Managing your own business or heading your own start-up can sometimes mean you would need to wear more than one hat, sometimes that of a project leader, other times an HR specialist, and even a social media manager. Most of the time, you will have to make personal sacrifices to make sure that your business venture does well and thrives. All of these may lead to loss of motivation and drive, and burnout. How do you avoid these?
The top tip is to work smarter, not harder and it’s actually easier said than done. There are a lot of processes that you can employ along with tools that are specially built to improve the flow of work along with the quality of your team’s output. In this article, we take a look at those in the hopes that they will help you lead your team and your small company to success.
1. Make a schedule and start a routine
As with everything else in life, running your own business means you have to start somewhere. That’s why a schedule is important. Not just the essential to-do items but the small, seemingly mundane tasks as well like your routine every morning from waking up to leaving the home to going to the office.
Designate a waking time and a time for going to bed so you can set your alarms, be it 6 AM and 10 PM every day or other times altogether. Then, assign a time for lunch and coffee breaks as needed. Doing these will give you your starting and ending points for each workday, so you know how much time you have to work within between. Once this is done, set some time aside to sit down with a pen and paper or your computer and make a list of your daily morning and bedtime routines as well as your usual tasks at work. Map these out within your workdays, leaving ample time for other tasks at work, giving you an idea as to where you can schedule meetings and other work-related activities.
2. Break it all down
This creates discipline and teaches you to be methodical in how you approach your work and prioritize every single thing that you have to do. One of the work productivity tips is to break down your daily tasks into chunks of time spread throughout the day and track your time to make sure you stick to your plan. If you have a coaching session scheduled, allot a minimum of 30 minutes, depending on the topics you need to cover within the session. Make sure you stick to the allotted time. Otherwise, everything else in your schedule for the day would have to be bumped.
Bitrix24 provides you with a great time tracking tool that you can use to manage your time better. With Bitrix24’s thoughtfully created time management tool, you have start and end dates for each task along with a task planner and automatic task time tracking. You can also use these on the rest of your team so you can help them better manage their time on the clock.
3. Put your blinders on
Against distractions, that is. Distractions are the bane of productivity’s existence, and you need to keep them at bay at all times, if you’re to get anything done at all. One of the productivity tips for small business owners is this: if you can afford it, get a designated laptop for work. When it’s on, and you’re in front of it, make sure it’s only being used on work-related activities.
While you’re at it, make sure your phone is on silent, with its screen kept away from you so you won’t see any notifications. Better yet, turn on the Do Not Disturb function. Should there be any emergencies, you can make sure everyone knows that they can reach you through your work phone. It’s important that you’re really working while you’re on the clock to maximize each and every minute.
4. Tool up!
It’s nice to think that you can do everything yourself and run your small business smoothly. This, however, is so far removed from reality. Whether you like to admit it or not, we all need help, and sometimes, help comes not from other people in the workplace but in apps and software that you can get on the market.
If you want to enjoy a one-stop-shop experience in loading up on helpful tools and apps, look into Bitrix24. Whether it’s communications, task and project management, CRM, or another area you need help in, you can be sure to find it in Bitrix24. This saves you and everyone else in the team time spent on having to switch from one app or software to another in order to access the tools that they need.
5. Decline without regrets
If you’re someone who’s used to doing everything by yourself, you may find it hard to say no at times. However, our work productivity tips involve learning and being able to say no especially when it comes to non-essential or non-urgent tasks and work items.
Sometimes, it’s one more meeting or one more call that you know is not needed or necessary to the project. It can also be that one report, spreadsheet, or file that won’t make a dent in the grand scheme of things. Saying no takes getting used to, but it gets easier over time. People will respect you and your time more if they know that you value it and are disciplined enough to have your priorities and stick to them.
6. Keep buzzing down the line
A breakdown in communication can be detrimental to your business, so it’s important to make sure your staff always knows that they can reach you along with how and vice versa. How to increase team productivity sometimes depends on how well you communicate the business goals to the rest of the workforce. Carve out ample time for a daily huddle, coaching sessions as well as team meetings and brainstorming sessions. Keeping in touch with your team at all times not only motivates them. It also makes them feel cared for and appreciated in the workplace.
