5 Tips For Productivity When You're Self Employed

 
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With many of us having to resort to “work from home” recently, there has been a real productivity slump. Whether you’re getting distracted by the kids, need to feed the dogs, or you just can’t seem to focus on the task at hand, the feeling of unproductivity gets to us all. In this article, we’re sharing 5 tips to increase your at-home productivity when you’re self-employed.

  1. Pre-plan Your Work Time, Then Add 25%

It’s good to account for problems cropping up on any given day. Better yet, plan on it. 

If you have a couple of different things to get through, it could be useful to start your day writing out a list of tasks. 

Think about how long each task will take, then add 25%. For example, if you think it’s going to take an hour, give yourself an hour and a quarter. 

Allowing a little buffer on both sides of your task means that, when the inevitable roadblock occurs, you’ll either have:

  1. Enough time already saved to get right onto solving it

  2. Enough time accounted for in the future to find the solution

And please, for your clients’ and customers’ sakes, prioritize! 

There is nothing more frustrating (as a customer) than not even being able to get a quote from a company.  So whether you’re a creative business owner or you do something totally separate, make time to prioritize the needs of your customers. Having recently moved, we had numerous providers to coordinate. One company was a no show and we won’t be using them.

Because good customer service will ensure that you build repeat business, and getting back to prospects in a timely manner when they are ready to get out their wallet is a simple matter of respect. 

Plus, it costs you almost 7 times more for you to attract a new customer than to convert your current prospect! So don’t go wasting your time or money! 

2. Remember to Take a Break

Giving your brain a little R&R is essential when you’re working on your own. 

Scientifically speaking, taking breaks is actually proven to increase not only your productivity, but also motivation and creativity. As a self-employed person, this can be invaluable. 

This is because when you take a break, you allow your prefrontal cortex to relax from focus. Allowing your prefrontal cortex to relax can mean it won’t suffer from fatigue, and you can feel more productive for longer.

Why not try the Pomodoro method:

  1. Set your phone timer for 25 minutes and get to work

  2. When the timer is up, give yourself a 5 minute break (even if you don’t want to!)

  3. At the end of the break, set yourself another 25 minute timer to work

  4. After 4 25-minute stints, take a longer break. Maybe 30 mins to an hour. 

In fact, getting your body up and moving during your breaks can increase the oxygen levels to your brain and body! While this is great for physical wellbeing, you might also see significant mental health benefits.

3. Automation

One word: Zapier

If you haven’t heard of this all-in-one holy grail automation tool, where have you been?

Zapier links with over 2,000 other useful apps, such as your calendar, google docs and slack to send automatic messages triggered by certain activity. For example, you might set it to:

  • Create a meeting on your calendar when a client books a call

  • Send you a notification of the meeting

  • Send you a reminder, 10 minutes before the meeting

  • Send the client any pre-meeting forms 24-hour prior to the meeting

It’s seriously that easy!

Use it alongside other automation tools to increase productivity and efficiency. Let the machines and the algorithms do the work. 

This eliminates the chance of human error and means that you can more easily scale activities. 

Whether you just need to send a mass email to subscribers, or you just want to cut down the time you’re spending on data entry, there’s always a way to automate.

4. Keep A Tidy Workspace

Being self-employed could find you working from the garden, the kitchen or worse: the bed.  

Even if you don’t have a separate dedicated workspace, does not mean you should allow the area you are using to get cluttered and messy. 

The Journal of Consumer Research found that disorder in your environment leads to a decrease in focus time. During their experiment, participants who were in a clean working environment spent nearly double the time on a task than participants who were in a cluttered room. 

The key is not allowing your workspace to become somewhere you dread to be. So keep it clean and allow your mind to be decluttered too.

5. SMART Goals

Finally, there’s a long-standing notion that setting goals helps us to succeed. Not only in work but activities and sports too. 

Sticking to them can be hard; however, just setting goals and writing them down in the first place can aid your productivity. 

One way to set goals is the SMART method. This encompasses five major characteristics:

  1. Specific: goals must clearly be outlined

  2. Measurable: you know how to tell if you’ve been successful in completing your goal

  3. Achievable: let’s be realistic here

  4. Relevant: does it fit with your overall plans?

  5. Time-based: there should be a clear-cut timeline for when your goal is completed

Making goals transparent and clear are the major factors in improving your productivity. These features make sure that your goals are always at the front of your mind- and can help you celebrate your success, because hitting your goals brings motivation like no other! 


So, how have you been staying productive whilst working from home as a self-employed business owner? Do you swear by certain tips and tricks to boost your motivation and get things done? Book a call with us today, so we can strive to make your money as productive as you are