3 Simple Steps for Staying Productive

With this holiday week keeping us super busy, I thought now might be a good time to chat about staying productive.  Half the struggle of being a small business owner is maintaining the fortitude it takes to work when everyone else is playing.  It’s not easy to sit down and write a blog post while your spouse watches a show, or to put the business to-do list ahead of all the fun family time you would rather be having.

There’s a really happy medium between being able to enjoy the perks of running a small business, or abusing them to the point of hurting your productivity.

Here are 3 easy tips to help you stay on track:

1. Become a lister….a list-a-holic….a list maniac.

Whatever you want to call the love of lists, it’s pretty important that you develop the habit of putting pen to paper – all the time.  With the craziness of daily life joined with working from home, important tasks can sometimes be over-looked.  Give yourself a much-needed mental break, and keep all of your tasks organized in a to-do list.

2. Set business hours for yourself.

This one is so important for lots of reasons.  It’s easy to let yourself slip into taking too much time off if you don’t have set days and times to work….however, it’s also very easy to work too much and find yourself all burnt out from never taking a break.  So do yourself a big old favor and set a schedule….then follow it.

3. Create some social accountability.

Once you’ve made all of these lists, it’s important that you actually complete the tasks that you put on them.  That’s what social accountability is great for.  Find a friend, fellow business owner, or co-worker to meet with once a week.  Lay out all of your plans for the week and help each other brainstorm great ideas to get them all done.  You’ll find that if you tell someone else about your to-do list, you’re much more motivated to complete it so you can brag on yourself and your accomplishments at the beginning of the next week.

These three steps are super simple, but if you don’t already use them, you’re sure to see a big effect on your productivity when you start.

Have any easy tips for staying productive?  Comment on this post and share them now!  

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