Being a solopreneur has its own advantages and rewards. Here you are the boss, no one orders you, and the money you earn is directly related to the time you invest in your work.
And this brings many challenges with it such as loss of energy, productivity, and motivation. Furthermore, at a time where a virus has engulfed the whole planet and business are struggling, it is imperative to adapt to the changes also known as the new normal.
COVID-19, it has inarguably affected all of us directly or indirectly. Schools, colleges, and offices are shut. Zoom meetings and classes have become the new norm. Maintaining physical and mental health has become a challenge, which in turn is affecting the productivity of the solopreneurs. Netflix and Social media further affects our flow and hampers our productivity.
However, as a solopreneur, you are responsible for your actions (and results). So, taking charge of your productivity in this new normal should also be your responsibility.
Here are some excellent tips and hacks for solopreneurs to be productive in the new normal:
1. Wake Up Early:
You often hear, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” And this holds water when you’re a solopreneur. When you wake up early, you win half of the battle there itself. But don’t grab your phone soon after that. Instead, get your body moving. Just fifteen of simple stretches and jumps, followed by 10 minutes of meditation can do wonders for your body and mind.
Also, meditation helps you to organize your thoughts and makes you more productive at work. You can watch YouTube videos to know how to get started with meditation.
2. Maintain Your Desk:
We all know that cleanliness is directly proportional to happiness. A messy table is neither good for creativity nor for your productivity. If your desk is cluttered with things like earphones and old sticky notes, can easily lose focus. So, the night before, be sure to clean your desk and order it for the next day’s work. This will make you feel invited. Moreover, putting small toys, plants, and stones in the bowl near to your work station would increase its vibrancy.
3. Prepare a To-Do List:
In his book, Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy suggests to finish the more significant tasks first before moving on to the smaller jobs. Moreover, writing out a to-do helps in organising your task so that you steer clear from the distractions. You can simply use a note app to create a to do and place it with your important documents using a document management system.
4. Divide and Conquer Your Tasks
Desmond Tutu once wisely said that “there is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time.” He couldn’t me truer. We try to complete a huge chunk of tasks at once, only to make mistakes and feel exhausted.
So, instead of focusing on the results, we should focus on the process. And to do so, it is wiser to divide a more significant task into smaller pieces. In this way, you become more organized and productive.
For example, If you want to write a book, write 1 page every day. In the words of James Clear, start building atomic habits.
If you set a timer to work 4 hours a day, you may not feel like sitting in a chair for that long. Dividing a bigger task into smaller chunks makes your work effortless. Just like adding a small brick consistently builds a big building.
5. Eliminate Distractions
Let’s face it; the notification chime is designed to distract you from your work. Unwanted notifications, text messages, and bizarre political tweets demand your valuable attention. Also, silencing your phone doesn’t help much. So, to dodge this, try the “Focus Mode” on your phone to avoid the disturbance. Moreover, use anti-distraction plugins like StayFocused or Baitblock if you are tempted to visit things that eat up your work time, If you have got kids, then dedicate a silent room for your work.
6. Take Breaks At Regular Intervals
Regular intervals and short breaks make sure that you can work more effectively. If you don’t know when and how much of a break to take, I suggest using Pomodoro technique. Here, you work for 25 minutes and take a break for 5 minutes and repeat the cycle. During this break, don’t start scrolling your Facebook feed, instead, take a short walk in your backyard, drink a glass of water to stay hydrated, or take 10 long deep breaths.
In this way, you’ll rewire your mind to re-focus on your work. After this, examine your progress rate, and experiment with the interval timing to find what suits you best.
On a Final Note
Following the steps mentioned above can make your solopreneur journey more exciting. Know that individual success depends upon discipline, commitment and resilience towards your work. As a solopreneur, you are a one-man army, so you have to work on every aspect personally. Since COVID has shut everyone in their homes and the end of it is unknown at the moment, you need to be energetic and enthusiastic about your work. You need to prepare yourself mentally and physically by following the above-mentioned productivity hacks. All the best!