Productivity for Entrepreneurs | Tech-Talk Tuesday

The longer I run a business, the more I become aware of how precious an entrepreneur’s time truly is! Between answering emails, scheduling social media posts, writing new content for the blog, scheduling shoots, editing, and all the other tasks that consume my time – it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of hats I’m required to wear on a daily basis!

This year, I made a professional goal to be as productive as possible and I’ve discovered three main practices that have absolutely changed my life! They may seem like simple things, but it’s amazing how much time you get back when you’re strategic and disciplined in certain areas of your routine!

Practice #1: Schedule Out Time to Respond to Emails

Rather than leaving my inbox open all day, I have found that I am far more productive when I schedule out two to three thirty minute segments to respond to email messages throughout the course of a standard business day! I start my mornings with a quick email blast around 8:30am, (followed by a second round before lunch at 11:30am on Mondays and Tuesdays when my inbox is more full!) and then closing out the day with another thirty minute segment. Emails that aren’t answered by the end of the day, roll over to the following morning where they are my priority!

When I put a finite amount of time to get something done, I’m more likely to accomplish it within that limited time frame! For those of you who leave your inbox open in a tab on your browser all day – Think about how much time is often wasted looking through the messages you need to answer, perhaps even reading a few and then marking them unread until you “have time” to answer them! You may even end up reading that email two or three times before you actually respond to it and in doing so… procrastinate your way into feeling overwhelmed by an ever growing inbox!

If you have less time to get something done, you’re going to intentionally knock them out without wasting any time in doing a “preview read” and allowing emails you’ve already received sit idly waiting for a response!

Practice #2: Setting Time Limits on Social Media

I love Social Media. I really, really, really do. I’m notorious for hopping on Facebook for a quick update and getting lost in ongoing conversations, forums, and my friend’s statuses. Or jumping on Instagram to post a sneak peek and getting lost in all the beautiful images that my friends are sharing. I blink and an entire hour can go by… just like that! I know if I struggle with this, I’m not alone!

A few weeks ago, I started limiting myself to twenty minute segments on Social Media thereby forcing myself to be more intentional with my time! During business hours, I strive to look at Social Media as a marketing tool only and treat my time online as a business practice. When I feel tempted to allow social media to serve as a distraction, it’s often because I’m procrastinating something else that I really should be spending my time on… and that’s where my limits serve as the discipline I need to stay productive!

I use the timer application on my phone to hold me accountable for my twenty minute segments, although I officially added this adorable Vintage Kitchen Timer to my wish-list. It’s aqua blue. Can you blame me? Ah! So cute!

If you struggle to stay away from websites like Facebook and Twitter, consider downloading the Self Control App that actually blocks you from accessing those websites for a pre-determined set of time! I used to rely on this software in college when I had papers to write and needed to stay focussed. It allows you to set your “Domain Blacklist” of websites you aren’t allowed to access and then set a timer for how long the application will need to block the sites. I have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and a few others on that list and apply it once my twenty minutes of social media time is over!

Practice #3: Creating and Utilizing Templates

This is, hands down, one of the biggest time savers! Whenever I have to write out the same email response three times, I know it’s time to create a template for that particular message!

It’s actually quite simple to do using a program like Google Canned Responses! Once you have all of your email templates saved, all you have to do is click the template to insert the pre-written portion of the email. Then you can write out a personalized introduction and include any additional information that pertains to that particular email message. I talk more about this in my Emailing for Entrepreneurs post from earlier this spring if you’d like more information!

I apply this same template philosophy to frequently asked questions and have created pages directly on my website that answer those topics which seem to pop up from week to week! When multiple photographers emailed me asking how I handle Rainy Wedding Days for instance, I wrote a blog post about it and created an email template that directs them to my Tech-Talk Tuesday post where they can find more information! I apply this same method to all frequently asked questions for photographers and clients alike!

I hope today’s post helps to show you ways that I’ve changed my business to give me more of my life back! And just a reminder that as a participant in the Amazon Associates Program all purchases made from the links in this post help to fund the free Educational Content that I share on Tech-Talk Tuesdays!

If you’re struggling with productivity, you aren’t alone! Every few months, I try to look at what I’m doing well and where I’m wasting precious time. It used to take me four to six weeks to deliver a wedding and last year I got that time down to an average of seven to ten business days… simply by developing stronger systems and analyzing ways to be more productive when I’m in the office!