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Trying to make it as a young entrepreneur can undoubtedly be frustrating. After all, it’s not always easy to discern why some novice businesspeople keep flailing while others, like Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, head runaway success stories.
However, the key to unlocking your own potential could be in your productivity habits. In this article, we quote from several thriving entrepreneurs who have advice to give to young businesspeople.
Cut out the distractions
When you are running your own business, the onus is on you to manage your own time – no-one is going to be looking over your shoulder, pushing you to keep working when you might falter.
Particular culprits of lost time can be social sites such as Facebook and Reddit, both of which are singled out as “time-sucking” by Shannon Palme, who founded her namesake web and graphic design firm. In advice quoted by Lifehack, she suggests blocking sites by using a Chrome extension.
Keep looking after your health
Yes, running a business can heavily drain your time – but this doesn’t mean that you should forgo keeping yourself in good physical and mental health.
Selena Narayanasamy, the founder of digital marketing firm Orthris, says that her typical day includes “time to actually make or grab something healthy to eat” and “workout hours”. She notes that, as a result, she has “a higher output and I’m more responsive and helpful to my clients.”
Set a deadline for every task
This is recommended by Tyler Brewer, who co-created Spontivity. This tactic should extend to “making a decision, writing a blog, or completing a task”, with Brewer admitting that “being efficient was something I was terrible at before I started setting a deadline for everything I did.”
Following his advice could significantly and appreciably strengthen your productivity levels, given the vast range of responsibilities which constantly fall into the hands of entrepreneurs.
Don’t let emails sap too much of your time
We’ve already mentioned the issue of distractions, and emails can provide many more – not least because notifications can keep bombarding you as new messages fly into your inbox.
Marc Guberti, who set up the company Teenage Entrepreneur, advises that you switch off these notifications as they could too often tempt you away from your usual work routines.
Meanwhile, Jenelle Augustin, who established the luxury silk pillowcase maker RESTore Silk, insists that you should check your emails at just one specific time daily.
Don’t simply accept the myth of “balance”
It’s tempting to think that one sure-fire way to productivity success in business would be striking a “balance”. However, in buying into this idea, you could too easily believe the myth that, as you have limited energy, you should “do as little as possible across different areas of your life”.
We are quoting here from another young entrepreneur, Steven M Lowisz – who, writing for StartupNation, insists: “A true entrepreneur, no matter how tired they are, has real drive.”
Cleverly prioritise different aspects of your workload
Still, while your drive arguably isn’t expendable, we shouldn’t say the same about your time. For this reason, you should consider GreaseBook founder Greg Archbald’s advice that you ask yourself, “what’s the one thing I could accomplish today that would make me satisfied with my day?”
Then, you should devote two or three hours to tackling that single item, while putting off other, less urgent responsibilities. For example, taking out a particular insurance policy for your company could be legally necessary in your territory. To save time, you could source that policy through a broker like Be Wiser Business Insurance, which can compare various options.
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