We’re all looking to get more (of the right things) done in less time.
While there are countless productivity tips and workflow optimizations shared daily, the truth is you only need to find a small handful that work for you in order to unlock a new level of effectiveness in your day to day.
I’ve compiled some of my favorite productivity tips for entrepreneurs to help you do better work, feel less overwhelmed, and get more of the important things done. Find the two or three that resonate with you and implement them today.
(Make sure to bookmark this post because I’ll be adding to it.)
Here are 50+ productivity tips in no particular order:
- Always schedule time in your calendar for yourself first, others second
- If you want to get something done (anything), put it in your calendar
- Never underestimate the strong influence of your environment on your behavior
- Keep your phone in the other room when you’re doing deep work
- Use your do not disturb function (mobile + desktop)
- Every meeting should have an objective or it’s not necessary
- Schedule your breaks or you won’t end up taking them (see #2)
- For every task on your list, be clear about what ‘done’ looks like
- Eliminating tasks regularly is as important as completing tasks #reversepilot
- Know how your energy levels fluctuate and schedule work accordingly
- Sometimes the best thing you can do is slow down
- Your best ideas won’t come while you’re at your screen, but away from it
- Always add buffer room because things never go as expected
- Be OK with the fact that not every day will go as planned
- If you’re feeling overwhelmed, pause and take a breath
- The best solution is rarely the most complex one
- Remember that every mountain conquered started with one step and every breathtaking cathedral started with one brick
- Identify your key HABUT (highest and best use of time) activities and carve out more focus blocks for those
- Be wary of open loops, they’ll slow down your operating power
- Be mindful of internal distractions as they are just as powerful as external distractions
- Schedule time to handle email, then keep it turned off at all other times
- Set guidelines for communication with your team or get drowned in noise
- Good sleep and good nutrition are the foundation of good focus
- Find time to let your mind wander and let magic connections take place
- Reading fiction trains your focus muscle
- Ask yourself what’s the one thing you can do today, such that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?
- Progress requires ample rest and recovery, schedule it
- Your ability to focus over a sustained period of time on a single task will be your competitive advantage
- Don’t waste your peak performance window (first 8 hours of your day) on email or other low impact work
- Not every meeting needs to be in front of the screen, take it outdoors
- In Stoic philosophy, the most important practice is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t .. it applies to running your business (and day to day) as well
- Your best productivity weapon is your ability to say no
- Don’t do more today than you can properly recover from tomorrow
- The hardest step is the first step, everything else gets easier after that
- Practice the habit of showing up
- Color code your calendar so you can visually see how you’re allocating your time
- The best time to wake up in the morning is when you’re feeling refreshed
- Sometimes a nap is better than a coffee
- Put your phone in airplane mode when you go to sleep and don’t take it off until you do something positive for yourself
- More often than not, you’re dehydrated so drink more water
- Where you want to be a year from now is your greatest filter for what you should be working on today
- Know what you are optimizing for
- Ask yourself if you only had two hours per week to work on your business, what would you focus on?
- Get comfortable with trade offs and sacrifices because you’ll make them daily
- Schedule thinking time and follow through
- Clarify what problem you’re solving before you tackle the solution or risk getting off course early
- Sometimes the greatest decisions you make will be things you choose not to do
- Consider what the ‘minimal viable solution‘ is to every problem
- Limit your WIP (work in progress)
- If you’re unsure about a future commitment, say no
Find one or two that resonate? Try to apply them to your upcoming week and report back. And if you’ve got other productivity tips for entrepreneurs that you feel belong, let me know here.
Hope you have a productive week.
✌
