Start on the Road to Business Efficiency
Being an entrepreneur can at times feel like you’re on a Ferris wheel that keeps going around and around. There’s no end in sight to the ride, and you need to somehow get off. You know that you need both feet on the ground to be more productive, but there’s no one working the levers. You ride through the sky as your business flounders on the ground below.
As an entrepreneur, you know the Ferris wheel ride is best viewed from the ground. You know to succeed you need to delegate, to trust others to put on the brakes when something goes wrong. You know you need to better manage your time and your productivity, but how? Let’s take a look at how you can be more productive without burning out. Here is a list of habits that will help you become more productive and efficient.
- Take a Break
- Don’t Forget to Sleep
- Delegate
- Work Environment
- Time Management
- Never Stop Learning
- Don’t Procrastinate
- Know When to Say No
- Know When to Let Go
We all wish there were more hours in the day. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could thrive on just a few hours of sleep so we could get caught up on everything that needs to be done?
There’s always a time when we have too much on our plates when we take two steps forward and one step back, or when we can’t even get our bearings to take that first step forward.
Most of us can’t, so we trudge along day after day hoping that someday our work will be caught up. It’s wishful thinking as the more we do, the more that’s put in front of us.
Running a successful business equates to being efficient and having a grasp on the day-to-day tasks and problems that you face. But it isn’t always easy when you’re running in 10 directions and juggling four apples, three pears, two bananas, and a kiwi.
It’s time to stop spinning our wheels and getting back in the driving lane. Let’s look at that list of habits on what we can do to be more productive and efficient.
#1. Take a Break
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” ~ Alan Cohen
When you feel overwhelmed and can’t seem to get anything done, it’s time for a break. You need time to refocus on yourself for a while. Do whatever relaxes you the most. Take a walk or any type of physical activity that you enjoy. Eat a healthy snack or meditate. If it calms your stress, yet can give you the spark you need to tackle your work head-on, then do it.
You might decide to socialize for a bit either with employees or by calling a friend. Take the breather and talk about anything other than work.
However, heed this warning: Don’t get on social media sites. Once you take that first look at Facebook or Instagram, you’ll be perusing and checking out what everyone else is doing, and before you know it, you’ll have wasted a lot of time, and much more time than you planned for your break.
Social media sites can be a time-killer and the last thing you need to do is get so caught up in it that you lose the umph you need to finish the project that’s been leaving you frustrated.
The timeout is for revitalizing your body and refreshing your mind. You want to leave your break feeling ready to conquer the world. You should be refocused and your brain should be recharged.
It’s important to mention that when you’re on your break, disconnect from your work. Turn off your phone, let anyone trying to reach you leave a message. Don’t check your email, and don’t peek around corners to see if everyone’s doing what they should be doing.
Ask your employees to disturb you only in the event of an emergency. This gives you true “Me time.” Remember, the human body isn’t designed to be on the go 24/7, and removing yourself from work at least once a day, preferably twice a day, will increase your productivity ten-fold.
#2. Don’t Forget to Sleep
“Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen.” ~ Wayne Huizenga
You can’t stay up all night, tossing and turning, wondering how you’re going to solve the next problem or deal with the next cranky clients. You need to sleep. Just like taking breaks, you need to walk away from your business for a while and relax, or in this case, sleep.
The less sleep you get, the more tired you’ll be, and the more tired you are, the less productive you’ll be. You’ll end up in a vicious cycle, and sleep deprivation is not good for your health.
A sleep study conducted by Harvard University concluded that sleep deprivation costs American companies $63.2 billion a year in lost productivity (Harvard University, 2011).
So, what can you do to sleep better at night?
- Power down. You need to unwind as your bedtime nears. Do something that relaxes you, such as reading, soaking in a hot tub or warm bath, or a hobby that’s not stressful. Keep your mind occupied and off of work.
- Get off of social media. Nothing keeps you awake longer than social media. It’s addicting, and once you sign onto your Facebook page, you know you’ll be tempted to stay on longer than you want or need to.
- Shut-down your computer and silence your phone. You don’t want to be distracted by either, and both are a ticket to a late night.
- Television off/Lights out. Some people like to sleep with the television on, but it can be a subconscious distraction. All lights should be out, and that includes the light from the television.
