Business Productivity Hacks
What you see below is a list of my favourite Business Productivity Hacks. As we all know, time in business is precious and the more valuable you treat it, the more effective you become at delivering value to your business and your customers the more successful you will be!
I hope you enjoy these business productivity hacks and should you have any that you would like to add, please let me know, I am always open to hear new ways at delivering performance!
1. Don’t answer private numbers
You are on the back foot
& it’s an unwanted interruption, tasks switching has many hidden costs, reduced efficiency and increased errors being at the top of the list
2. Don’t open emails till after 10 am
Get one to two high priority tasks done first thing when you arrive by shutting yourself off
3. Don’t check email constantly
Batch it to certain times during the day, the less the better (waiting for a critical mass)
Email is everyone else’s agenda for your time. Don’t let their agenda ruin yours
Set up a strategic autoresponder that won’t upset people and make them aware of your time constraints
4. Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time
Request in advance so you can prepare and make good use of time together
5. Don’t allow people to ramble
Small talk takes up big time, get to the point
6. Do not communicate with low profit high maintenance customers
They are wasting your time and block you from spending time with high paying customers
Divide by 80 / 20 rule, which 20% are delivering 80% of profits etc
With low profit customers, create new rules for phone calls / email response times / MOQs
This will begin to point them to another provider and create positive customer attrition or you could just fire your lowest performing 15% on an annual basis
7. Do not work longer hours to fix more & become overwhelmed – Prioritise
If you don’t prioritise, you end up in ‘Urgent and Important’ quadrant which is essentially firefighting
Define the single most important task for your day and get it done!
If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have time, it means you don’t have priorities, think harder and focus on the key value adding activities. Think harder NOT work harder
8. Don’t make work your life
Defend your free time like you would your reputation in a business meeting. This is key to sustaining the momentum in your business for the long term
9. Remove distractions
Prepare for the things that can go wrong, or as we say in Ireland ‘The Murphy Law Effect’ as they always do, so when they happen you are prepared and keep downtime to a minimum
When something happens that you haven’t foreseen, make note and create a strategy that if it happens again, you know how to deal with it
Turn off phone for key periods when getting priority tasks completed
10. Meeting Rules
Stick to Agenda – no going off point allowed unless there is AOB listed
Control Numbers – only invite active contributors
Meeting Template on White Board – Write as you go, take picture at end and circulate, no need to retype
Limit Time to 30 minutes – when you stick to an agenda this is possible
No sitting – Have the Team stand around the board
Everyone Contributes – Period!
Late People – Pay for Lunch / 10 €£$ in social kitty etc.
Rotate Chairperson – Change Meeting Chairperson for every meeting to allow everyone the opportunity to take charge
11. Use Post It’s for High Priority Tasks
Write your top priority tasks on Post It’s and put them on your Screen until they are completed to keep you focused on your value adding activities and ensuring they get done
12. Daily Huddles with Team
Meet your team for 5 – 10 minutess every morning to set out priorities, talk about solving open issues, perceived problems for the day and assess KPIs. Get into this habit, issues will always remain small and insignificant
13. Get into a routine
Create a routine and a routine will turn in to a habit that you do every day to ensure you complete your priorities and goals. Find your ‘Golden Hour’ for getting things done
14. Embrace the Error Culture and remove the Blame Culture
Make decisions, and if they are wrong, learn from them and make them better the next time. You and your team will become more effective. Over time you will have a team that takes accountability for their work and can work just as well when you are away as when you are there
15. Create a Stop Doing List
Yes we all like to use ‘To Do Lists’ in some shape or form, one of my favourite Hacks of all is to create a ‘Stop Doing List’. Keep it simple and divide into 3 Sections
The A’s – Things you love and you are very good at. These are the things you want to spend most of your time doing
The B’s – Things you are happy to do, you are not great at but not bad at either. Manage these and keep them in control
The C’s – Otherwise known to you as the ‘Crap’. Create strategies to remove or mitigate these from your day to day routine. If they can be done 80% as well by other people, delegate!
