My Top Productivity Tips for Online Entrepreneurs
After being self-employed as a digital nomad offering online freelance services for the past 5+ years, I’ve learned what works well in terms of productivity (and what doesn’t)!
Making the transition out of a 9-5 office job and into entrepreneurial life took some getting used to. Working from my laptop at my kitchen table felt a little awkward when there were dishes and laundry distracting me in my line of vision.
That said, I came up with a solid routine and stuck to it. Being able to focus and be productive as an online entrepreneur is critical. You need to get your important tasks done to keep your client projects moving forward.
The benefit of being productive? When your main tasks are complete, you can go off and enjoy the rest of your day! That sounds like my kind of work environment. :)
Here are my top productivity tips for online entrepreneurs:
1. Plan out your week on Sunday night or Monday morning.
2. Don’t hold meetings with clients or team unless necessary (communicate via text or audio message through Slack, Voxer, or WhatsApp).
Take your phone with you so you can message from anywhere if needed.
3. Don’t respond to messages after 6 pm unless they’re urgent, in which case, get your a** up and reply!
5. Follow the “ONE Thing” method to get clear on your priorities (this changed the game for me years ago).
You can find The ONE Thing book by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan on Amazon or any bookstore.
6. Outsource admin tasks to a virtual assistant. When you are ready to hire support for your business, this can be extremely helpful to free up time and allow you to work on higher-level items on your to-do list.
7. Fuel yourself with clean food and sleep. “Hustle and grind” culture where you sleep for 2 hours per night is so 2015.
Being well-rested improves your productivity by leaps and bounds, and also puts you in a better mood.
Plus, fueling yourself properly with clean foods that keep your energy up (versus draining it) and keep you from hitting an ‘energy crash.’
Remember, you DO have to work and you should always be accountable to clients, but you can set up strong systems, boundaries, and workflows to free up time and take control over your schedule.
Because especially if you wanted to become a digital nomad so you could travel more, you need free time to actually enjoy the place you’re traveling to!
This is where setting up your schedule properly, prioritizing the needle-moving tasks, and staying accountable to your work + clients are important so you can have a solid work/life/travel balance.