#3. Delegate
“No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” ~ Reid Hoffman
Sometimes it’s hard to let someone else take the reins in your business, but there comes a time when you must delegate duties to someone else. For those who need to be in control, this isn’t an easy thing to do, but you can’t do everything. Delegating duties to your employees will lighten your load and reduce stress, as long as you don’t stress over how they’re doing.
If it makes you nervous or you worry about meeting deadlines, start slow. Delegate a small task at first to a trusted employee who has a proven track record. Let others do the small stuff. You probably don’t realize how much the small tasks add up time-wise.
Once you have an employee or two whom you can trust, delegate more responsibilities to them. They will appreciate the opportunity to show you their skills and dedication to the job.
When you do decide to delegate, you want to make your expectations clear. Make certain to explain the job duties and responsibilities. Be clear about the deadline, and ensure the employee or employees know you will be available to answer any questions. You don’t want them to think they are on their own and left to make crucial decisions.
Do ask for project updates so that you can ensure the work is progressing as it should. You’ll want to give positive reinforcement with each update.
#4. Work Environment
“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ~ Will Rogers
The temperature in your office or workspace can make a large difference in productivity.
An office that’s too warm can cause tiredness and a sluggish feeling. Conversely, if it’s too cold, you’ll have employees shivering and bundling up in whatever they can find to keep warm.
A comfortable temperature is essential to efficiency. You and your employees don’t want to be distracted because you’re too hot or too cold. You don’t want your employees sitting at their desks fanning themselves and doing nothing. You can lose too much productivity time if you don’t provide a comfortable environment.
If you rent your office or retail space, you need to ask your landlord to fix whatever is broken. If you own the space, you need to take care of it. In older buildings, it’s not always easy to regulate temperature, so offer what you can to keep your employees comfortable and working. Allow an extra 10 minute break if you can fit it into their schedules.
Provide fans and space heaters in rooms that are uncomfortable. Don’t give your employees a reason to be idle during work hours.
You’ll also want to keep work areas allergen-free. If you have employees allergic to pollen, you don’t want the windows opened when pollen levels are high. You want to ensure your employees are safe from anything that might cause them health issues.
You should have your work area smoke-free. Most places are now smoke-free or they have a designated area for smokers. You want to be cognizant of anyone entering your place of business as well. You don’t want them walking through a cloud of smoke.
The more pleasant your surroundings, the more productive everyone will be. If you have dull gray walls and gray carpeting, let’s face it, that’s not the cheeriest environment. If you have no choice, then you’ll want to brighten the area as much as possible. Artificial plants and brightly-colored wall hangings, and paintings can make a big difference in productivity. A gloomy room makes some people lethargic, and it certainly isn’t something anyone wants to spend a great amount of time in.
Doing what you can to make your work environment pleasant will reward you with more efficiency and more productivity.
#5. Time Management
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ~ Nelson Mandela
Nothing is wasted more than time. The more you spin your wheels, the less work you get done.
If you’re bad about managing time, then it’s time you start writing out a daily schedule. You can do this by keeping a handwritten schedule in a planner that you keep with you throughout the day, or you can use your smartphone for tracking the wheres and whens.
There are many hacks for keeping a schedule. Google Calendar is one, and there are others with different features and price points. Let’s take a look at some of them.
- Time Doctor- This is one of the most popular time management apps used by large corporations. It is, however, suitable for all companies regardless of size. You can use it for yourself or to track the time it takes your employees to complete a task.
The Time Doctor works by opening the app when you begin a task, and you can get random screenshots of what your employees are doing. For instance, if an employee signs on their Facebook account, you will know how much time they spent on it when they should have been working.
You will receive reports, and the company claims it is accurate to the second.
The downfall is that it isn’t free. You will need to pay a monthly fee per user, so if you have a lot of employees, this could become costly.
- Calendar- This app will help you manage your time and will let you track how long your employees are spending on each task.
It is colored-coded and interactive so that you can share calendars among one another. It does have a free version with limited features. The paid version requires a per-user fee.
- Basecamp- Basecamp is a great program for companies that have remote employees. It’s a great tool for team collaboration as employees can interact with one another and see who has completed each assigned task.
Another feature Basecamp offers is that it offers cloud storage so that all of your files can be easily saved and retrieved. You can specify who has access to what.
Basecamp does charge a fee, however, it is nominal and covers any users you add. It is one of the lowest-priced time management/team management apps available.
