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Be More Productive By Doing Less

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By Robyn Tippins

If you are a small to medium sized business owner, I’m here to tell you today that your time is limited. I know this will come as an enormous surprise, but there are a finite number of your hours to go around.

You can’t do it all, and I’m guessing you probably don’t want to anyway…

time lost cannot be regained

Information Overload

Your company has to be on the cutting edge, so you must read often.

You spend at least 15% of every day (and probably more like 30%+) consuming information — Tweets, Facebook statuses, Pins, Medium posts and longform blog posts.

Your company has to be a thought leader, and that means churning out clever sayings and deep thoughts, and lots of them, including social updates, blog posts, white papers, videos and case studies.

You are well-read, from strategy to productivity, fascinating and much loved, and none of this is getting the work done.

Your company requires work to be done, the financials to be straight, payroll to be paid and sales to be made, so between administration, billable hours, garnering new business and information consumption/creation, you are doing too much.

Something has got to give.

Choose Whom You Will Serve

Choose a few hours, each day, to get work done.

I go radio silent every day from 2-4pm EST. During that time, I don’t check email, I don’t check Facebook and I don’t answer my phone. I don’t read HackerNews, TechMeme, Reddit or Cracked (my guilty secret). I just flat-out work. I get more done in those 2 hours, than I do in the entire rest of the day.

I’ve become so committed to this schedule that I have been able to cut out work, completely, on some Fridays, just by working ahead during those hyper-productive hours the rest of the week.

I have literally found an extra 8 hours per week, just hiding from my distractions.

Have you established any “heads-down” working hours?

Author’s Bio:Robyn Tippins is Co-Founder and CEO of Mariposa Interactive. She has been managing online communities for 17 years, and her book, Community 101, is a primer on online community management. You can follow Robyn on Twitter via @duzins.

Photo Credit: gothick_matt via Compfight cc

How Technology is Powering Success

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By Teddy Hunt

The year was 1994. Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel, and their guest sat around a quaint coffee table between NBC’s “Today” segments and pondered the pronunciation of the “@” symbol. “That little mark,” he said. “With the ‘a’ and then the ring around it. Couric said she thought it was ‘about.'” He went on to ask, “What is the Internet, anyway? Do you write to it, like mail?”

Just two decades ago, this was the reality, even among some of the most successful, high-profile people in our society. Now, the Internet and other forms of technology have become ingrained in our culture, and for good reason. Businesses and the people who run them depend on technology for success in many ways. 

technology to print on potato chip

Improving Efficiency

In today’s economy, a business has to squeeze out every ounce of productivity to remain competitive and successful, and technology provides us with many avenues to accomplish just that.

Efficiency serves as technology’s over-arching theme; it encompasses everything we’ve come to love and expect of the wonderful little gadgets we depend on. We can retrieve and share data in an instant, swipe a magical piece of plastic in exchange for goods and services, and tasks that we once performed by hand are now being streamlined by technology, void of human error.

Expanding Knowledge

Have you ever stopped to consider the sheer volume of information available to you on the Internet? Why not use that to your advantage? Except for encyclopedia salesmen, just about every other business person is reaping the benefits of unlimited amounts of knowledge with just the click of a button.

Internet searching brings you everything from interview dos and don’ts, to market trends, to tips on how to start your first business, all without ever having to leave your home. Even if you do leave your home, that same information is available to you on a smartphone or tablet. Technology is constantly reshaping the nature of knowledge, giving us the potential to be smarter and more efficient than ever before.

Instantaneous Communication

We’ve come a long way since the first mobile phone call in 1973. Communication on the go has become a necessity in the business world. Email and smartphones have changed the way we communicate with our peers and our customers by providing us with a variety of instantaneous connections. We can run our offices from the road if we have to, or instantly respond to customer inquiries after hours. No matter how personal you believe old-fashioned snail mail to be, the reality is that technology has taken over communication. Putting pen to paper puts you a step behind the competition. 

Promoting Open Mindedness 

As technology evolves, a successful person must learn to adapt. New developments keep us on our toes because we understand the importance of being up to speed when it comes to new technologies that could better our businesses.
This translates very well to being adaptive in general. All too often, we dig our heels in and resist change because our way of doing things works. Eventually, we must accept that it’s possible for something else to come along that works better. As technology grows, we should be willing to follow suit. 

Shrinking the World

Consider this scenario: A journalist on location in an unknown Middle Eastern village witnesses the beginnings of what could turn out to be a breaking news story. She pulls out her trusty 4G smartphone, snaps a few high resolution photos, and uses the phone to type a brief news blurb about what just took place. She can instantly upload all of that information to her news site. 

