How to work smart in business

When you’ve got your own business, it’s hard to clock out at the end of the day because there are just too many things that need to be done. However, to be more productive, you don’t have to work even more hours than you already are. Use these 5 techniques to work smarter and improve your productivity.

Ever noticed how some entrepreneurs get way more done than others without working themselves to the bone? You know…Those incredible people who have successful businesses and still manage to have a life.

I’m talking about increased productivity that isn’t the result of working ridiculously long days or multitasking to madness, either. Because it’s not how hard they work. It’s how smart they work. And if you ever want to be able to put your business growth on autopilot and have more time for things you enjoy, working smarter is critical.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit there was a time when the very thought of “working smarter” seemed totally pie-in-the-sky. I was too busy working in my business to even consider how that might work.

But it was clear there were other entrepreneurs who were better at creating more efficiency in how they completed tasks, achieved goals, arranged their day, found clients, and so on. So I devoted the past eight years to learning how to do this for myself and my clients.

The thing is…Working smarter doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Most entrepreneurs have to, well, work at it a bit. But it’s worth the extra effort upfront because it lets you get more done with less effort later.

So here are some simple tips for you to get started…

1. Stop multitasking now.

The phone, email, Facebook, Twitter… it all competes for your time and attention so you have a huge sense of busy-ness. But don’t mistake it for true productivity. Studies now show that multitasking doesn’t increase productivity or speed up the completion time for each task—it does just the opposite. (See “Multitasking Makes You Stupid” for a great Wall Street Journal article by author Sue Shellenbarger.)

Instead, turn your phone and email off and focus for one hour straight (or if it takes less than an hour, focus until it’s done).

2. Act like you’re a franchise!

Everything in your business should be done the same way, every time. That means having set processes in writing.

Most people find the idea of sitting down and creating process documents and how-tos for different tasks about as much fun as a trip to the orthodontist. But it needs to be done—even if you’re a solopreneur.

Otherwise, you end up wasting time and your efforts lack consistency. Plus, when you’re ready to hire an employee or outsource tasks, those process docs make it a breeze to get the results you’re after.

3. Turn it down.

Be choosier about the work and clients you take on. It’s easy to say yes to any and every client or job that comes your way when you need the cash. But juggling as many as you can doesn’t inherently mean more success or revenues for your business.

In fact, it might just spread you thin, wear you out and actually make you less money since some clients are more high maintenance than others. Plus, you want to make sure your more lucrative projects or clients don’t suffer from your diluted attention and efforts.

4. Keep marketing regardless of your budget.

If you don’t market your business regularly you’re always going to struggle to find enough clients.

Thankfully there are plenty of low-cost ways to market any business.

Try putting out press releases online, participating on social networking sites and doing email marketing. Spruce up your bio. Or commit to attending live networking meetings every month. If you have something to say that potential clients might want to hear try blogging. You can create a blog for free on WordPress then add short articles, tips, audios or videos.

5. Get it off your plate!

If you’re really strapped for time, or you have tasks you just can’t stomach doing or are bad at, outsource to a Virtual Assistant (VA). This is one of my favorite solutions for getting more done with less effort—especially when it comes to online marketing!

VAs can do everything from answering email to setting up social networking profiles, building blogs, creating newsletters, sending holiday cards, and more. Some even specialize in online marketing. I hired my first VA team years ago and it’s been the best thing I’ve ever done for my business—and for getting my own life back because I’m not chained to my computer trying to figure out how to do things like building a blog.

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As business owners, we hear all the time that it’s important to work smarter, not harder.

But how do you go about working smarter on your business? It’s not something that just happens. You need to plan out how to work more efficiently. Luckily, there are some things you can do to make the transition a little easier:

• 1. Focus on What’s Mission Critical
• 2. Use Technology to Ease Your Path
• 3. Delegate Tasks
• 4. Eliminate Time Wasting Tasks

1. Focus on What’s Mission Critical

Your first step when you want to work smarter is to figure out which tasks are mission critical. What’s going to get you to the next level with your business?

Carefully examine the business tasks you are thinking about. Which items are most likely to have the biggest impact? What actions will take your business to the next step of its evolution? You can use the Pareto principle to work this out, figuring out what 20% of tasks generate 80% of the desired results.

Once you know what’s mission critical, you can focus more on those tasks. They’ll have a bigger impact, and help you take the next step.

2. Use Technology to Ease Your Path

Next, use technology to make things easier. We are fortunate to live in a time when technology can help us work smarter in so many ways.

Technology has changed the way we send and receive payments, making it easier (and faster) to get paid. On top of that, technology tools can help you accomplish more in less time. I love scheduling and calendar apps. It makes it easy for others to connect with me — without the need to waste time sending emails back and forth.

Business applications for accounting, posting on social media, publishing, and many other uses can make your life easier and more efficient, helping you get more done in less time.

3. Delegate Tasks

One of the most important things you can do for your business is to delegate. Outsourcing is one way to work smarter rather than harder. I started seeing a very real difference in my ability to get things done when I started delegating and outsourcing tasks.

You might be surprised to discover that you scale better and make more money when you delegate tasks. When you aren’t tied up with the mundane, you can focus on what’s mission critical. You make much more progress when you delegate.

4. Eliminate Time Wasting Tasks

It’s possible to have effective meetings. But are you having too many of them? Are there tasks that just end up taking time, without offering good results? Do you say “yes” to too many things?

When this becomes an issue, you need to figure out which tasks should be eliminated from your business. Sometimes, you try to do too much. Are you expanding into services that don’t make sense for your company? Do you keep trying to make a project fit in, when really it’s just a resource drain?

Knowing when to cut something out is an essential part of switching it up so you can work smarter. Drop the things that aren’t helping your business. It can take some time to figure out what these things are, but once you do, you are well on your way toward better success.

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