27 Productivity Hacks for Getting More Don

One of the biggest keys and fastest ways to grow your business (Especially during home quarantine) is to simply get more done in your business.

Just think about how much your business would grow if you were just 25% more productive?

It would be like night and day.

With these 27 hacks, you’ll now have the keys to become much more than just 25% more productive.

Of course, you don’t want to try and use all of these 27 hacks all at once. Just add a few to your routine each day/week, and you’ll begin to see exponential growth.

Just think about how your business will look in the 90 days!

So let’s get into these 27 hacks!…

 

Hack #1: Ditch Distractions

We live in a world that works very hard to distract you from what you’re doing.

Email, texts, social media notifications, apps, news, you name it. Everyone and everything is vying for YOUR attention. This means every time you give in, it means you’re not doing the things you’re supposed to be doing to grow your business.

That’s why, when it’s time to work, it’s very important to shut off the phone, turn off anything that’s going to distract you. Shut off social media. Use apps that block distracting websites browser buttons and only leave you with the page you’re on!

For Mac users, I use an app that works like a charm called “Hey Focus” and I absolutely love it.

 

Hack #2: Audit Your Entire Day for a Week

Many of us underestimate how much time we’re wasting each day. We don’t realize how often all the little distractions interrupt our focus and productivity.

For instance, what feels like 5 minutes on Facebook could easily have been 20 minutes, and experts say it takes a good 10 to 20 minutes to transition into deep focus on another task. The average American spends 2 hours a day on social media – That’s a lot of extra time.

Tracking an entire day will show you all the places you’re coming up short on your productivity, so you consciously plug the holes during your home business time. Heck, it could even help you at work and maybe get you a raise.

 

Hack #3: Create a Daily Method of Operation (and Stick To It!)

Ever wonder why you get so much done at your job, but can’t get anything done with your home business?

One of the main reasons is that with your job you have a set schedule laid out for you. A daily method of operation of things that MUST get done each day. You’re told to be there at a certain time and stay to a certain time…or you’re fired.

Doesn’t YOUR business deserve that same kind of commitment and dedication?  Every successful home business I know has a specific daily method of operation they follow no matter what!

 

Hack #4: Work at YOUR Prime Productivity Time

Everyone is different. Some people are ready to go straight away in the morning. Others are night owls, who can zone in best after the rest of the house is down for the count.

You know your best time. If you don’t, experiment, see what seems best for you, and work during those times!

But again, make sure you show up to work on your business each day!

I also recommend that whenever that time is for you, make sure you tackle the hardest thing on your plate that day. Your best “Creative Time” is when you are fresh and in the zone.

 

Hack #5: Tidy the Workspace

A cluttered work area creates a cluttered mind. You can say “Oh but that’s just me, it’s controlled chaos.” And all you’re doing is making an excuse.

Get in the habit of keeping a clean desk and you’ll be amazed by how much your productivity jumps! After all, cleanliness is Godliness, and God was a pretty productive dude was he not? He had a very specific job every day when he created the heavens and the earth.

Just read Genesis and look at how specific God was with creation? 😉

 

Hack #6: Set a Timer for Short Bursts of Production

A timer will be your best friend when it comes time to complete a task. This will allow you to know there’s an end coming.

Set your timer for shorter bursts of production.

For instance, a 30-minute pocket is a good start. And once you’ve shut off all your notifications and things that will distract you… you know that you are going to work for this amount of time. Use Alexus to keep track of your time, just let her know that you need a timer for 30 min and she will come back in 30 min and notify you your time is up.

Once you commit, and you know there’s an end coming…you’ll keep moving forward until the timer goes off.

 

Hack #7: Give Yourself Small Rewards for Accomplishments and Wins!

Sometimes we find ourselves grinding it out and never feeling like we’re getting rewarded for our efforts. That’s especially true with home business if you’re not making any money yet.

That’s why you should give yourself small rewards after you achieve every task. (And yes, working for 30 minutes straight until your timer goes off qualifies!)

Give yourself the reward of a 5-minute break, or a cup of coffee, or goof off on Facebook for 5 minutes (set a timer for this too… or 5 minutes turns into ½ hour plus).

Anything that will give the reward area of your brain a tiny shot of dopamine and make you want to keep going!

 

Hack #8: Make a To-Do-List!

Ever sit down to work, and realize you don’t even know what you’re supposed to be working on today?

