from http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/09/living/increase-productivity-at-work/index.html
(Business Insider) -- Starting and maintaining a small business takes an exceptional amount of work, and time is a precious commodity. That's why most successful entrepreneurs have developed a few tricks along the way to increase their productivity and effectiveness.
We asked entrepreneurs
across industries to share their favorite productivity hacks, from
useful organization apps to clever tricks for cutting down meeting
times.
These simple habits have proven to enhance their focus, organization, and happiness, all of which fuel their success:
1. Beth Doane, founder of Raintees, lets all calls go to voicemail.
In 2008, Doane created
Raintees, an apparel line that plants a tree in an endangered rainforest
for every shirt sold and donates school supplies to a child in need for
every tote bag sold.
Leading a growing company
requires her full focus. Doane lets all of her non-scheduled calls go
to voicemail, or else she would never get anything done, she says.
"I tend to return calls
at the end of the day, and if someone really needs to reach me I have my
assistant's info on my voicemail and let her decide if it's really an
'important' call."
2. Eric Casaburi, founder and CEO of Retro Fitness, multitasks by combining a "brainless" activity with a "brain-required" activity.
Casaburi founded the
first Retro Fitness in 2004 as an affordable gym for fitness buffs of
all intensity levels. His franchise now has locations across the country
and continues to grow.
He thinks multi-tasking is key for productivity, but only if it combines a mindless task with one that requires focus.
"For example, you could
exercise on a treadmill, while taking a conference call (something that I
do frequently)," he says. "Yes, you will be winded, but I assure you it
won't affect your thinking and communication skills. In fact, there are
studies that show the brain neurons fire off at a higher rate while
active!"
3. Jamie Wong, founder and CEO of Vayable, schedules three non-work-related activities a week that nothing can interfere with.
Vayable is a San
Francisco-based travel firm that connects travelers with locals who
serve as tour guides. Its network includes over 600 destinations around
the world.
Wong says that she's
found schedules and daily plans regularly get broken, so she started
keeping three things in her life that she sticks to no matter what. She
commits to one activity in each of the categories "Create," "Love," and
"Grow." Right now, for example, she's learning how to play songs on her
guitar (Create), keeping Thursday and Saturday nights reserved for
friends (Love), and taking boxing lessons (Grow).
"I've discovered that
few things are more powerful in personal growth than sports," she says.
"I block off Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings now for boxing
training. Not only is it an amazing workout, but the mental and physical
discipline it requires is a great exercise and metaphor for achieving
anything outside of my comfort zone... I find that boxing, like many
sports, is always a powerful metaphor for life and business, and I am
able to draw on its power throughout the week."
4. Doug Quint, co-founder of Big Gay Ice Cream, books his flights based on the availability of WiFi.
Quint and Bryan Petroff
started selling gourmet ice cream from a rented truck in the summer of
2009 as a fun side project. Big Gay Ice Cream quickly gained a devoted
following throughout New York, and the pair opened up a proper shop in
the city in 2011, followed by another the next year. The brand's fanbase
continues to expand, and the Daily Beast and USA Today ranked it the
best ice cream parlor business in the U.S. last year.
To make the most of his time spent traveling, Quint always makes sure he will have access to a WiFi network.
"There's usually no
guarantee at the time of booking that I'll need Internet access — but if
I can't sleep and there's work to be done that hinges on connectivity,
it seems like a week's worth of work can be done during those hours at
24,000 feet," he says.
5. Kate McKeon, founder of Prepwise and Prepwise Games, utilizes Fancy Hands' assistants-for-hire.
McKeon was a longtime
consultant who turned to the education world when she became an
instructor at Manhattan GMAT in 2008. In 2012, she founded her own test
prep company, Prepwise, for students taking the SAT and GMAT.
As the leader of two
small startup teams, McKeon has to take care of a constant stream of
tasks. She turned to Fancy Hands' assistant services a year ago and has
said it's significantly boosted her productivity.
"In some cases, I have
them do preliminary research on market segments so I can make a
high-level decision very quickly," she says. "In other cases, I break up
a very complicated project into small enough pieces that can be done
with a series of tasks. I had them sort through a 15,000 word glossary
for wrong words, and it only took two days."
