Feel like you’re working 24/7? Might not be such an exaggeration—entrepreneurs are prone to believe they need to invest “sweat equity” in building their business, but balance is key. if you’re feeling fatigued, here are some quick tips to help scale back your hours while making efforts more efficient.
PRIORITIZE YOUR PROJECTS
Tackle the most important tasks first and you’ll relieve some pressure. It’s easy to want to tick off smaller, easier to-do’s (and this is ok sometimes if you need the rush of crossing something off your list) but it’s better to break down big projects into more manageable pieces to get them off your shoulders.
DELEGATE WHAT’S NOT IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE
Entrepreneurs often take on tasks that should be outsourced to a professional. You’ll save valuable time and effort with strategic spends on things like creative services, accounting, and more. (Don’t forget: In order for this to help, it means you’ll have to give up control and trust the people you delegate to.)
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FORGET ABOUT THE SMALL STUFF
Business owners with a DIY mentality will often create laundry lists of things to do, most of which are more about perfection than necessity. Being able to differentiate between the tasks that will transform your business and the ones that just make busywork will save you tons of time and money.
SET YOUR HOURS
Even though a lot of prominent, successful entrepreneurs boast about their 18+ hour workdays, most research agrees that people max out their efficiency at 10 hours a day. Try to cap your efforts within that timeframe or find one that works for you and stick to it.
BUILD IN BREAKS (AND A BEDTIME)
It can be hard to unplug, especially when your efforts are directly tied to your success. But according to Forbes, breaks actually boost productivity, creativity, mental well-being, and healthy habits, like exercise and meditation. Setting a bedtime or official offline hours helps reinforce healthy work-life boundaries, especially concerning relationships and family life.
SCHEDULE TASKS
This Inc. article highlights a UC Irvine study that estimates it takes up to 23 minutes to recover efforts after a single interruption. Emails and phone calls can distract you from a project you’re working on as they roll in, so turn off notifications and assign times to check in and respond.
ASSIGN BUSINESS-ONLY DEVICES
If you can, use separate phones and computers for work and personal life. This will help uphold the offline hours you’ve set and keep work-related interruptions and bay (and vice versa with personal interruptions, too).
TO SUM IT UP
Remember, you’re not paid by the hour. You’re earning by what you achieve—so try to streamline as much as you can and make efficiency the ultimate goal.