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Thanks for coming back for another useful post about running your online business! Today’s topic is a particularly valuable one – it’s all about tips to maximize productivity at work and staying sane while working from home. We (Jen and Elke) will share our six best tips that we use to work from home without burnout because we practise work life balance.
We’ve been working remotely on our online businesses since 2008, so we have a lot of knowledge to share on this topic. We’re aware of all the distractions that exist when you work from home and how hard it can be to stay disciplined and be productive. Hopefully, these tips will assist you not only from a maximize productivity at work standpoint but also in enhancing your work life balance so that you can ensure that you are doing the self care that’s so important to be a successful entrepreneur long-term.
Followings are the tips on how to focus on work and to maximize productivity at work ,and mindset.
The first tip maximize productivity at work and mindset, we want to share is to take regular breaks. We recommend using the Pomodoro Technique, which follows a model where you work for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break. Do this four times and then take a longer break before repeating the process.
You use a tomato timer for 25 minutes and set a priority for each working stretch. Taking short breaks actually makes you more productive in the long run, and having a timed, 25-minute working spurt helps you be more focused on the task at hand.
As humans, we need breaks, and doing this actually makes you more efficient overall. Think of it as training yourself to speed-read, but in the context of how you work.
The next tip to maximize productivity at work is to create your to-do list in advance. That way, once your scheduled work time starts you know what you have to do and get right to it. You won’t have to waste a moment figuring out what to work on. Your priorities will be all laid out, and you can highlight things or cross them off your list as you finish them, which will instill a wonderful sense of accomplishment.
Having a list in front of you gives you a sense of what needs to be done on any given day and you can even zero in on the top three things that you want to focus on for the day, which is also helpful because it creates a sense of urgency. As long as you get those three things done, the day is a success! It’s helpful to choose the three things that will move your business forward the most.
Cutting down on time wasters will make a huge difference in maximizing productivity level. A great way to do this is to work for a week and monitor what distractions are present and what tasks are a time-waster. Anything that takes up a lot of energy that doesn’t move your business forward can be categorized as such.
If you find from this activity that you’re procrastinating on things that must get done, consider whether you can outsource those items to take them off of your plate. Perhaps doing so will transfer them to someone whose forte is in that task.
As you examine your week of work, it’s important to be truthful with yourself – are you procrastinating on things because they’re not in your wheelhouse or because you’re goofing off?
Now we’re moving into our mindset tips! These are aimed to help you enhance your mental health, which is so important, especially for business owners. So as the first mindset tip, make sure you schedule an hour of self-care each day.
This is time to decompress and unwind on a subconscious, emotional, physical, spiritual, and social level. Do whatever feels good for you and makes you happy – some ideas are to journal, take a bubble bath, read a book, or take a walk. It’s up to you and your personal preference!
Your mental health and having time to unwind are so important to your overall efficiency, so make sure the time you schedule for this is at least an hour and is prioritized.
Another important thing you can do for your mindset and productivity is set boundaries. These help keep your work-life balance aligned with you and your needs. As business owners, we work a lot and have many freedoms, but with that comes the tendency to put a lot of pressure on ourselves.
Because of that, we sometimes overcompensate and we need to make sure that what we’re doing makes sense for our paths. We want to do a good job and that yearning can sometimes cause us to forsake other parts of our lives.
Remember that your life balance has to nurture your work balance, which is why boundaries are so important. To instill strong boundaries, schedule your work hours to be when you’re at your most productive.
Also, be honest with yourself and only schedule the things you can realistically accomplish. Over-scheduling yourself can lead to feeling defeated and demoralized, so setting feasible expectations is paramount.
Finally, ask yourself if it’s time to outsource tasks if you’re feeling overwhelmed. While it can be hard to do, realizing your own limits is important. Remember that you can get help if you need it – for instance, hiring a virtual assistant (VA) to take over some quick-hit tasks.
Our last tip is to communicate clear expectations with other people in your home or circle of friends. This helps eliminate any feelings of guilt when you’re working and people aren’t respecting the time and space that you need.
As a business owner, you have visions and goals, but others may not understand what you’re doing or the way your online business works. In fact, sometimes dismiss online businesses or creatives as “not a real job.”
In those moments, it’s so vital to stand up for yourself and make sure those around you understand and respect your business and the way you work. Communicate about this clearly and remember that your job is just as important as any other!
Striking the right balance between efficiency hacks and getting your mindset in the right place is key to working smarter instead of harder. We hope that these tips make a difference in the way you work and allow you to streamline things on the day-to-day.
Thank you so much for reading!
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Official Website: https://jenandelkeclarke.com/
Jen’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/msjenclarke/
Elke’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elkeclarke/
Pomodoro Technique: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique
Tomato Timer free option: https://www.focusboosterapp.com/
Christine’s insight on using a VA: https://youtu.be/17Gh5hkhlqc
Episode #62 – Scale your Zazzle business with a VA: Interview with a Gold ProDesigner – Christine: https://elkeclarke.com/how-to-scale-your-zazzle-business-62/
The Profit by Design Academy® Coaching Program: https://elkeclarke.com/startandscale/
Jen and Elke Clarke are a mother-daughter duo that empowers women entrepreneurs to make money online. Through courses and coaching, Jen and Elke help women (and men) become successful creative entrepreneurs on Zazzle and e-commerce. Combined Jen and Elke have sold over 15 million dollars-worth of products, and earned over $1.5 million combined through their businesses on Zazzle. Jen and Elke have influenced and transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with their free content, paid and private coaching.
They are international, award-winning authors. Click the links to purchase their books through Amazon: Earn Around The World and Create Online and Grow Rich.
Jen and Elke Clarke have been featured in Yahoo Finance as TOP 5 e-commerce coaches.
If you want to see how Zazzle can change your life, gain more free time, work from anywhere, and have uncapped income potential — join now.
