Due to the challenging times we are facing today, many small business owners are looking for productivity tips that can help them get more done. Today I decided to address an aspect that gets overlooked; Productivity Killers. Many times we waste time looking for the "new tool" that is going to "all of the sudden" make us more productive. However, we do not look closer to our own actions to determine the time leaks that are costing us hours of wasted time and money every day.
Small business owners wear many hats; office administration, marketing, sales, bookkeeping, etc. The amount of tasks to complete seems to be growing and they need to make more time for themselves and their families. The challenge for the small business owners is at time hard to accomplish and in some cases impossible. However, developing a reputation as the "go-to-person", the person who can be counted on to get things done is one of the best advertising you can have, and that can mean greater contracts, increased revenues and better opportunities. I suggest that you focus on looking and actively eliminate time leaks from your daily work schedule. This is the most effective way to increase your productivity and do more with less. Here is a list of six common productivity killers:
1. Lack of Planning - “Measure twice cut once” — English Proverb. Simple, if you don't know where you're going, any path will take you there. The problem is that many times the unknown path will not be the most effective one, many times causing you to have to do things twice or more. Stay focused by periodically re-evaluating your objectives.
2. Time Wasters - In today's society filled with gadgets and technology toys from Ipads to Iphones and Blackberries, we are constantly inundated with information and sounds that take our mind away from the task at hand. We are all guilty of this occasionally:
* Making unnecessary phone calls
* Visiting or talking with others in the office
* Spending more time getting organized than actually doing work
* Scheduling or attending unnecessary meetings
* Playing computer games or browsing the Internet
* Reading a magazine or book
* Taking an extra long break or lunch
Become aware of the way you are spending your time and be completely honest with yourself, identify the time wasters and start addressing them one at a time.
3. Disorganized Work Environments - Distraction is the result of scattered thoughts, chaotic surroundings, or lacking clarity. Many times the distraction is caused by the surroundings of your work area; your office view to a park filled with people walking their dogs or to a golf course. While having offices with beautiful views is great, they can become a distraction in our goal to accomplish our tasks. Bottom-line, when you are distracted you are not working productively. The best way to handle distractions is to find a quiet place where you can think, plan, and organize your thoughts by writing them down in an action plan (to-do list). Another major productivity killer is disorganized/chaotic work environments. This will drain you and make the best of entrepreneurs look unprofessionals in front of your customers. Did you know that disorganization costs the average worker at least one hour of productivity each day? Can you afford to lose five hours a week? Of course not! Keeping your desk, files, and work area clean and organized makes you more productive. You'll be more focused on the task at hand, find the things you need more readily, and feel more in control of your life.
4. Unreasonable and Demanding People - These are what I call "Productivity Vampires", just being around them sucks your positive energy, your plans towards accomplishing your goals, etc. They are demanding, irritable, needy people who constantly distract you from your task at hand. They are impossible to please; they focus on negative aspects of situations and events; they are constantly victimizing themselves; they find fault with things you do and say (because of course they do everything right); and they generally make you feel like you're constantly swimming against the current. The simple solution to this situation is to avoid them completely. However, if these people are your family members, co-workers or close friends, the situation becomes a bit more complicated. You cannot shut down your needy brother/father and move to a mountaintop somewhere to avoid them. This situation requires strategies for coping with them more effectively. One solution is limiting your time exposure with them (what I like to call "love them from a distance"). Second, try to get to the bottom of their behavior, they probably don't act that way just to cause you grief. In most cases, they have some deep-rooted emotional issues that make them miserable.
5. Lack of Delegation of Tasks - Whenever possible you should delegate tasks that another person can perform for you, which frees your time to address other areas of the business where your expertise is a must. The hallmark of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to delegate. You're not an expert at everything! Give the job to the real experts. They can do it more easily and cost-effectively, and you can get back to doing what you do best. Hire a bookkeeper to handle your accounting, instead of pretending that you can do the accounting for your business and never doing it. Hire a contractor to do the property remodeling, instead of you pretending that you can "save money" in your new rental property if you do it yourself or hire a bunch of cheap and inexperienced kids to do the work. Whenever in doubt, apply the Pareto's Principle- The 80/20 Rule. This rule states that 20 percent of your activities produce 80 percent of your results. So, in prioritizing your to-do list,determine which tasks are in your top 20 percent by assessing their value to your life. When you've identified the activities that generate the most income, you'll know which tasks to delegate.
6. Poor Health Habits - Most people do not consider their health in looking for solutions in improving productivity. Poor health habits can have a negative impact on your productivity. For example, lack of sleep/rest, and poor nutrition will drain your body of the needed energy to function at an optimal level! When you deprive your body from the needed fuel you end up feeling fatigued, cranky, and distracted. Therefore, you must make it a priority to get adequate sleep each night, schedule in time for exercise and proper meal-planning. Another aspect that need to be addressed is time for family, fun, recreation and personal time. I know that it seems counter-intuitive, but taking rest and recovery breaks during the day will make you
more productive than if you work non-stop.
As you read through the list above, be honest with yourself - how many of these productivity killers are currently affecting you today? If you relate to any one of the time wasters above, pick one that you feel would make a positive difference in your life and develop a plan of action for this week to start stopping that time from going down the drain. What other energy or time wasters do you deal on a daily basis? Share them, I would like to hear from you, what are the time wasters and how you were able to stop the waste.
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