As a small business owner, you are likely wearing a lot of hats. You’re owner, CEO, creative department, HR, accounting, and the list goes on. Even if you’ve outsourced a few things, you are busy. Your time is valuable. As a mom of 6, a Seattle newborn photographer, and a photography business coach, I get it. Time management is my superpower, and today I’m sharing my top productivity tips for entrepreneurs.
This way, you can crush those goals, move the needle in your business, and get back to spending time with the people you love.
Productivity is about getting the right things done.
We all have to-do lists a mile long. Our brains are overflowing with ideas, tasks, and things to remember. My productivity tips for entrepreneurs (and even just women) are not about getting MORE done, but about getting the RIGHT things done.
As business owners, it’s easy to get lost in the mundane tasks, the little things that check off more boxes but do very little for the progress of our business. It’s also easier to focus on those things that give immediate results, like posting on social media.
The first of my productivity tips for entrepreneurs is to break down bigger tasks into micro steps.
When you’re looking at your to-do list, a task with multiple steps or that tasks a good amount of time will feel too daunting to accomplish. This could mean you spend time overthinking, or even dreading, the task because it feels like too much. Another thing that could happen is you avoid the task altogether.
These tasks are often the important ones we need to get done for our business. Say, you’re a photographer. If you need to edit a session, that may feel like more than you can get done today. So you put it off.
However, when you break that task of editing a session into micro steps you can start making progress right now. For example, editing a session could be:
- Upload photos onto a hard drive
- Cull (or select) photos to be edited
- Perform basic edits in Lightroom – adjusting tones, exposure, etc
- Export photos
- Perform additional fine-tuning edits as needed – cleaning up skin, removing distractions, etc
- Edit black-and-white photos
- Upload and send the gallery to the client!
While this may feel less like a productivity tip for entrepreneurs and more like more busy work, trust me, it will help you move forward.
With micro-tasks start tackling steps as your time allows.
Again, when you have a bigger task like “edit a session”, it’s easy to say you don’t have enough time. With your larger task broken down, you can see that you may not have time for the entire task, but you could do the first two steps in no time. Then you may see you can start on the third step, and so on until it’s done.
These productivity tips for entrepreneurs are about making progress toward completing those bigger tasks. When you start on those smaller things that are helping you accomplish something bigger, it snowballs. You see what you’re actually capable in a limited time, all while working towards things that will help you reach your goals.
Another productivity tip for entrepreneurs is to perform regular brain dumps.
When you are feeling overwhelmed, like there’s too much to do, or just unsure how to break down a task into micro-steps, do a brain dump. A brain dump is possibly my favorite productivity tip for entrepreneurs, moms, women, anyone, really!
What is a brain dump and what does it have to do with productivity tips for entrepreneurs?
A brain dump allows you to get everything out, clear the cobwebs and get perspective on things all within 5 to 10 minutes! A brain dump helps you move forward when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Head to my blog Feeling Overwhelmed? A Simple Strategy for Women for a step-by-step look at the brain dump.
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“not about getting MORE done, but about getting the RIGHT things done.” AMEN. Thanks for the tips! I think I need a good brain dump!
I love this golden line, “It’s not about getting more done, it’s about getting the right things done.” As my ADHD kicks into hyperdrive at the end of the year, this is going to be part of my affirmation list daily. I’ve seen it work with my editing and blogging!
From one brain-dumper to another, I hear ya! Helps me heaps 😃