Technology eliminates boundaries. We can use it to manipulate the business world and in our professions in ways we couldn’t before. It brings everything to our fingertips so that we may, in turn, deliver it to someone else. 
Technology continues to redefine our culture as it grows. We should all be willing to use it to learn and become better at what we do because, without it, we would truly be in the dark.

Author’s Bio: Teddy Hunt is a freelance content writer with a focus on technology. When not behind a computer, Teddy spends the majority of his free time outdoors and resides in Tampa, Florida.

Photo Credit: JD Hancock via Compfight cc

How To Finish What You Start

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By Gary Dek

How many times have you started writing a story or article only to stop halfway through and not finish it? If your answer is at least one, then you are like a lot of writers out there who spend their time beginning a piece of work, only to lose motivation and not finish what was started. I know I have at least a dozen half-written posts saved in the “Draft” folder of WordPress.

Creative inspiration is not the problem; staying productive and finishing what you start is. Fortunately, that can be fixed with a few strategies and conscious steps. The following steps will give you some tools to help you learn how to accomplish the task and make a habit of finishing projects before moving on to new ones.

finishing

Resist Embarking On New Endeavors

One reason why writers never finish anything is because they are constantly starting new projects before they have completed the previous ones. I like to call this “Work ADD” because I enjoy the adventure and challenge of working on new projects.

A couple years ago, I would start a new website every couple of months. I would literally design and develop a website then write and edit unique content over the course of one weekend. While you may think I “finished” the project, the most crucial part of starting any blog/site is promotion. I just didn’t do any of that, and that rendered my efforts a waste of time.

Restrain yourself from this compulsion and stay focused. When you come up with a fresh idea, jot down a few notes for reference and come back to it when you are ready to fully explore the opportunity. A few bullet points should help to jog your memory when the time comes.

Take Stock of Your Current Projects

It is time to review what on-going projects you have and determine if any of them are actually worth finishing. Maybe that editorial you started a year ago isn’t relevant anymore. Make a list of the ones you really want to keep, prioritize them in order of importance and work on them one at a time, checking off each as you go.

Don’t worry about how long it takes; after all, you’ve already invested the time to start and that’s a sunk cost. You might as well finish the project and recoup a portion of your invested time, assuming there is still value in its completion.

No matter how important that memoir seemed ten years ago, it might not have the same importance today. It may be time to let it go.

How To Assess Incomplete Projects

Divide your projects into three folders:

  • Projects that evoke enthusiasm and fit with your current goals.
  • Projects that you need to move on from, even if you are unsure.
  • Projects that you are not actively inspired to finish now, but that you might want to revisit another time.

This doesn’t mean pile everything into categories 1 and 3. Be objective and honest with yourself. It will definitely help unclutter your mind, goals, and work area.

Pick A Project and Stick With It

Take a look at the folder containing the projects you are excited about right now. Pick one of them and do not look at another until it is done. Whether it’s a blog, freelance gig, eBook, or another obligation, this project is going to be your primary focus.

So, how do you choose which item on your to-do list deserves all your energy?

Do you start with the:

  • simplest project: If you have a short story you are working on, you might want to finish it before you work on that novel.
  • longest-running project: If you’ve been working on a blog for 5 years and it has the most loyal following, do you keep up the momentum?
  • project you’re most invested in: If you are already a professional writer and the work you have left unfinished is guaranteed to bring in some much needed cash, it provides a better return on investment to satisfy your existing client obligations.

Have A Clear Vision of What The Finished Product Should Look Like

This may seem like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many writers or online entrepreneurs dive into a project without any idea of where they are going with it. We are all guilty of this kind of “we’ll see what happens” kind of thinking, but ultimately, without a destination, your journey will take you nowhere.

Instead, make a list of what you think constitutes a finished product. For example, if you are writing a blog post, there are specific points you need to hit before you can say it is complete. This might mean:

  • your article has a start, middle and end.
  • your article is at least 1,000 words and proofread.
  • you’ve gotten feedback from your editor, revised the post, and it is now ready for publication.

In your personal or professional life, pinpointing clear goals can ensure every little step you take brings you closer to achieving them.

Set Your Goals

You know how some people keep a “bucket list” of things they would like to do before they die? Well, you should keep a similar kind of list that consists of your business goals. For example, starting a blog could be one small goal because it’s easy – it can be achieved in an afternoon. The real goal should be to attract 10,000 visitors a month to that blog within the first year.

However, don’t set yourself up for defeat by outlining impossible goals. Deciding that you want to sell your first blog for a million dollars after a year is not realistic, especially if you are a new blogger.