- Skype- If you’re looking to communicate efficiently with employees and share documents or give presentations, Skype is the perfect program for your company to use. You can video conference, share documents with each user, send messages without the need to call, and you can record calls. Skype offers both free and paid programs.
Skype is often used to conduct job interviews, especially those who hire remote employees. Not only can you conduct interviews, but you can verify identity so you know the person you hire is who they say they are.
The program does glitch from time to time and your calls might cut off or be difficult to hear. That’s the only downfall users complain about.
We mentioned remote employees. If you are a company that plans on hiring remote employees, you’re probably wondering how you can track their time to make sure they are being productive and fair about the time they are putting in.
One way you can do so is to hire through the freelance website Upwork.
Upwork provides a time tracker that takes screenshots of the work that’s being done on the computer, as well as the websites visited while on your time. This does help to eliminate false time reporting; however, it’s not foolproof.
Upwork does charge a fee for the use of the site, and it does take a large chunk of your employees earnings–a whopping 20%–and for that reason, you might not be getting top quality employees. Many freelancers moved away from Upwork after it took over Elance. The 20% fee discouraged many, who moved on to other sites. A $500 project nets the employee $400, and most often they have to pay to have their earnings transferred to and from another account such as PayPal.
Although Upwork will notify you if an employee is idle after a certain period of time, there are ways to beat the system. A person can simply move their mouse from time to time or switch web pages to give the appearance that they’re working.
There’s no foolproof way to know if a remote employee is working when they are supposed to be, but we are much more advanced than we were just 10-15 years ago when there was no way to track our remote employees.
You’re likely to come across one or two dishonest employees if you hire a lot of remote employees. You will find some who aren’t able to manage their time.
You will run a more successful, stress-free business if you manage your time wisely and see to it that your employees also practice good time management.
#6. Never Stop Learning
“We need to bring learning to people instead of people to learning.” ~ Elliot Masie
One of the pitfalls we can get trapped in is thinking we know all we need to know about running our business, and we think just because we’re operating in the black that there’s nothing left to learn.
But, you are wrong.
Successful people never stop learning. They have a thirst to learn more and to be better.
What better way to generate new ideas than to learn?
They want their employees to grow, so they offer training programs and workshops and offer college tuition incentives. But there’s more.
Learning doesn’t necessarily mean the traditional classroom. It means filling your mental library by reading, listening to podcasts, conversing with others… there’s no end to your learning capabilities.
You can encourage your employees to listen to one 30-minute podcast per week that’s related to the business you’re in. For example, if you’re in the business of real estate, there are plenty of podcasts geared toward selling and investing.
Recommend a good book. Have you read an interesting motivational book recently? How about a good how-to book? And you don’t necessarily need to stick with books that help with your business. Even when we read fiction, we learn.
When you were in school you most likely had required readings to do for English class. You might have read To Kill a Mockingbird. Although it’s a fictional classic, it teaches a lesson, hence we learn from it.
We read books such as Birdsong and Of Mice and Men not only for entertainment, but to learn.
Some employers provide a lounge for their employees to relax and read. Along with comfortable seating such as couches and overstuffed chairs, they provide a plethora of reading and listening materials. They provide tablets and headphones, as well as apps that they might enjoy.
Conferences and workshops are great for keeping employees up-to-date on the latest industry news, and it brings your employees together, which is great if they don’t work in the same department and get to intermingle.
Don’t forget that keeping up with the daily news is also learning. You need to know what’s going on in the rest of the world to keep up with what’s going on in your business. If you don’t take the time to catch some of the day’s news, you aren’t learning.
There are endless ways to learn, and what’s important is that you do it every day. Make time to listen or read the news, listen to podcasts, read a book, and converse with others. Schedule workshops and conferences for your employees. Hold a luncheon to bring them together so that they can learn from each other. Find creative ways to learn and have your employees learn, too.
Don’t get so wrapped up in running your business that you forget to take the time to learn new things.
#7. Don’t Procrastinate
“I never dreamed about success, I worked for it.” ~ Estee Lauder
Finding success doesn’t come from procrastination. And procrastination is one of the major flaws many of us have. How easy it is to put off until tomorrow what needs to be done today.
There are thousands of books written about procrastination and how to overcome it. But do we ever completely overcome procrastination?
