Entrepreneurs are always strapped for time!  You need more. Want more. Gotta have it but you need to realize the value of your time and how to best use every second, all 86,400 of them.

You can learn to maximize your productivity and feel like a rock star. I’m not talking about just being busy as that isn’t efficient. There is a difference between just using up some time, watching the hours tick by, and truly cranking out some real work that has an impact.

There’s always plenty of tips and tools you can enlist but it really comes down to you and what you are willing to do to best leverage your time, output and true success.

It is a choice. Everyone has the exact same amount of time in their day so it is about how you invest in it. Invest in you.

Achieve your goals and master your To Do list and projects for your greatest accomplishments or merely float through the day, kinda hoping things magically get done. Don’t operate your business like it’s in Disney Land.

You all need some downtime, nap time, and some time, BUT, don’t expect to realize winning results without a plan, focus, and dedication. It just doesn’t happen. Simple as that.

Victory comes at a cost.

Pay it or concede.

Productivity Simplicity

1. Determine what is most important: in your day, in your life, in your business. That’s what you need to be doing.
2. Make a plan: to achieve these important tasks and milestones. List out action steps.
3. Priorities: have them. Understand them. Commit to them.
4. Allow time for diversions: it always happens. A sink hole or you are somehow sidetracked but with proper planning, you are prepared.
5. Set realistic timelines: if you don’t, you may be scrambling and only half finishing your lists or not putting in 100%. If you can’t give it your all, then it is half ass. Do you want that??
6. Tick tock: don’t be ruled by the clock. It doesn’t tell you if you are being more efficient and productive. Your output does. 9-5 doesn’t mean anything if you are just “busy.”
7. Create your goals: this helps to keep you on target daily, weekly, monthly. Revisit your list and revise as needed.
8. Eliminate your distractions: there is nothing worse than the ping of a notification, TV, phone, etc that will detract your focus. Tune out and turn off. It’s okay. You won’t lose anything but you have everything to gain. Be in the moment and nowhere else.
9. Don’t multi-task: it really does impede your productivity, decrease your brainpower, and limits your true attention to get one thing right. Put the emphasis on one project, one task at a time.
10. Ask yourself, “how or does this serve my goals?” If something doesn’t really serve you, then STOP!
11. Be accountable: yes, your day and how you manage your time is up to you. Own it. Do it.
12. Timers: they work! Set a timer for 30 minutes that you will devote to the time on task. Don’t stop. Don’t stray. Just do it. At the end of those 30, take a 5-minute break and then hit it again.
13. Break the chains: don’t be a prisoner to your email. Check it at set intervals.
14. Review time: every night, review your day, and set your goals/action steps for the following day.
15. Sing ME ME: yes, you must give back to yourself and establish a healthy work-life balance. Schedule in a time that is away from work; away from must do’s and have some fun. Refresh and refocus. Your brain needs it.

Michael LeBoeuf: “Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.”

There are posts every day about what the most productive people do, 5 minutes to increase your productivity, how the top 10 entrepreneurs get things done, 30-second productivity boost; the list is endless but no matter what the post suggests, it is up to you to find and implement the tips and tools that you will use. The ones that resonate the most to help you increase your efficiency, work-life balance, time management, and productivity.  Unless you are ready for a change, to kick it up to rock star status, then all of the recommendations are worthless.

You choose the productivity hacks that work for YOU.