As entrepreneurs, there is always more work to be done.
There are marketing campaigns to create, employees to pay, contracts to create, processes to polish, deals to find, and leads to follow up with.
It’s not unusual to find yourself working more for your own business than you did when you were an employee for someone else.
Partly, that’s because you enjoy the work. But mostly, it’s because you are the end-all of your business. The buck starts and stops with you. If someone quits, if a deal falls through, if your business doesn’t hit its financial goals, then it’s your job to fix it.
Just as we need to make sure that we’re not burning ourselves out form working too much, we also need to make sure that we’re being productive during our work hours.
Easier said than done, of course.
So here are 3 strategies I’ve discovered for increasing energy and getting more done in less time.
Hope it helps!
1. Take a Cold Shower
Many successful people swear by the powers of taking a cold shower.
And I don’t blame them!
It seems a little silly, but taking a cold shower, hopping in an ice bath, or even splashing your face with cold water can feel reinvigorating.
To be fair, there’s not a ton of peer-reviewed science on the power of cold showers, but you tell me… does taking a freeze cold shower sound like something that’s going to make you more alert and clear-headed?
And if you’re shaking your head, then you clearly haven’t tried it.
You might be surprised at just how much it affects your mood and your productivity — I know I was!
2. Build a Habit Around Your Tasks
Every day, you’re going to have a lot of stuff to do.
Some of the things you do will be recurring tasks (like sending mailers or following up with leads) and some of them will be one-off tasks (like looking over applications or creating internal processes).
This can make it difficult to create any sort of consistency from day to day.
Still, as much as possible, building daily habits around the tasks you need to tackle (and encouraging your employees to do the same!) is a great way to make sure everyone is being as productive as possible.
And the longer that you stick with those work habits, the easier work will be to accomplish — it’ll become almost automatic. This works particularly well for recurring tasks, and you might consider setting an hour or two aside every day to work on one-off tasks as well.
3. Set Clear Working Hours
If you work at the same time every day — say, from 9 to 5 — then work will be easier during that time… because you’ll mentally train your mind to expect to work.
Creating a little routine before you dive into work is also a good idea — grabbing a cup of coffee, listening to a specific song, or reading a quote, for example. With enough repetition, that routine will act as a trigger telling your brain that it’s time to get to work.
But that’s not the only benefit.
Having clear working hours also encourages you to finish your work within that time-frame so you don’t have to work afterward.
Whereas if you just “work when you need to,” you might end up missing out on family time because you were unproductive during your designated work-time.
Entrepreneurs are busy.
I get it.
But these three strategies will help you increase your energy when it matters most so that you’re consistent in your execution of mission-critical tasks.