Tips for Enhancing Daily Productivity for Home Business Owners

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Have you ever ended a day with your energy ebbing then looked over all the check-marks on the day’s task list but still don’t feel like much was accomplished?

I know I have and when thinking back over the day’s events, I often feel confused about where all the time was spent.

As it turns out, this is not an uncommon occurrence for many business owners, especially those of us who are involved in the home business setting.

Several days ago, I received an email from Steve Little informing me of recent updates to his Perfect Biz Finder video blog. After visiting the blog,  I noticed a post on how to overcome the four top success saboteurs.

During the video, Steve identified four common practices or conditions that many of us incorporate into our daily routine that are not as productive as they should be. Many of us feel that at least one of these practices is actually a very good thing though he argues it deprives us of productivity.

Included in this list of productivity killers is:

1. Multitasking – working on multiple projects or tasks simultaneously;
2. Distractions and Interruptions – co-workers stopping to chat, kids coming by to show their new creation, EMAIL, TWITTER;
3. Friction (or frictional resistance as I like to think of it) – poorly operating equipment or cluttered workspace (not that I know of anyplace like that); and
4. Mind Chatter – those flash thoughts that often lead to day-dreams and tangents.

Panning back over the list a three of these practices/conditions (distractions, friction and mind chatter) make perfect sense but does multitasking?

At first glance, it would seem being able to juggle multiple tasks and projects would enable accomplishing significantly more outcome than limiting and focusing our efforts on one task or project.

Reflecting over several recent projects and comparing those already completed to those still ongoing, it becomes painfully obvious … focusing and completing projects yield far greater results (therefore much greater productivity).

Why … well beyond the obvious (there is an end result) the product of those efforts are already contributing to the desired outcome for those tasks and out ultimate goal for being in business.

When discussing the distractions and interruptions, the obvious intrusions (people stopping by to chat, telephone calls, deliveries etc.) were mentioned but a couple most of us might not think of: email and Twitter were also included.

According to Little, any of these distractions typically involve between 30 and 40 minutes of lost (or at least misdirected) time per event.

I don’t know about you, but mind chatter is a rather frequent occurrence within the grey-matter between my ears (ok, ok along with email, Twitter and multi-tasking!).  This can definitely be a detraction from productivity if it leads you off to day-dream land!

But let’s not leave a list of problems since if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem ….

Here are the suggestions (with some additional thoughts of mine) Steve Little provided during the video:

1. Develop an approach providing a clear focus regarding the key tasks at hand meant to propel you toward your goal.  This is a time period to focus on the task at hand and not get distracted (though I do jot down a line on a notepad about interesting ideas to flush out later). Little also advises not using task lists as the main time focusing tool (since they are open-ended and essentially non-committing).  His suggestion is to use a calendar and block out at least two hours per task.  If a given task won’t take two hours, couple with other similar tasks (might be things like interacting on social networking sites).  I also believe in blocking enough time to complete the task if possible (often meaning more than two hours).  Another thing I like to plan into each period is an extra 20 to 30 minutes of wind-down time and give a chance to flush out any thoughts recorded on the notepad during content preparation.
2. Relax for 15 to 30 minutes after each block of time is completed by taking a real break from your workspace (so it does not mean check email or Twitter!).  You’ll end up being refreshed and ready for the next project task.
3. Establish routines and be responsible with your time.  Always remember that you are your most important asset and squandering time on ineffective activities lowers your value.
4. Rest, renew and recover. Take two days each week away from the business focusing on the truly important aspects of life: our freedom from the 9-5 – 7 day work week grind and spend time with those most important to us (family and friends).