Probably not. There’s always something we put off. As humans, we are not good at self-regulation.
It’s easy to fall into the procrastination rut when we’re tasked with a project that we don’t want to do or that we find boring.
A typical hour might go like this:
Fire up computer. Open project file.
Stare at project file for a few minutes.
Decide coffee is needed to focus.
Head to break room. Pour a cup of coffee, chat with fellow coworkers.
Back to desk with coffee.
Stare at project file.
Type a sentence.
Take a bathroom break.
Stare at project file.
Type two sentences.
Check Facebook.
Stare at project file.
Stare out the window.
You get the gist. You do anything to avoid just diving in and getting the project finished. You find excuses to leave your desk or check your social media or check your email.
So how do you break the procrastination cycle?
The first thing you want to do is set time limits and what you need to accomplish in that time. You can choose to work on the project for an hour, then take a 10-minute break if you’ve met your requirements.
For example, let’s say you have to write a 6,000-word report on the impact of bears on campgrounds. You don’t camp, you know nothing about bears, and you think it’s a foolish topic. But you were hired by a client to write the report, and you need to get it done.
You can set your first limit to write 500 words in one hour. You can take a break when you’ve completed the 500 words. If you finish in 45 minutes, you can use the extra time away from the project. This will give you time to regenerate and you’ll be on task and on time to get the job done. You need to be accountable to yourself and to others.
Keep in mind how you’ll look to your client if you have to ask for an extension because you procrastinated. And procrastinated. And procrastinated.
It won’t be a good reflection on your business or you.
Before you even get started on the project, plan ahead. How will you approach it? How much research will it require? Are there any requirements that might be difficult? Can you do it alone or will it take teamwork? How will you delegate duties?
Answer all the questions you have before you begin and ask yourself what could go wrong and how you will resolve something that does go wrong. You don’t want to wait until the last minute to start in case something does come up. Waiting until the last minute will result in a rush job and you don’t want to sacrifice quality. You could lose the client if you submit less than stellar work.
Keep in mind the rewarding feeling you’ll have when you complete the project. You’ll have a big sigh of relief and accomplishment.
If it helps, you can break a large project into several smaller projects so that you aren’t feeling overwhelmed.
Remember, procrastination is the worst competitor your business can have. If you don’t produce for your client, someone else will.
#8. Know When to Say No
“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.” ~ Josh Billings
This is a tough one, but there comes a time when we have to say no.
When you own a business, a lot of people will ask you for a lot of things and saying yes all the time means yielding to your own responsibilities.
You might get a simple request that’s easy to attend to, such as writing a letter of recommendation for a former employee or giving a 30-minute speech at a business luncheon sponsored by your local Chamber of Commerce.
Those are not time-consuming tasks that will put you behind in your work.
Conversely, what if you own an app development company and your local Chamber of Commerce asked you to develop an app that they can use in conjunction with local retail shops to track shopping habits. Unfortunately, they can only afford to pay you less than half of what it would cost to build the app.
You want to do it because you have a great relationship with your local Chamber and because they guarantee you’ll get a lot of publicity and accolades. You’ll be present at the unveiling, and it’s sure to generate more business for your company.
While the perks are enticing, you have to ask if you can afford to do it and can you spare the staff required to do it.
Realistically, you know that you can’t. You can’t overtax your employees, and you can’t afford to pay them overtime. You know you can’t afford to do such a large project for less than the full cost.
As hard as it is, you must say no.
Before you said no, you weighed all the pros and cons. You didn’t make a rash decision and you were able to deduce that you couldn’t afford the staff or the financial investment you’d need to make. Paying for your own publicity would cost you less, and you don’t want to burn out your employees.
When you have to say no, do so diplomatically and don’t try to make excuses. Simply decline and say it’s not feasible at this time. A reasonable person will understand and respect your decision.
#9. Know When to Let Go
“It’s not the people you fire who make your life miserable. It’s the people you don’t.” ~Dick Grote
You may reach a time when it’s time to let someone go. Terminating someone who relies on a paycheck to support a family is never easy, and most often you’ll feel guilty for taking away someone’s livelihood. Unless you’ve caught someone stealing from you or they are completely obnoxious, you’ll probably ponder whether to let the person go.
