Every entrepreneur wants to be productive. It feels good to look at something tangible and say, “I created this. I made this. I did this.” To get things done. To check things off a list. To make a serious dent in your checklist. Productivity looks different to different people, but the feeling is universal. For one person, creating an incredible presentation or meeting the needs of a specific client can make them feel amazing. For another, it may mean developing a new product or coming up with a new design. For you, it may be completely different, but you know the good feeling you get by putting in a productive day.
Productivity encourages a true sense of purpose. It offers a deep feeling of accomplishment that is important to a happy and fulfilled life. Being productive also gives you the freedom to spend more time with the ones you love and less time worrying about the things that are left unfinished. Staying on task isn’t always easy. There are so many things that can cause your productivity to falter and even come to a complete stop.
Battling for productivity is exhausting. Being busy does not mean you’re productive. As an entrepreneur, you are constantly battling a thousand distractions that can block creativity and derail a productive morning, afternoon, or evening. First step is to mute notifications. Distractions kill productivity. All day long we receive dozens – or even hundreds of notifications: emails, text messages, LinkedIn, Facebook, phone calls, and more. Create boundaries for interruptions. There will be times when you need to check email, make phone calls, or respond to text messages. But you should only do this during specified times each day. This enables you to focus on meaningful work.
I love the saying “The Early Bird Gets EVERYTHING DONE!” It starts the night before by going to bed earlier. Turn off screens several hours before bedtime. Using screens in the hours leading up to bed has been shown to disrupt sleep patterns. Move your alarm clock away from your bed. This will force you to get up out of bed in the morning and prevent you from hitting the snooze button. The most successful entrepreneurs tend to be early risers. Early risers are more productive while night owls are prone to negative thought patterns. Give yourself a motivating reason to get up. The more motivation you have to get out of bed, the more likely you’ll want to wake up early.
Plan your work and work that plan! Start slaying your dragons first thing in the morning. Identify your most challenging tasks. Your “dragons” are your most challenging, important tasks. It’s more productive to do your hard tasks first. It can be tempting to do easy tasks first in order to get a sense of accomplishment. However, research has demonstrated that those who do their most challenging tasks are generally more successful and productive. Set yourself up for success. If you choose your hardest tasks first, it sets you up for success for the rest of the day and the next day as well. Get in Gear has helped many entrepreneurs “slay their dragons”. It’s just one of the many areas clients learn to “progress on their way to success!”