That is wasted time that you’ll never get back. A short pencil beats a long memory every day of the week as they say.

So simply making a list the night before, of the things you need to do the next day, means you’ll never be lost when you start your workday again!

I use a project management system called “Asana” and I love it. Anytime I have a task I add it to my To-Do list and I pretty much look at it daily.

 

Hack #9: Prioritize Your To-Do List!

It’s one thing to make a list, it’s another thing to do the things on the list that are most important first.

You should always be asking yourself what is going to drive my business forward the most on my list.

Those are definitely the HIGH-PRIORITY things you’ll want to get done first! (Because simply put…that’s what’s going to bring home the bacon!)

The tendency of most people is to knock off the easiest things first. However, this is a bad strategy.

And that leads us to hack #10…

 

Hack #10: Do the Thing You Hate to Do Most…FIRST!

One of the things you’ll find yourself doing is avoiding the things that you dread to do. Makes sense. It’s painful, and it’s annoying to do things we don’t want to do.

BUT…usually the most important things that will drive your business forward ARE the things that you dread doing the most. So this fits in nicely with hack #9.

Why not get them out of the way and do them FIRST! This way it’s done, and the rest of the day will have less and less resistance as the day goes on. And again, more money.

Not only that but your brain only has so much creative juice in it and it should go to the hardest thing you have to accomplish each day.

 

Hack #11: Stop Trying to Multitask (It’s a MYTH!)

One of the big lies we were told was that multitasking is a productivity hack. When in fact, the exact opposite is true. Study after study has shown that multitasking actually kills your productivity.

And instead, you should focus all your attention on one single activity until you finish it, and then move on to the next thing.

 

Hack #12: Start Saying NO!

This goes for saying NO to others as well as yourself.

Ever know you should be home working on your business, but someone asks you to go out for a couple of drinks or a movie… and all of a sudden the business gets put on the back burner?

OR… ever been getting started on a strategy and all of a sudden you get hit with an offer for the latest strategy that someone came up with? Then you start down that road until the next shiny object shows up?

It’s time to start saying NO now, so that later down the road when it counts… you can start saying YES!

 

Hack #13: Set the Mood with Music

An important element of productivity that most people don’t realize is music. The mood that you’re in will predicate how you feel, and how you feel will determine how much work you get done.

One great way to stay motivated to get the work you need to do is by listening to music that inspires you. Movie soundtracks are great! Any upbeat music that gets you moving. The right music will make a huge difference in your productivity!

 

Hack #14: Stop Agonizing and Just Start DOING!

Ever complete a task and realize you spent more time agonizing over it than it took you to just do the dang thing?

If you cut down on the agony time, just think how much faster you’ll go. Many times fear is the reason this happens. Face the fear of not getting it right, and do it anyway.

Usually just getting started gets the motivation ball rolling! So just do the darn thing already! lol

 

Hack #15: Break Large Tasks Into Smaller Tasks

Looking at a huge project often leads us straight down the path of procrastination. Which you know is a killer right?

One of the best things you’ll ever do for your productivity is to break everything into bite-sized tasks.

A large task can often be broken down into 3 to 5 steps. And as you complete each task, and start giving yourself little shots of dopamine and feelings of accomplishment… the others become easier and easier as your resistance fades.

 

Hack #16: Create Outlines for Content Projects

This goes along with the hack above but is more specific to creating content.

Let’s say you know you need to write an email series. Instead of starting at email #1 and writing it all the way through, you can create the initial subject lines and a quick outline of what each email will say. You don’t have to write the entire email.

Then it’s just a matter of filling all the info in later.

You can do the same with blog posts, webinars and even online courses. Outline the topics that you’ll use, along with the subheads, and it’ll make writing way easier and faster! (a.k.a. productive!)

 

Hack #17: Get 8 Hours of Sleep Every Night!

Yeah you probably weren’t expecting that, but study after study has proven that sleep is vital to our health, our brain function, and therefore our productivity

You might think that burning the midnight oil is going to help you, but the fact is that you’ll be much less productive if you don’t have a proper amount of sleep (8 hours), due to your mind not performing optimally.

Not to mention, sleep boosts your immune system and keeps you healthy. And if you’ve ever tried to be productive when you were sick…well…you know how that went.

 

Hack #18: Exercise to Boost Productivity!

Let’s face it. As home business owners, we spend a lot of time sitting on our butts. Which is one of the most unhealthy things you can do.

