Time Management and Productivity Hacks for Quick Business Growth
I remember when I first started my business, it felt like it was impossible to find time. After all, I was a mama to two under two and had a full-time job. How in the world was I going to add a side hustle to the mix?? Well, I’ve discovered there’s a lot of truth in the statement: Where there’s a will, there’s a way. That being said, I won’t make out like it was easy and stress-free. It took some serious time, effort, and perseverance to make my business what it is today. But looking back, I would absolutely do everything again!
There are a lot of time management concepts and productivity strategies out there in the world and everyone’s schedule is unique, so if the ones I share here today don’t work for you, I want to encourage you to identify one or two that do work for you and implement them like crazy. When it comes to productivity during a busy stage of life, it’s not about having a strategy to make yourself motivated to take on any task at any time. It’s all about being able to motivate yourself to take on the tasks that need done now and to pursue them with a dedicated focus until they are completed.
So without further ado, here are my top 5 productivity and time management hacks that I used when I first started my business, and still use today.
Quality over Quantity
Simply put, the longer you spend on something does not necessarily make it better. This is all about eliminating distractions to get the most done and be as present in the work you are doing as you can be. It actually applies to everything in your life when you’re trying to be more productive with your time. When you are spending time with your kids, spend all of your focus and energy there. When you are working on your business, direct all of your attention there. Dividing your attention means you will be less efficient.
Now that being said, as a mom, I know that it is simply not possible or realistic to think we will not be interrupted by our kids. One way I choose to implement this concept when I have to work and take care of the kids at the same time is to set time blocks. I communicate very clearly with my kids that I will be primarily focused on work for the next hour, then we will get to play outside together. Letting them know the expectation and holding to it takes practice but eventually, they got used to the concept.
Multitask the Monotonous
This kind of contradicts point number one, but I think you’ll see how it’s different. We all have tasks in our lives that just don’t require 100% of our attention. Maybe it’s doing dishes or laundry, commuting, eating, giving your kids a bath, etc. Multitasking during these tasks can help you find a lot of extra time in your day to consume knowledge. One of my favorite ways to do this is to identify specific topics I want to learn about, then search keywords related to that topic on my podcast app. Then I save them or download them to listen to any time I have a moment that I can let my mind wander. This is actually how I learned how to run Facebook ads when I first got started which is one of my most requested services today.
Find the Time Cracks
Waiting in line at the grocery store
Waiting for a meeting to start
Lunch hour
The tiny window before your kids wake up
These very tiny 5, 10, or 15 minute “time cracks” are the perfect opportunity to cross off those mundane tasks that don’t take up much time, but can pile up quickly and make you feel like you can’t get anything done. Maybe it’s checking email, sending an invoice, finding new podcasts to listen to, or searching for contact information for a new potential client you want to reach out to. It might be non-business things too like scheduling a dentist appointment or searching online for ideas for your spouse’s anniversary present.
I like to make a list of these little tasks on my phone in the notes app and anytime I find myself waiting or with a couple of spare minutes, I tackle a few. This frees up my bigger chunks of time to do more important things.
Set Deadlines
Setting deadlines works in two ways to help you be more productive. First, set deadlines for reaching milestones in your business. For example, if you want to gain a new client by the end of the month, go ahead and put it on your calendar and tell a friend that you are working on it. This helps you feel accountable and seeing that looming deadline makes you realize you need to be putting time and action into the steps required to meet that deadline. Having this sense of urgency and the accountability of others knowing you have committed to it helps you feel more responsible to your timeline.
The second way this works is by setting a specific amount of time you are going to dedicate to a particular task and then committing to not going over that time limit. For example, if you need to set up an invoicing system for your business, decide that you will take no more than one hour to do that. Then you can spend 30 minutes researching different options and 30 minutes customizing the invoice system with your information. All done! Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t return to this task in the future and improve it. But our goal in the short term is to get it functional, not perfect.
It’s important to remember at this stage that your level of effort on a task is not necessarily tied to your results. Effort should absolutely be praised, but if it doesn’t move the needle in your business, then it’s wasted energy. For example, just because you spent five hours making your new business logo, doesn’t mean it is more effective than one you could have made in 30 minutes.
Schedule your Growth
The last strategy I have for you is to identify times in your schedule you can consistently work on your business and go ahead and lock those times in so they aren’t scheduled over. Maybe that’s at 9 PM a couple times a week, or at 5 AM or on your lunch break. Maybe it’s a quick 30 minutes when you get home and turn a TV show on for the kids before you get started on supper. Whatever it looks like for you, identify a chunk of time - 30 minutes to 2 hours when you can consistently dedicate time to your business. Write it on your calendar or in your scheduling app. The nice thing about this is after you’ve been doing it for a couple of weeks, it will become routine and your brain will start to shift into work mode at this time naturally, so you don’t have to motivate yourself to do it - it will just happen naturally.
This is a great practice to keep in place once you have secured clients if you are side hustling or are only to work a few hours per week. You can then use these time blocks to complete client work!
“If you talk about it, it's a dream, if you envision it, it's possible, but if you schedule it, it's real.” – Tony Robbins.
You can find support, resources, and guidance in our Facebook group Purposeful Scaling Freelancers as well! This is a free community of people committed to starting or growing their freelance business to support their ideal lifestyle, bring them purpose, and provide an income.
