this past year, it’s that scheduling in rest time is just as - if not more - important than scheduling in work time.
When you run your own business, it can be hard to draw the line between work and personal life. It’s easy to constantly be on the go, but this is often fuelled by adrenaline, and after some time, can easily lead to burnout.
I’ve seen this time and time again among business owners, especially in this age where social media makes it almost impossible to unplug and creates unrealistic expectations with the promotion of hustle culture.
Taking time off of your business for self care is important and should not be neglected!
Here’s how I intentionally schedule breaks for rest, self care and social time in my business:
Daily - I only work during my office hours and implement a morning routine
Weekly - Weekends are reserved for rest and social time; whatever I need on that day
Monthly - I schedule at least one long weekend to myself
Quarterly - I schedule at least one week off from my business to recharge
xo, Leticia
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HEY, I’M LETICIA!
I’m an online marketing strategist for creative entrepreneurs who want to build an influential and profitable online business on their own terms.
Grab a cuppa, get comfy and stay for a while ☕️☁️
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