My 5 Step Productivity Plan for Small Businesses

Want to find a way to get MORE ORGANISED with how you run your small business? Here’s my simple 5 step plan to spend your time more wisely!

Step 1: Spend a week writing down what tasks you do

I know you probably don’t want to do this! And honestly, it IS time consuming – but it is really worth it. The best way to refocus and organise your time is if you have a clear idea of how you are CURRENTLY spending your time. So write it in a notepad, or put it into a spreadsheet, whatever works best for you brain.

Step 2: Create a Daily Task List

Use your notes to figure out what are some tasks that need to be done DAILY. Things like responding to emails, posting on social media, or packing up orders (if you ship daily). Then you can set a SPECIFIC time to do these things each day. So you know they’re always going to get done, and you don’t need to waste time by hopping in and out of that task all day.

Step 3: Create processes for time-consuming tasks

Look at how you spent your time in your notes, and find the tasks that are real time-sucks. Figure out a good process for these tasks to streamline them. Take tracking expenses: This can build up and become a massive task if it’s disorganised, as you look through receipts and try to figure out what you bought when. If you set up a clear process of what to do EVERY time you have an expense, and how to store that information, it’ll be quicker and easier in future.

Step 4: Assign a daily focus

Having a focus for a day can really help to keep you, well, focused! Working on a focused task is much more productive than flitting from task to task. So assign a day for product development, restocking equipment, creating content – group tasks together and make that one thing a focus for each day. Then once you’ve got your ‘daily tasks’ done, spend the rest of the day on your focus.

Step: 5 Keep a running To Do list

There are bound to be tasks that don’t fit into either your ‘daily tasks’ or your ‘focus tasks’ – so keep these on a To Do list that moves with you from day to day. Whenever you have a chunk of time, like if you finish your ‘focus’ tasks, you can quickly check this ‘extra’ to do list. You even make an ‘extra to do list’ focus day!

Getting more organised, creating processes, and taking tasks off your plate are all things that I can help you with as a VA, so get in touch if that sounds helpful!

Get in touch!