Science gives tons of reasons why exercise is not only good for YOU physically… but is also great for productivity.

That includes stress reduction, keeps you awake and alert, keeps you healthy (less missed days building your business), feeds your brain with oxygen keeping you more alert, and releases endorphins to keep your mood high!

 

Hack #19: Be Passionate About What You’re Doing!

It’s much easier to get cranking on tasks when you’re excited to start them and get them done. That’s what having a passion for what you do gives you!

If you’re not passionate about what you do you have two choices:

1. Find something you ARE passionate about
2. Find reasons to be passionate about what you’re already doing!

The next hack might help you there.

 

Hack #20: Visualize the End Goal

Sometimes things get mundane because we lose sight of why we’re doing those things

For instance, when you’ve got to do something techy, and you hate the tech stuff, it might be difficult to focus.

But if you can close your eyes for 5 minutes, and just visualize what it will look and FEEL like, once you’ve achieved your major goal (The business of your dreams for you and your family)…it might be exactly what you need to keep pushing you forward.

 

Hack #21: Document Your Journey on Facebook, a Blog, or a YouTube Channel

Few things keep you more motivated to be productive than to commit publicly to your goals.

When you document your journey on Facebook, a Blog or YouTube not only are you going to gain and engage with your audience as you go…you’re essentially publicly committing to your goals.

Which means you’ve got to be productive to achieve what you say you’re going to achieve publicly.

So if you need a boost in motivation daily…this is a good way (plus people will love following your journey and actually trust you more!)

 

Hack #22: Get Someone Else to Do Your Dirty Work (a.k.a. Outsource!)

Listen, if you’re a solo-prenuer, you’re doing it wrong. There’s a lot to do to create a successful home business. Not to mention there are people out there who can do some of it better than you.

AND there are things that YOU are better at, that you’d be better off focusing on.

So outsource it. Head to sites like Upwork, Fiverr, or Guru and hire someone else to do some of those tasks that you’d rather not do, or aren’t so great at.

 

Hack #23: Spend Time on Self-Development!

One thing that will keep you motivated and on track when it comes to productivity is self-development. THIS IS A MUST!

Because when you’re constantly feeding your mind with positive thoughts and ideas, it’s hard not to want to keep moving forward with your goals.

There are tons of podcasts, YouTube videos, YouTube channels, blogs, and books at your fingertips.

Do it for a half-hour a day, or during your downtime (like driving)… and watch how your life begins to change!

 

Hack #24: Stick to 1 Strategy at a Time!

One of the worst things for productivity is spreading yourself too thin over various strategies. Heck, it’s one of the worst things you can do for your business because you can only focus on one thing at a time.

So if you’re following a strategy now, stay with it until you make it work. Put your blinders on to all other strategies and focus on this one strategy. You might just find it’s one of the most productive times of your life!

 

Hack #25: Get an Accountability Partner

It’s funny how we often have no problem letting ourselves down (until we see the results far down the road)…but we’ll do just about anything to avoid letting someone else down, or not being accountable to someone else.

While it’s ridiculous that this is how it is, there’s no use in fighting it.

You’re better off using it to your advantage and finding an accountability partner. This will help both of you out to achieve your goals. In fact, this is exactly one of the biggest reasons I went from $0 to $5-figures in just 90 days!

 

Hack #26: Hire a Coach!

This may sound like the hack above, but it’s different.

One of the reasons we don’t get much done when it comes to our home business is because we don’t know what to do. Or we get so overwhelmed we don’t know what to do next. OR we have limiting beliefs holding us back.

That’s where hiring a coach comes in to point you in the direction and help you create a daily method of operation, so you know exactly what to do every day. Not to mention you’ll have someone new to hold you accountable!

PLUS you’ll have skin in the game because you’re paying the coach.

 

Hack #27: Unsubscribe from Email Lists!

Your email inbox is one of the most distracting parts of your day. Mostly because you’re subscribed to tons of newsletters that you don’t even care about.

YET, they catch your eye, and before you know it you’re going down the rabbit hole where you’re checking emails, clicking links, etc.

So either un-subscribe from these lists (except for mine of course 😜)…OR re-subscribe and send them to a different email address altogether. One that you use specifically for these types of newsletters!

 

Conclusion

So as you can see there are many ways you can be more productive in your business. Chose a couple and implement them.

To your success,

Troy Fullwood -Editor The Thriving Investor.