Finding the motivation to have a successful and productive day every day of the week can be an unrealistic challenge.

As a self-employed micro business owner, we often find that there are too many things to get done in a day that only has 24 hours in it!  And worse still, we sometimes lack that motivation – and making every day a productive one is almost impossible!

But there is some good news. There are some simple but effective strategies that you can put into place to help and we have created 5 easy solutions to become more productive in just 20 minutes’ worth of focus and active planning. 

1. Eliminate all distractions 

Initially, go for the blanket approach and remove all distractions that are around you.  This shouldn’t take more than 5 minutes to reorganise your workspace and devices.

With the high tech world we live in these days, we are always surrounded by things to take our attention away from the job in hand but we need to rise above it and consciously disconnect.

Move away from your social media platforms by deactivating or only having it on one fixed device and preferably not your phone. Allow yourself time to sit down with no distractions and be at your desk with only the job in hand open on your computer. This can quickly engage your brain and you can focus on the important tasks you’re faced with. 

This will help keep you in a productive mindset and on point for a great day!

2. Write a to-do list 

Spend another 5 minutes making a daily quick ‘to-do’ list.  This can be a very useful and productive exercise as you can download your swirling thoughts on to a single piece of paper and allow yourself to think more clearly.

It’s very easy to overthink your tasks and get overwhelmed by the ever-growing disorganised lists that are building up in your head. 

But writing these thoughts all down is not only therapeutic but it can also free up valuable bandwidth and brain space and allow you to think more clearly. We all know it’s a lot easier to become productive when we have a list of tasks to follow and see. 

And who doesn’t love that feeling of satisfaction seeing each task being ticked off and watching our productivity levels rise, leaving you super excited to finish your week.

3. Prioritise your time 

As we all know, running a micro business can leave us extremely busy.   Making sure we get the essential work completed is not just important, its vital. However, if you are lacking that feeling of productivity on a busy day then it can quickly escalate to create more stress. 

Prioritising your time can be a massive stress reliever. This can be a quick and easy way to get yourself into a positive routine, which will help your mindset along with the success of your business. 

This could mean taking 5 minutes to write down the most important goals that you need to meet by the end of the week and setting mini-tasks day on day to ensure you hit the bigger weekly goals. Aiming towards these goals in a priority order will deliver a feeling of increased productivity to both yourself and your business. 

4. Maximise working during your most productive hours 

Along with prioritising your time it is also important to find your most productive time of the day. Everyone is different and for you, this could be first thing in the morning or late afternoon. Finding what works best for you, can lead to a much more productive period of work.  

We all know social media can be tempting to look at first thing in the morning and it’s easy to find ourselves loosing track of time just scrolling through our Instagram and Facebook feeds.

But it’s time to start a new routine.

Waking up and getting straight out of bed, can really make your first few hours of the day way more productive which in turn can make a huge difference to your overall day ahead. 

If you are naturally an early bird, then getting a bigger chunk of work completed first thing will become second nature once you are in a routine and by lunchtime, you can be riding high on the wave of productivity.

Similarly, scheduling in and allowing yourself 15-minute intervals between tasks, this can revitalise your brain and keep that motivated feeling rolling through for the rest of the day.

5. Plenty of Fresh Air and a side order of Exercise

Using the outdoors and exercise can really help to clear your mind and set yourself up for a productive day. 

Planning a timeslot into your day to get out in the fresh air and exercise could make all the difference to your day.  Sticking to a healthy lifestyle will help your overall mood and this can contribute to how productive you’re feeling. 

Exercise doesn’t have to mean overexerting yourself to within an inch of your life, as walking or gentle stretching can also work wonders to help relieve stress and improve the quality of your day.

Moving your body is essential and gives you something else to strive for apart from focusing only on your business.  This will definitely go towards providing you with a healthier work-life balance and consequently increase your overall daily productivity.