If you are like most entrepreneurs, you have 1 billion things you need to do and almost no time to do them all.
But what if I told you there are a number of ways to be more efficient with your time and get stuff done so you can spend your time with family, friends and enjoying your life.
If you are anything like me, you want to be super efficient with your time. Time is the only asset that we can’t get back. Once you use it, its gone.
So try these productivity hacks to save some time:
1. Use Online Automation
One of the most powerful ways to stay productive is to use automation to your benefit.
There are thousands of online apps that can help you be more productive with your time.
If you do work online, use apps like Zapier and If This Then That (IFTTT) to automate your daily tasks. IFTTT is a really cool online service that allows you to automate and connect all your apps and devices.
For example, It can allow you to turn off your house lights when your Nest Thermostat is set to away… or get your uber receipts sent to Evernote for Expensify.
This type of automation will give you more time to get the most important tasks done.
2. Hire a Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistants are awesome for taking care of those daily tasks that almost anyone can do.
Don’t think you can afford one? You would be surprised…
You can hire a good virtual assistant for around $4/hour. They can reply to emails, schedule appointments, set meetings, take notes or any other routine tasks.
Outsourcing this type of routine work will help save you hours every week and would only cost you around $100.
UpWork is a great place to find vetted and top-rated virtual assistants.
3. Batching Tasks
Yes, there are those tasks that we have to do every day, week, month and year.
Batching is one of the greatest ways to free up your time by doing similar tasks in batches. Simply group your tasks into batches to complete at one time. This creates momentum for your tasks and well as freeing up any in between tasks.
One of the biggest examples of this is email. Checking your email throughout the day is one of the biggest time wasters. Choose a set time frame daily where you check and respond to emails.
If you do phone meetings with clients or customers, batch all of your meetings into an hour or two a week. That way you can do all of those tasks in a short amount of time instead of randomly throughout the week.
3. Don’t Take Unscheduled Calls
When you take unscheduled calls, you are giving up your precious time to anyone who is calling you.
If you are getting a lot of calls per day, your whole day could basically be answering the phone. But you are not a receptionist so stop taking unscheduled calls!
Use a meeting scheduler like Hubspot or Calendly to allow people to set up a 15 min call with you during your set call period. This will assure phone meetings don’t go over the time limit, wasting your precious time.
4. The 2 Minute Rule
This rule is simple. If a task will take you 2 minutes or less, do it.
If not, add it to your batching/chunking task lists to complete at a later time.
This will allow you to complete any small tasks you have and get them off your to-do list.
5. Silence Your Phone
When you are trying to be productive, having your phone on or even near you can hinder your productivity immensely.
The occasional Instagram or Reddit browse can end up eating hours out of your day. Even the buzz of the vibration can throw off your concentration.
To be the most productive, turn off your phone or even keep it in the other room. Research has indicated that interruptions, even as brief as 2.8 seconds, have been shown to disrupt the flow of concentration and lead to increased errors.
6. Do most important Tasks At Your Peak
A lot of people say do the most important tasks in the AM… but I believe that everyone has a different peak time.
Some people are more productive in the AM, and some are more productive in the PM.
If you are a night owl, like me, do your most important work at night when you are charged up. If you are most energized in the morning, perform your most important tasks when you wake up.
This will help you get the biggest tasks done when you are at your most productive.
7. Listen to Music
Music can get you in a productive rhythm.
When I really want to get something done, I play some good upbeat music and get in a work trance. Next thing I know, hours have gone by and I have gotten a shit load done. Music if perfect for when you are batching tasks or doing other repetitive tasks.
So pump up the jams and be productive!