When I started my business, I knew I didn’t want to be working all day every day. That was half of the point of starting my own business: working on my own terms. After having my son, I also knew I wanted to work around his schedule as much as possible. Unfortunately, that means I get a set number of (quite) limited hours a day to work. Some days I get as few as four hours and sometimes as many as 6. Over the last few years, I’ve learned how to maximize my office hours. Having workflows and systems helps but honestly, a lot of it has been a mental shift for me! Here’s a how to work efficiently with limited office hours!
Outsource when you can.
Being able to outsource tasks in your business takes time, but once you’re in a place where you’re ready to outsource, don’t hesitate. When you don’t have to “waste” your time doing things someone else can do for your business, your office hours get so much more focused. Imagine if you could let someone else do the backend pieces of your business that you hate and dread doing. Instead, your energy can go to the editing you love or booking more sessions to pay the bills. And when you’re in the office, you can focus on what only YOU can do instead.
Be flexible + remember what productive really means.
As business owners, there’s always things to do. The to-do list is never truly emptied or completed. But, try to avoid being busy for the sake of being busy. Understand what you need to be focusing on for your business – maybe that’s Pinterest or it’s ads. Whatever it is probably looks different from the person next to you. Keep your energy focused on what matters for YOUR business. A lesson that’s taken me a long time to learn, too, is that being productive doesn’t mean I finished everything I said I needed to do that day. Sometimes it’s just finishing what was most urgent and then winding down. Don’t be busy for the sake of being busy – and define what a productive day really looks like for YOU.
Focus on what’s most important.
The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to take that massive to-do list and break it down. Determine what your most important three tasks are. That will probably change each day. Make those your priority. When they’re done, look for a few more manageable tasks you can easily accomplish that day. If you only have a few hours to work, determine what truly MUST be done then and knock it out.
It sounds super simple to focus during your office hours, right? I know the reality is that things come up or more emails come in… but, try to remember what your goals were before you sat down and stick with those. Focus on the things that help your business move, and avoid working to be busy. You can do this!
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