Create a list of milestones with deadlines to keep yourself accountable, such as:

  • writing a page a day for a month
  • completing a detailed outline for your short story
  • writing a short screenplay
  • getting 10 posts completed before launching your blog

Pick 5 to 10 goals and put them on your calendar. Keep the list somewhere you will see it daily for inspiration.

Stay Motivated

Regardless of whether you use a free blogging site to write for therapeutic reasons, with the hopes of becoming a published author, or simply because freelance writing pays the bills and offers the flexibility to be with your kids during the day, you need to learn how to keep the momentum going and stay motivated long enough to actually bring your great ideas to fruition. Hopefully these steps will help you learn how to finish what you start.

What’s your top priority right now?

Author’s Bio: Author Bio: Gary Dek is the blogger behind StartABlog123.com and Gajizmo.com. He offers small businesses and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density research to recovering from Panda/Penguin updates to promoting their blogs and growing traffic.

Photo Credit: JefferyTurner via Compfight cc

The Secret of My Success

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Moving into a new home is a major undertaking.

Once the boxes are cleared and the new neighbors start bringing over key lime pie, you invariably have to start calling contractors of various stripes.

moving is hard

Lawn guy, handyman to fix the screen door handle, pest control, air conditioning repair, you get the picture. Making all of these calls over a compressed period of time gave me a true education in “who gets the business.”

You know who gets the business?

The person who answers the phone. If everyone fails that test, then it’s the one who returns the call the fastest.

Woody Allen has been often quoted as saying “showing up is 80 percent of life.”

When asked later about the quote by William Safire in the New York Times, he elaborated:

“My observation was that once a person actually completed a play or a novel, he was well on his way to getting it produced or published, as opposed to a vast majority of people who tell me their ambition is to write, but who strike out on the very first level and indeed never write the play or book. In the midst of the conversation, as I’m now trying to recall, I did say that 80 percent of success is showing up.”

Do you have an ambition to start a business, or are you actually doing it? Doing it means answering the phone when it rings.

Businesses hanging out a shingle, getting that Google places listing, polishing up their SEO to get a good search engine rank, and hoping for good word of mouth are truly only 10 percent of the way to the sale.

If all of those things happen and you don’t answer the phone, you’re dead in the water.

Yes, this same imperative applies to online businesses, consultants, writers, and everyone else.

Three Keys to Answering the Phone

  1. Manage your time effectively. Make answering the phone a priority. Yes, it’s probably more important than posting on your Facebook page.
  2. Create a system so that nothing slips through the cracks. Whether you’re using a notepad or a sophisticated contact management system like Salesforce or Nimble, put a mechanism in place that will remind you to follow up.
  3. Practice active listening when you do answer. Don’t launch into a pitch; wait and let the person on the other side tell you what they are contacting you for.

If you show up and answer the phone, you’ll come out ahead every time. (But let’s keep it our little secret, ok?)

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

The Formula for Better Business Productivity

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asuccesssFor your business to truly prosper and ultimately achieve its goals, you must look for ways to increase productivity or, simply put, find ways to get more done without sharply increasing your expenses.

Before exploring measures you can take to boost productivity in your workplace, it may be helpful to look at some of the things workers consider major obstacles to achieving optimal productivity.

Workplace Productivity Survey

Harris Interactive, a market research firm best known for its Harris Poll, in late March 2013 conducted a survey of just more than 2,000 professionals to get their views on productivity. The survey, commissioned by Ask.com, was designed to gather input on the factors that both hinder and maximize productivity in the workplace.

Reporting on the survey’s results in “Forbes,” Jacquelyn Smith said more than 60 percent of respondents cited noisy co-workers as a major productivity killer.

Somewhat surprisingly, 63 percent of those surveyed said they feel they can be more productive in a quiet personal workspace in the office than if they were working from home. The emphasis here is on quiet and personal.

Cubicles Rejected

More than a quarter of the survey’s respondents said they believed they could be most productive in an open office setting as opposed to a cube farm or a workplace that consists of separate offices.

The opposition to cubicles came as no surprise to Lisa Ross, vice president of human resources at Ask.com.

In the interview with “Forbes,” she said cubicles “are great for maximizing office space, but cubes are not known for being particularly exciting or inspiring. Your personal workspace is where you spend the bulk of your time, and I think office workers in general are hungry for something different.”

Impromptu Meetings

Another widely cited productivity killer is the impromptu meeting that occurs when co-workers drop in at another employee’s workspace.

Although these so-called meetings may begin with a work-related matter, they all too often devolve into conversations about issues that are totally unrelated to business. Nearly half of all survey respondents said they prefer to hash out work-related questions via email, instant messaging, or by telephone.

Other obstacles to productivity cited by survey respondents include group projects and sitting next to a supervisor.

Eliminate Productivity Killers

Hopefully, you can realize some productivity gains by eliminating some of these productivity killers in your workplace.

