6 Small Business Productivity Hacks

No matter the size of a business, productivity is key to overall longevity. As a small business owner, you have to take special care that you make the most of every second of operational hours. If you struggle to maximize your time and energy, then gain some insight into boosting your productivity.

Hold Employees Accountable

Even if you only have a few employees for your organization, hold each of them accountable for their time on the clock. While you can use software and tools to keep track of how your employees spend their time, it's best to work with employees to create specific goals and objectives for them to complete.

Be sure to break down these goals and objectives for both the long- and short-term.

Additionally, make sure employees know how their goals contribute to your company's overall success. Knowing where and how their job duties fit can serve as a powerful motivator and source of encouragement.

Automate Tasks Whenever Possible

With the way technology has advanced over the years, you can automate more tasks than ever.

List all your business operations, then do some research to see which you can automate. Be sure you consider outsourcing services like a live phone answering service. By outsourcing, you can tap experienced and educated professionals like a Virtual Receptionist to help your business blossom, which can save you a lot of time and money.

The more outsourcing and automating you can do, the more you free yourself and your employees up for other tasks.

Get Rid of Anything That Wastes Time

Just as advanced technology can save time, it can also waste time. Social media, online quizzes, and other such sites can become serious productivity annihilators, but only if you let them.

Some web browser extensions help increase productivity by limiting the amount of time you're allowed to look at specific sites, so make good use of them for yourself and your employees. When it comes to your phone, schedule it, so you don't receive notifications during work hours.

You (or your employees) may find it hard to resist the temptation to look at your phone, even with notifications turned off. If so, consider putting your phone away in a place where you won't be tempted to look at it.

Make Good Use of Collaboration Tools

Help your employees work together by implementing the use of collaboration tools. That way, your team has an easier time of knowing who's doing what task and how long it's likely to take to finish a task.

Also, collaboration tools, like Agile software, make it easy for your employees to share documents, files, images, and the like and edit them when necessary. Know that such tools keep everyone accountable for their specific objectives, tasks, and goals.

Focus on Efficiency

When both completing and assigning tasks, concentrate on efficiency. Besides streamlining tasks as much as possible, focus on the order of importance, especially during times when business is booming. As you order assignments to maximize efficiency, be honest about your capabilities as well as your employees' capabilities.

For instance, if you are at your most productive during the morning, schedule more intensive tasks first thing in the morning and leave lighter tasks for later on in the workday.

Create Proper Working Conditions

It's hard to get any work done when your chair is uncomfortable, there's a lot of ambient noise, or the office is too cold or too hot. Create favorable working conditions for yourself and your employees, asking your workers if there is anything specific that they need from a sensory perspective to get their work done.

Proper productivity goes a long way in helping you fulfill your company's full potential. See how these tips work for you and your employees.

How do you keep your productivity high?