Running your own business can be a dream come true. You get to do things in your own time, in your own way. You can fill a gap in the market, and you can learn from the mistakes that you’ve seen others make. You can work with flexibly, setting your own hours and schedule. Running your own business gives you the chance to do something that you love and be your own boss. At the start, it really can feel like an amazing change.
Then, as you settle into working for yourself, things can start to change. Many people that go from a life as an employee to working for themselves find that they miss structure. They often struggle to be productive and get things done without some standing over them or setting them targets. They falter, they are uninspired, and they struggle to keep their business going with the same intensity that it had in the exciting first few months. A key to success and sustained growth is often finding ways to be more productive, working smarter, and getting more done with your time.
Outsource
If you can afford it, and you find that you are struggling for time, outsource. It’s a great way to get more experts involved in your company, without having to pay them all of the time. It’s also a great way to cover for any gaps in your skills and knowledge. If you find that you spend all of your days putting some tasks off, or sweating over a small job that you just don’t have the skills for, outsource it. Save yourself time and lower your stress levels by outsourcing to experts and freelancers.
Some jobs, like content creation, can be outsourced to freelancers. But, for more complex things like group benefits outsourcing to a company can be more effective.
Set Yourself Goals
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You don’t need a manager to set yourself goals. You can do it yourself. Having a list of things that you want to get done each day, as well as some bigger things to achieve in the next week or month can help you to stay motivated and focused. You might also want to set some long-term goals for the future.
Work with Structure
When we work for ourselves, we often get overwhelmed by the idea of all of the flexibility. But, it can make you terribly unproductive. You don’t need to work 9-5 Monday to Friday if that doesn’t suit your lifestyle, but it is a good idea to have some structure. Try to work on the same days and times each week. Give yourself set lunch breaks and try to stick to a routine as much as you can.
Tidy Up
Is your office a mess? This can make it hard to concentrate and get things done. Take your time to tidy up your desk, the desktop of your computer, and even your email inbox. This will make it easier to be productive and save you time in the future. You might also want to set up your own systems and ways of doing things so that the mess doesn’t return in the future.
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