To do even more, here are six ways to take your office productivity into the next generation:

Five of these suggestions for increasing productivity come from Odessa Hopkins, owner of a marketing and advertising consultancy in Greenbelt, Maryland.

She shared her tips with writer Kelly K. Spors, who summed them up in an article for Entrepreneur.com.

Prioritize To-Do Lists

1. Prioritize projects based on their revenue-generating potential. It’s also helpful to take complex projects and break them into more manageable segments and attach a deadline to each.

2. Delegate or outsource tasks that don’t generate revenue. As a business owner, you may be tempted to try to juggle such essential tasks as bookkeeping, copywriting, and payroll, even though you may not be fully qualified to handle these responsibilities. This creates a time-consuming distraction from the all-important task of making money, which should be your top priority.

Don’t Over Check Email

3. Don’t interrupt your workflow by constantly checking your email inbox. Set your email server to retrieve messages only manually or at less frequent intervals — such as every 90 minutes. Respond immediately to email messages that require only a simple reply so that you don’t end up reviewing the same message two or more times.

4. Maximize your use of technology shortcuts. The inexorable advance of technology means that new tools become available every day that can streamline office and other workplace procedures significantly. Try to stay abreast of such new technology and the time savings it offers.

Train Employees Well

5. Train your employees well. While it may take a bit more time during the employee orientation process, it will save a great deal of time in the long run. Make sure your employees fully understand the jobs they are to perform and all the individual tasks involved. Otherwise, you and other workplace supervisors will be constantly interrupted by questions from employees who are unsure of themselves and how to proceed with various tasks.

Our sixth suggestion comes from an article posted at NevadaSmallBusiness.com and focuses on the importance of keeping your employees healthy.

6. Move proactively to increase workplace health. This might include the establishment of programs to help employees quit unhealthy habits, such as smoking, or the replacement of high-fat, high-sodium vending machine options with healthier choices. As a business owner, you can also encourage exercise programs and make sure that employees have adequate protection against workplace safety hazards. Cutting down on absenteeism due to illness or injury is a sure way to keep productivity at high levels.

Photo credit: newlifeoffice.com

About the Author: Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of business and personal finance topics.

 

How to Streamline Your Business Routine in 2014

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By Ryan Harrison

Running a business requires certain skills and expertise that customers need and are willing to pay for. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to succeed. There are always routine tasks related to business operations that can be frustrating for business owners. For this reason, many small business owners turn to outside help to handle everything from payroll to office services.

Use Tools That Support and Improve Your Overhead

If you’ve been outsourcing routine work for a few years, you should have picked up some basic skills by now that will enable to handle some of these tasks. Don’t underestimate what you’ve learned in all those meetings with your accountant. Before you spend your entire outsourcing budget for 2014, investigate the potential of using business automation tools.

Online Accounting Tools Integrate Your Current Project Data

You probably already handle some aspects of your company’s financial tasks, such as invoicing and tracking projects. And these are probably handled in entirely separate programs on your desktop, with no way to easily access and integrate both functions. Programs like Quickbook’s online accounting keep everything in one place that has to do with operating your business. A basic package gives you wizards and tools to help with these functions:

  • Payroll, including tax withholding
  • Project estimates
  • Project time and expense tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Bank transactions

Many online accounting programs also provide automatic data backups and integrate data you’ve stored in programs like Outlook, Gmail, and Excel. Quickbooks online accounting is one of the cloud-based services that also automate tasks like system updates, which can save a lot of your time. Cloud-based accounts can be accessed from virtually anywhere with a secure Internet connection to your desktop, smartphone, or tablet.

Stop Struggling with Paper!

If you’re like a lot of entrepreneurs, you’re inquisitive and acquire a lot of paper that ends up in disorganized piles around your office. Put an end to this and start scanning everything you bring to the office. Scan your important documents and save the files digitally; encourage employees to do so as well. If you have a lot of paper you want to access electronically, there are services that will handle the document conversion for you. Or you can invest in a sheet-feed or portable scanner that scans more quickly than printer-scanners. Some scanners integrate with other documentation systems, including Quickbooks.

Take Advantage of Free Trial Offers

Many vendors offer free product trials, some for as long as 60 days with money-back guarantees. Try out a few to see how many functions you can take over yourself. If you decide to take the plunge, keep in mind that the costs are likely to be much lower than outsourcing. Best of all, these tools can help you gain a deeper understanding of your business’s operations and identify more opportunities to save time and money.

Author’s Bio:Ryan Harrison writes about business, marketing, operations, and more at www.producersweb.com. He also finds time to write at yfsmagazine.com. You can find him on Twitter as @RyanHar13790076.