A lot of business owners – even those with years of experience – tend to make the same mistakes. One of those is working too much in their business rather than on it. That leads to a lot of struggle and frustration, because instead of making progress, you’re living out your own personal Groundhog Day. You can see and feel the effort you’re putting in every day, but the results aren’t there – at least not where they need to be.
For as hard as you may be working, you’re not working smart. Doing daily tasks is not the same thing as growing your business.
However, it can seem – odd as this may sound – to be the easier thing to do. Because even though you’re not reaching major milestones, at least you can see that stuff is getting done. The problem is that you’re the one doing it, and you end up avoiding doing the very thing you should be: running your business like an entrepreneur.
Sure, you can make excuses: “I have to do it myself or it won’t get done” or “Only I know how to do this right.” If either of those are the case, you’ve got major problems to fix, and it starts with you. We’ll show you how.
How to Improve Your Productivity
Becoming better at being a business owner means knowing how to redirect all that energy you’ve been expending on accounts receivable spreadsheets, marketing campaigns, or service calls.
Try these tips to improve your productivity in a way that will make your business grow much faster:
- You don’t have to be in the office all the time. That’s right – not even on days when you have meetings. Instead, Zoom with your staff for all-hands meetings or one-on-one catch-ups.
- Learn to trust your staff. You hired people to do jobs – let them do them. They will let you know when they need your guidance, advice, or approval.
- Accept that you have limitations. When you work on everything, you’re not working on anything at a high level.
- Stop trying to be busy all the time. No one – especially not yourself — should be judging you based on whether or not you’re frantically pounding the computer keyboard, answering phones, and sticking your head in everyone’s office door. It’s not a failing to work thoughtfully and calmly.
- Focus. When you multitask, you’re being inefficient. You’re also avoiding the hard work of planning what’s next for the company. Practice focusing on one task, and you’ll get a better understanding of the value of that task and what it takes to make progress. Remember, not every task has an ending. Some go on, because they’re part of the process of continuous improvement. Keeping a desk clear of everything but what you’re working on will help you stick to that one project.
- Take breaks. You’ll burn out and want to give up when you find it’s hard to adjust to your new life of committing to one important thing at a time. Forgive yourself and accept that it may take some trial and error to get through the distractions.
- Answer to yourself. You are your own direct report. Put on that hat and consider how you, the supervisor, would feel knowing you’re burning through hours every day working on daily operations.
- Learn to turn off. The workday can’t go on til midnight. You deserve and need time for yourself and your family. Work may be a big part of who you are, but it’s not everything. You aren’t going to get any closer to your reaching your goals for success by trying to win the game in the first quarter.
- Be accountable to someone who cares. At ActionCOACH Tampa Bay, we provide the structure and feedback you need to stay on track. We’ll help you set goals and the means for achieving them, and evaluate your progress along the way.
Your business coach is going to give you the help you need so that you can take these tips and put them into action.
ActionCOACH Tampa Bay is Here to Help
If you find yourself struggling to get more out of your business, contact ActionCOACH Tampa Bay today. Book a complimentary strategy session today or call us at 727-786-2900. We’ll help you get ahead of your challenges. Stop putting in effort that isn’t helping your business grow. Learn how to be the kind of high-achieving business owner you’ve wanted to be.