2020 is nearly here, which means it’s time to reflect on what you want to do better with your business in the new year. You might make resolutions to kick off the year tied to things in your personal life that you want to change. However, you can also make a list of productivity resolutions to help drive more significant improvements in how you work.
Change your time management processes.
Your time management process shouldn’t focus on working longer and harder. All this will do is lead to burnout. Instead, resolve to work smarter. Rather than create more tasks, limit what you do each day to a few specific goals.
To ensure you work smarter in 2020, focus on processes like time blocking and digital calendar planning. Only concentrate on time-sucking activities, such as emails and social media, once a day so you can focus your energy on the tasks that drive your business.
Get the hard stuff done first.
There are always those tasks each day that most of us would like to avoid, but they must be addressed. The best way to do this is to tackle it first thing. Otherwise, it will be on your mind all day. The dread attached to it will continue to build while motivation diminishes. That takes away from the mental and physical energy you could be using to sign a new client or wrap up a project.
Finishing the hard stuff first means it’s done and you can move on to all the other tasks that you actually enjoy. It’s a weight off your mind and shoulders, which can be an instant productivity boost.
Track time.
Every year, you might get to the last month on the calendar and wonder where all the time went. One of the best productivity resolutions to have for 2020 is to do a better job of tracking your time. There are apps for your computers and mobile devices that help you monitor the minutes and hours of each day.
By accounting for what you do every minute of the day can be a game-changer for achieving more of your productivity resolutions. You’ll instantly know where you might have been wasting time on unnecessary activities. Audit your time on a weekly or monthly basis to find places where you can do better.
Make more time for yourself.
Business owners get into the mindset that they have to keep working around the clock, or their business won’t survive. Gig workers race to take on as many gigs as possible to fill their days and weeks to ensure they hit their income goals. Sound familiar?
If it does, then you also know you’ve left no time for yourself to step away from work-mode. Even machines break down over time when they are run around the clock without a break. Those 70 hours behind the computer screen hunched over a screen will hit you through what are now becoming serious health problems. Yes, there’s even a name for the neck and back pain now: Tech Neck. Even worse, articles are reporting increased health risks from working too much.
If you are working too much, the fact may be one of the most crucial productivity resolutions you’ll ever make. Giving yourself a break each week to rest, exercise, pursue a hobby and socialize. These activities will recharge your mental batteries to take on your business with greater motivation. It will feel exciting to return to work after enjoying some downtime.
John Rampton
John’s goal in life is to make people’s lives much more productive. Upping productivity allows us to spend more time doing the things we enjoy most. John was recently recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as being one of the top marketers in the World. John is co-founder and CEO of Calendar.