Bitrix24 gives you and your team all the tools you need to make sure the ball is never dropped. You can also share files, edit and save changes online and share your screen while on a call. Whether it’s ultra HD video conferencing, crisp audio calling, or instant messaging, you can rely on Bitrix24 to keep everyone in your workgroup connected with each other at all times so you can all learn from losses or failures, cheer each other on and celebrate triumphs together as one team.
7. Knock out the giant first
Some people might think it’s counterproductive but tackling the toughest tasks first is part of our list of productivity tips as well as productivity tips for working from home. Your energy is at its highest in the mornings so use this time to clear your emails, schedule meetings, prioritize more difficult calls or coaching sessions and work on bigger, more complicated tasks.
It might feel like an uphill battle sometimes but after a few tries, you will find that doing this frees up more time for the rest of the day for other things that you need to finish. You will also feel revitalized by your accomplishment and encouraged that you’re able to manage the bigger things at the top of the day.
8. Watch the time
Every responsible team manager and small business owner should know how and be able to track the time that is spent on tasks and projects. This is important if you want to make sure that time is spent properly and wisely on the work that needs to get done. You’ll also be able to gauge how much time is needed for specific tasks if you’re planning on creating templates if they’re repetitive, further saving valuable time.
Bitrix24 gives you the tools so you’re not only able to track the time spent on tasks and projects. You will also be able to see the bigger picture and be a better project manager by using either Kanban boards or Gantt charts to see how tasks are related to each other and who’s working on what at the moment. This way, no task or project slips through the cracks and no deadline is missed.
9. Pass the bucket
Some leaders do not feel comfortable delegating tasks to their teams. They’re afraid to be looked at as lazy or incompetent and that’s understandable. However, one of our work productivity tips is delegating tasks and there’s more than one purpose to this. You can use this chance to mentor a team member, show them the ropes and guide them through the process. You can also delegate tasks to spread the responsibility around and create a sense of accountability within the team.
You can also use delegating tasks to see who in your team is ready for more of a leadership role, or a more senior capacity. Delegating tasks not only frees up time for you but also gives you a chance to train your team, see each member’s strengths and weaknesses and develop their potential.
10. Automate galore
Get rid of redundancies, save on time and streamline your work processes by automating some of your workflows. This goes double for recurring ones, forms, and templates. You’ll be surprised at the amount of time you’re able to save in doing so.
Bitrix24’s advanced task management tools allow you to create task templates, set recurring tasks, and more! You also have access to the storage cloud, so anyone in the team can access any file that they need anytime, anywhere. You can set the permissions and access roles as well to help keep errors to a minimum and limit the number of people working on a file at one time.
11. Look out for you
This might be the toughest tip for any leader or small business order to follow. Looking out for you means walking the walk and talking the talk. Being an impressive and impactful leader means being able to present yourself in front of your team, clients, customers, suppliers, and more. You have to have a certain presence to be able to influence and inspire your team to greatness, and this can only be achieved if you take care of yourself.
Being a good business owner and manager boils down to how well you manage yourself. There’s simply no way you can expect to be able to drive your team to success if you don’t look like a success yourself. It’s a delicate balance but look for the spaces in time when you can put yourself first and seize that chance. Take an afternoon off to enjoy coffee at the park with your gadgets off. Use your weekend to go hiking or glamping somewhere. Discover the treasures that await you at the weekend market or county fair. Whatever you do, consciously remove yourself from your job and your title, and just look out for yourself.
The main tip
We all start off from a good place when we set out to build and run our own business and establish our place in the market. It takes a lot and you need to be willing to give a lot, not only to your business but also to your team, clients, customers, and external suppliers. It’s a juggling act and can be dizzying and tiring when you have a lot of balls in the air. Thankfully, you’re not alone. Apart from your team of capable and responsible people, you also have a wealth of tools at your fingertips.
Bitrix24 has the perfect solution to help you and your teams stay productive for your small business. Whether it’s communications, task and project management or cloud storage, or something else, you’ll be sure to find the tool to fit your needs with Bitrix24. Sign up for free today and watch your team’s productivity skyrocket. Bitrix24 is free for unlimited users, so everyone in your company can enjoy its benefits and features. Book a demo today if you want to see how everything fits together.
