When you’re running a business, time is money – almost literally. Odds are you’ll find that the amount of time you have in a day isn’t nearly enough to do all the things that you want to do, and before you know it you will be behind schedule and wondering where half the day went.
If you’ve ever felt that way, then the truth is that most of the time that just ‘flew by’ was probably wasted. Between checking an alert on your smartphone, clicking a funny link someone sent you via email, or browsing YouTube videos – you probably spent a lot more time idle than you intended to.
While that might not matter all that much (to you at least) when you’re in a 9 to 5 job, when you’re running your own business it means that a lot of time was spend on things that aren’t going to help you to make ends meet and grow your business. That is why you need to know how to be more productive and stay on track:
- Prioritize everything
If you don’t already have a list of all the things that you need to do – make one. Then go over that list and prioritize each and every one of those items. As you do you’ll probably find that there are some you can cross off entirely because they aren’t really all that important after all. By prioritizing you should end up with a shorter list that you can focus on properly.
- Get into a regular morning routine
Try to get into the habit of waking up at a regular hour and giving yourself at least an hour to bathe, eat breakfast, read the papers, and do anything else that relaxes you before you start your day. The effect that a morning routine can have on your energy levels is profound, and will help you to then jump into work and be as productive as possible.
- Eliminate distractions
Distractions are the bane of every entrepreneur – and you should eliminate as many as possible. That is why it helps to use a dedicated ‘work’ email (and ignore your personal one while you’re working), and the same goes for other forms of communication. The hours that you’re working should be focused on work alone, and you can handle anything else during your breaks.
- Take regular breaks
While the exact amount (and duration) of breaks that you should take is something that is hotly debated – suffice to say, you should find what works for yourself. In general it helps to take more regular breaks so that you can reenergize yourself and come back feeling a little bit fresher. For example, start by trying a 5 minute break every hour or something along those lines.
- Set mini-goals and deadlines
One excellent way to keep yourself on-track and motivated is by setting mini-goals for yourself along with deadlines. Ideally these goals should be something that is achievable in the short-term (i.e. daily, or even hourly), and will help you to feel as if you’re working towards something constantly.
- Figure out what helps you relax most
To improve the effectiveness of your breaks, you should try to figure out what helps you to relax most. It could be that you simply want to sit back in your chair and listen to music, or you may want to walk outside, or something else entirely. Being able to improve your relaxation will help to directly improve your performance when you come back from your break.
- Be your own worst critic
At the end of the day there’s no boss to keep tabs on you or critic you – so you need to do that job too. It is up to you to evaluate your performance and productivity, critique it, and try to find ways to improve on it. That is part of the self-improvement that you need when you’re running a business.
Regardless of the type of business you’re running, these ways of being more productive will definitely come in handy. If you’re just getting started in trading then being more productive will help you to learn the ropes faster, figure out the ins and outs of all the different financial markets, and apply what you’ve learnt to generate more profits from trading on them.
Having a platform such as ETX Capital will give you the access you need to trade across multiple financial markets, but at the end of the day it is up to you to take advantage of it. All the tools are right there, and by improving your productivity you will be able to take advantage of them better and start to make more successful trades as you improve yourself.
