Many small businesses struggle with managing their productivity while working against the clock; there is never enough time to get everything done! So what can you do stop your business or get your business (or even yourself) out of a productivity black hole? Start with implementing small thought-out changes.
There are a million blogs, videos, and even courses to tell you how to manage your small business, but by implementing small tweaks to get things done, you will notice a long-term impact. The key is to try and create conscious habits that can be adopted by everyone. Whether your business has 3 employees, 10 or even more, the tactics you implement need to be understood by everyone so your business can reap the maximum benefit.
When you are looking to implement any tactic, whether it’s related to productivity or a new process to get a task done, you must define it in an actionable way so it actually leads to a change in behavior.
Here are 3 tactics you can implement in your business to boost your productivity:
- The “30 Minute Rule”
Here at InfoStreet we have a “30 minute rule” with any task you do. The “30 minute rule” is if you are stuck with anything for more than 30 minutes, take a step back and ask someone for help. This is a clever trick that can stop people from going into high stress zone because they feel like they have wasted time with nothing to show for it. It helps them zero in on the problem and figure out a proper solution. Oftentimes, we are stuck in something we could have been figured out sooner if we just stopped and asked someone for help. Asking someone for help allows problems to be solved faster since you can pick someone else’s brain for a solution. You’ll also find that people find answers a lot quicker on their own with this rule because sometimes, all you have to do is say the problem out loud and the solution will come to you.
- Use the Right Tools
Using the right tools for your business is really important. There are so many ways to do things in business that it’s sometimes hard to find the right software. If you find that you’re always sorting through emails to find the last piece of information a client sent you, even if it only takes a couple of minutes each time, the wasted time will turn into hours and days you could’ve saved by using a CRM tool that integrates with your email (pro tip: Simplifyd is a great CRM tool for a problems like this). You’ll be surprised by how much time you can save by using tools that simplify how you get things done. Cloud apps today gives small businesses access to powerful software that they can access at a much lower cost than in the past. Save even more time by accessing and running all these business apps in one centralized platform, SkyDesktop.
- Maximize Your Team’s Brain Power
People get burned out easily, and they also get sidetracked by the countless distractions we face today. In small businesses, where time is very limited, you can get very deep into a project and not even realize that time is being wasted before you take a break. Our brains are not capable of working at maximum capacity at all times; in fact, tired brains have negative effects that can go beyond short-term productivity losses. The DeskTime app analyzed how people used their time and found that the most productive 10% of people focused hard at the task at hand for 52 minutes, then took a break for 17. This may not always be possible (and this is not an exact formula), but time and time again, research has shown that short strategic breaks can lead to greater small business productivity.
What does your business struggle with the most when it comes to being the most productive? Oftentimes, we don’t stop to answer this question because we’re so busy with everything we have to get done. Take a step back to analyze your working situation, and you’ll see that you can implement small changes in the short term which can lead to many long term gains in valuable time, efficiency and small business productivity.