6. Joe Silverman, founder of New York Computer Help, has a rewards system for achieving his goals throughout the day.
Silverman founded New
York Computer Help in 2000, and now his team of 25 repairs computers,
smartphones, and tablets. He places an emphasis on customer service and
personally follows up with as many customers as he can.
When Silverman became
his own boss, he wanted to find a way to motivate himself. The answer
was a simple reward system — with an emphasis on snacks.
"Complete the blog and
get a mini-chocolate," he says as an example. "Call up all customers who
would like additional IT services and buy coffee from Dunkin Donuts.
Reach my daily sales goal and eat a protein bar. The key for me is to
stick to these incentives. If I don't accomplish a goal, well, I don't
get the reward."
7. Roger J. Hamilton, founder of the XL Group, categorizes every task as a "project" or a "process" and then strictly manages them.
Hamilton was born in
Hong Kong and is now based in Singapore. He conducts motivational "Fast
Forward Your Business" tours around the world each year and owns
businesses in publishing, property, financing, event and resort
management, and business coaching. He founded the XL Group entrepreneur
network in 2002, which has included members like Air Asia founder Tony
Fernandez and Nobel Prize winner Muhammed Yunus.
Hamilton wants to spend
most of his time growing his business rather than maintaining it. That's
why he and his team members categorize every task as either a project
or a process, and he then automates or outsources as many processes as
possible so that he can focus on growing his brand. Answering emails,
for example, is a constant process and one that can easily be handed off
to an assistant so that he has more time to take care of high-level
decisions.
8. Mona Bijoor, founder of Joor, skips the gym and incorporates exercise into her daily routine.
In 2010, Bijoor started
Joor as an online global marketplace for wholesale buying for fashion
retailers. It is based in New York City and now has offices in Los
Angeles and Milan, Italy.
Bijoor works fitness into her busy days, which start at 6:30 a.m. when her young daughters wake her up.
"I make my girls
breakfast and while they are eating I generally do 100 sit ups or 100
push ups," she says. Then she takes the train into the city with her
husband. "I get off two subway stops earlier than my normal stop and
walk 20 blocks to work so I can log some steps on my Fitbit. This is all
the exercise I get during the day, so I take full advantage of NYC
being such a great walking city."
9. Bobby Harris, founder and president of BlueGrace Logistics, keeps meetings as short as possible.
BlueGrace Logistics
offers transportation, technology, freight, and logistics services to
companies. In 2011, it launched a program to sell franchises in all 50
states, and in 2012, Inc. magazine named it the No. 1 logistics and
transportation company in the country.
Harris hates meetings
because he thinks they waste time, but he knows that sometimes they're
necessary. He's found a way to make the most of them.
"Never accept a meeting
without a clear agenda and then ask how long they need," he said.
"Whatever amount of time is requested cut it in half! For instance, if
someone asks for 30 minutes, give them 15. Start and stop your meeting
on time, every time."
10. Priscila Barros, founder of Babiekins Magazine, makes sure her desk is always clean.
When Barros was a
22-year-old mom, she decided to start an online fashion magazine for
kids. Babiekins took off when Vogue Kids Brasil covered it, and now it's
advertised as the leading children's fashion magazine in the U.S.
Barros thinks entrepreneurs should not underestimate the benefits of a clean desk.
"I have made it a habit
to put things away and keep folders for different tasks," she says. "And
once a task is done, I check it off. It helps my mind keep focused on
that 'one thing' to do instead of looking at the long list of must-dos."
11. Carlo Ruggiero, co-founder of Kono Pizza, gets back to work once his family is asleep.
Ruggiero founded Kono
Pizza USA as the American branch of the company Italian chef Rossano
Boscolo started in 2002. Boscolo has expanded the cone-shaped pizza
franchise to 19 countries, and Ruggiero is in charge of locations in New
Jersey, North Carolina, and Florida.
Ruggiero goes back to work at night as a way to focus and get extra work done.
"At night when my family
is asleep, I work uninterrupted for at least two to three hours," he
says. "These few extra hours have been extra productive because I sleep
better knowing I've done all I can that day, but more importantly, it
decreases my 'to do' list for the next morning."
To see more productivity hacks, visit BusinessInsider.com.
