Are you working over 60 hours a week as a solopreneur but still feel like you are always behind? Or do you feel constantly being distracted and cannot get any work done? Solopreneurs face numerous challenges and being productive is inevitably one of them.
The Challenge of Solopreneurs
Running a business solo presents unique challenges that traditional productivity advice doesn’t address. As a solopreneur, you’re responsible for everything from your strategy to daily, there’s no team to delegate to, no specialized departments to handle specific tasks, and every minute counts. Another big challenge many solopreneurs face which impacts productivity is motivation and discipline. It’s easy to get distracted and procrastinate when you’re the only one keeping yourself on track.
Not to mention that the progress one person can make is significantly slower than a team. You may work for months without seeing much progress, which can be discouraging and make you question whether your efforts are worth it. Let’s explore some tips that can help you increase your productivity as a solopreneur.
Tip 1: Setting clear goals
If you’re not already doing this, it could be why you’re unproductive. Having a clear goal is crucial before you start working on a task or project to make sure that your mind doesn’t wander and get distracted during your work hours.
These goals have to be specific, instead of “doing some keyword research”, it should be “finding 5 low competition, high volume keywords”. “Doing some keyword research” can be anything from doing 15 minutes of keyword research to 5 hours of keyword research. Your focus may start deteriorating and you may start slacking off after 30 minutes because you have “done some keyword research”
Setting not just daily goals, but also weekly and monthly goals can ensure that you are not just being productive, but being productive on the right things by looking at the big picture.
Tip 2: Time blocking
Setting clear goals is not enough, to be productive, you will also need to implement time blocking to effectively allocate your time and ensure that those goals are met. Time blocking involves allocating time slots in your days for a particular task. For example, blocking 2 hours of your day from 9 am to 11 pm for doing keyword research.
From personal experience, time blocking alone might not be effective. I used to implement time blocking in my daily work without setting specific goals, and I ended up procrastinating during those allocated time. Therefore, time blocking should be combined with other strategies to be effective.
One drawback of time blocking is that it can be inflexible. If unexpected crises or events arise, you may have to disrupt your schedule. Another problem with time blocking is that it’s challenging to estimate how long a task will take. If you finish a task ahead of schedule, move on to the next task, or adjust the allocated time for your tasks if you are falling behind.
Remember to include breaks in your schedule and it will take time for you to find your time management strategy. Time blocking is a good strategy to help you be more productive. However, don’t be afraid to abandon your schedule when you are in a flow state and working on what’s important.
Tip 3: Energy management
As mentioned above, including breaks and downtime in your schedule is important. Sometimes we are overly ambitious and overestimate our ability to work for hours without breaks. That’s what I would do, and my concentration would drop off fast, making it tough to keep going.
Making sure that you take regular breaks can prevent burnout, and it’s crucial that you do it before you are totally drained. It takes longer to recover when you are fully depleted.
On top of including regular breaks, one other strategy you can use is to reserve high-energy periods for complex tasks that require more brain power and do more routine tasks like basic administrative work to help you recover but also get more work done. But never replace true breaks with work of any kind.
Tip 4: Growth-Focused Productivity
One of the most common advice regarding productivity is to focus on the right thing. True productivity isn’t about simply completing tasks; it’s about completing tasks that truly matter to your business.
The main goal of solopreneurs is to grow your business and eventually delegate your work to your team. Repetitive daily tasks are unavoidable, but they don’t contribute to business growth. Identify which tasks and projects contribute to growth and which are simply essential repetitions. Prioritize the growth-focused work and automate the rest.
Tip 5: Automation
As a solopreneur, automation is a necessity. When you have to do everything alone, you must devise ways to make things easier by eliminating the need to do repetitive tasks manually. They can eat up your time daily and stop your business from moving forward.
Tasks that you can automate are emails, social media posting, email marketing, appointment scheduling, and answering customers’ queries. Wisely utilize tools and AIs such as chatbots, Buffer, chatGPT, or Gemini to help you develop templates or create prompts for specific tasks. The key is to work smarter, not harder.
Don’t be repulsed by the idea of using technology and tools, they’re designed to enhance and make your life easier, not replace your creativity and the originality of your work.
Tip 6: Keep motivation alive
If you want to be productive, relying on motivation can be futile. Motivation is not everlasting, you will lose motivation throughout the day and along the way of your journey. However, we cannot deny that motivation has a positive impact on productivity.
Find ways to get yourself motivated when you need to get things done or when you feel a bit sluggish. They can be something as simple as watching motivational videos, reminding yourself about your “why”, or imagining how miserable your life will be if you don’t act now.
Surrounding yourself with successful people may be difficult for most, that’s why watching motivational videos from successful entrepreneurs can be an alternative way to stay inspired and maintain your motivation. It’s like getting encouragement from people who are where you want to be; it keeps you going.
Bottomline
As a solopreneur, being productive shouldn’t be the only goal. You should do the right thing in the right order. Productivity as a solopreneur isn’t about doing everything – it’s about doing the right things in the right order. Your time and energy are limited, and you have less room for error, so being productive on the right thing is crucial for the early success of your business.
