12 Productivity Hacks to Get Control of Your Business Day
If you’re pulled in too many directions, you’ll enjoy these 12 productivity hacks to help take back control of your day.
(Thank you to our Business Coaching Clients for contributing ideas and being the test cases to try these out.)
1. Start your day by asking: What ONE thing could you do today in 30 minutes or less that would have the biggest impact?
Then do that one thing before anything else. Be ruthlessly realistic about what you can achieve in 30 minutes. Chunk down larger projects into a focused, doable piece.
2. Block out one 4-hour (half-day) chunk of time each week for high-value focus work.
Value creation needs uninterrupted time. Pick a day each week, turn off distractions, and focus entirely on your most important work—maybe even off-site.
3. Do your “feared thing” first.
Each morning, ask: “What’s my most dreaded task today?” Do it immediately. You’ll reclaim a massive amount of energy and momentum.
4. Narrow your focus to fewer, better priorities.
The mantra of high performers: “Fewer; Better.” Don’t skim the surface of 10 tasks—finish the 1 or 2 that matter most. Half-done is more costly than not done at all.
5. Hire a personal assistant.
You likely have more for an assistant to do than you think. Examples of tasks to delegate:
- Coordinate travel
- Set up an e-filing system
- Update your blog
- Schedule meetings
- Screen and manage emails
- Handle billing and payment issues
- Tech troubleshooting
- Manage key dates and reminders
- Follow up with your team on deliverables
6. Delegate any work you can pay under $25/hour to get done well.
Whether it’s admin work, errands, or tech setup, reclaim your time and reinvest it into growing your business—or enhancing your personal life.
7. “Age” your email to reduce unnecessary replies.
The faster you respond, the more replies you’ll get. Delaying non-urgent replies often filters out unnecessary conversations.
8. Don’t use your inbox as your to-do list.
Email is great for communication, but terrible for task management. Use a dedicated task manager instead.
9. Use a scheduling app like TimeTrade to automate appointments.
This one tool saved my office 5 hours per week in scheduling alone. It’s efficient and professional.
10. Use multiple email signatures as templates.
Create canned responses for FAQs or recurring messages. It saves time and ensures consistency.
11. Eliminate recurring fires—permanently.
List 3 problems you keep solving again and again. Either fix the root cause or delegate it permanently. Systems beat stress.
12. Grow your ability to leave low-value tasks undone.
Not everything needs to be checked off. Some things just don’t matter. One of the most powerful moves is to choose what not to do.