When your regular nine to five is getting you down, and you’re sick of your boss talking to you like you don’t matter, nothing seems better than starting your own business. Luckily, thanks to the internet, this is easier to do than ever. However, there’s a big difference between starting a business and running one successfully. Online businesses can be fulfilling, both emotionally and financially, but there are a lot of challenges you have to face along the way. When you’re in the midst of one of these difficulties and things are looking at their worst, it’s vital that you stay focused, motivated and productive.
Here are four tips to help keep you focused and motivated whilst boosting productivity while you are running your online business.
Don’t Ever Multitask
Despite what some people claim, multitasking doesn’t make you more productive. It is understandable why you would think that it did, as you are completing two tasks at once, but as you can read at entrepreneur.com/article/294368, all multitasking really achieves is stress.
Our minds are only meant to deal with one problem at a time, so switching between two or more really piles on the pressure. If you want to get things done, you should deal with one job at a time, put all of your energy and focus into that job, and then move on once it’s completed.
What has helped me is making daily to do lists. There is a lot of satisfaction to be had in ticking each job off. I also like to plan ahead of time, so will take some time in the evening to plan for the next day. I am by nature a work on the hoof type but all that really causes is stress and a lot of wasted time.
Have you ever gotten to the end of the day and felt like you have achieved nothing? Me too but my to do lists have made a big difference to my productivity and my motivation.
Learn To Delegate
You may be running your online business from the comfort of your own home, but that doesn’t mean that you should do every job yourself. In fact, if you want to reduce stress and boost productivity, it’s better that you start delegating tasks to other people. You may not want to hire permanent staff right now, you probably can’t afford it, but that doesn’t stop you from outsourcing certain jobs.
If you run an online store you might want to consider a fulfillment service. Packing and shipping your products takes time, which is something you likely don’t have much of.
If you are a blogger or affiliate marketer then you may want to consider a virtual assistant to help with your social media. You can find them very cheaply on sites like Fiverr. In fact, you can find people very cheaply on Fiverr to do any job you can think of. Definitely worth a look, you may be able to find someone to take away a job you hate doing. We all have those!
Social media marketing can be very draining and time consuming. I personally use schedulers to ensure my time spent on Social Media is limited. I use Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram and Crowdfire for all of the social media channels. Once a week I go in to both platforms and schedule my weeks social media activity. Perfect for keeping me focused on one job at a time and to a certain extent it is a form of delegation. To a service rather than a person, definitely worthy of consideration.
Cut Out Distractions
Without a boss to keep an eye on you, it can be very easy to get distracted. How many of you can put your hand up to being distracted by jobs that need doing at home? Putting the washing on or mowing the lawn. When we are at home these jobs are there to see and can be hard to ignore. We can also be distracted by our family or the mobile that constantly rings. How about those social media notifications? It is so tempting to pick up the phone and take a look.
These distractions cost us time and money which in the end stresses us out and our motivation wanes.
Because of this you should do what you can to minimise and cut out interruptions. One option is to use a registered office service, like https://yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk. Using a service like this means your home address is kept private, so you don’t have to deal with cold callers or go through business junk mail every day. This is more important for those of you whose online website sells products or services.
You should also turn off notifications or put your phone away, and also let family know when you’re working so that they don’t come and talk to you. Creating a home office is an ideal situation. Even if you don’t have a whole room dedicated to your online business, a space which has a desk and all that you need to run your business will make you feel as though you are at work and therefore less likely to be distracted.
Take Regular Breaks
When you have a long list of jobs to do, working through your lunch break might seem like a responsible decision. However, all this will do is tire you out, cause you stress, and make you even less productive. Taking regular breaks is an absolute must, as it allows you to re-energise and gives your eyes time to rest, which reduces the chances of eye damage. Working online requires us to be looking at a computer screen for long periods.
Even if you only run your online business, part time and around a day job it is important to take breaks. It will give you time to grab a drink and a snack, which is vital to keep your energy levels up. I don’t know about you, but after about 45 minutes my brain seems to switch off. It is pointless working on because I will only have to go back and correct mistakes anyway, which means wasted time and energy. Personally when I get brain fog I take a ten to fifteen minute break, do something else and then go back to work my online business.
Final Thoughts
Running an online business can be tough, so it should be no surprise that you will feel unproductive and unfocused and lacking in motivation from time to time. Hopefully, if you employ some of the the tips above, you should be able to boost your productivity and get some real work done.
I hope you have found this post useful. If you have please give it a share on your favourite social media platform.
As ever if you have any questions or want to share your own tips please leave a comment below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
With Grace and Gratitude
Karen
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