There are many reasons why you might need to fire someone. Here are a few:
- Misconduct
- Theft
- Falsifying records
- Drug or alcohol possession or test failure
- Habitually late or not showing at all
- Incompetence
- Inability to get along with others
- Violating your work policies and/or code of conduct
None of these can be taken lightly, and you know you have to let the employee go. Knowing when to do so can be tricky, depending on the circumstances.
You may really like an employee who is habitually late, and you let it continue because the person does good work. You have value, but the employee’s lateness puts the rest of the team behind, leading to their frustration. Sometimes, they must stay late to meet deadlines and it’s costing you in overtime, but the late employee really does add a lot to the team and is often the problem solver.
You know the employee has extenuating circumstances, and you have compassion for those circumstances.
But not only have you fostered an unhappy work environment for the rest of the team members, your accountant tells you that you can’t afford to keep paying overtime.
You know what you have to do, and you realize that it’s hurting your company.
When you are in these situations, you need to take charge as soon as you recognize the problem. You can’t let bad situations fester until the overboil, no matter how much you like an employee and no matter how great a job they do even if they aren’t doing all that they should be doing.
When you hire an employee, you need to give them an employee handbook and have them sign that they have read it. This gives you legal protection.
When you suspect a problem or learn of one, you need to document it and issue any warnings in writing. You can do this by email or letter, but it’s best to do it face-to-face and have the employee sign a document stating they have been warned that any subsequent warnings could lead to termination.
Make certain you place all documents relating to the violation in the employee’s personnel folder.
If the issue is brought to your attention by other employees, you’ll need to conduct an investigation into the allegations before making any accusations to the employee.
If the employee was given a second or third chance to
improve and didn’t, you’ll need to terminate them according to the laws
governing your business. Handle any termination with dignity and be clear as to
the reasons you are letting the person go without being wordy or condescending,
and you certainly don’t want to sugarcoat or try to smooth things over. Be
professional, straightforth, and honest. Be brief. You don’t want to say
anything that could give the appearance that it’s an unfair termination.
Efficiency Equates to Productivity
We’ve reviewed nine steps to improve your productivity. As an entrepreneur you’re creative and inventive. You need to make certain you are taking the time to relax and unwind so that you can be as productive as possible. End your procrastination and never end your learning.
If you have employees, be their motivator. Be their mentor. Be all you can be to them because your success depends on their success. You need to surround yourself with positive employees who are happy doing what they do.
You need to weed out those who aren’t producing and working to standards. You have to learn to say no and not get in over your head.
We can’t stress enough how important the word no is when it comes to entrepreneurship.
You don’t want to get into something so deeply that you can’t escape. Don’t try to swim in quicksand. It won’t work, and it could doom your business. Sometimes it’s so tempting to say yes, but the reality is that it’s too much for you to tackle.
Always protect your interests and the interests of your clients.
We hope you’ve learned something from our post and that those items that you haven’t done, you will consider doing.
You will only be as successful as you allow yourself to be. Remember, success doesn’t fall into your lap, you must seek it and work at it. And, most importantly, what you do must make you happy. It must be fulfilling and rewarding.
That’s the perfect recipe for success!
Related Questions
I recently fired an employee for insubordination. He has filed an unemployment claim. What should I do?
You should consider allowing the claim. It can be more costly to fight it as the employee is entitled to a hearing and an appeal to a negative decision. The legal fees can add up to more than the cost of the claim. Your insurance company may not want to undertake an unemployment hearing and will tell you to go ahead and accept the claim.
If you fight the claim, be prepared with plenty of documentation for your lawyer to bring to the hearing, and have witnesses to corroborate your reasoning for the termination. This should include any acts of insubordination that led to the termination.
I know I should be delegating some of my work to others, but I feel as if the only way to get anything done right is to do it myself, but I’m overworked and overtired. How can I learn to trust others to do my work?
First, you need to learn to let go. You can start small and work up to larger projects. Remind yourself that the more you delegate, the more productive you’ll be. Taking it one step at a time and easing yourself into letting someone else do the work for you is better than diving in.
You need to trust the employee, and make certain you are clear with your needs. Don’t be afraid to step in now and then to verify the work is being done to your satisfaction.
Think of it as leaving your baby with a sitter. You don’t leave without giving complete instructions as to what to do in an emergency and clear instructions as to feeding, changing, and sleeping.
Each time you delegate, the next time will be easier. And you won’t give it a second thought once you’ve done it a few times.