Success leaves clues. That is why, as an entrepreneur, you’d be better off tracing the clues that other successful entrepreneurs have left behind instead of trying to reinvent the wheel. As a wise man said, “there’s nothing new under the sun”.
In today’s post, I have collected the advice of 15 successful young entrepreneurs, founders,and CEOs of companies that skyrocketed due to effective strategies, branding, marketing, and work ethic.
1.Focus on Your #1 Task
“Before each workday, I make a list of the top three things that I need to accomplish that will make the biggest impact on moving my business forward. I stay focused on completing each task one at a time, and don’t allow other distractions such as emails or small tasks take over my day.”
Most productivity gurus and teachers will tell you that success lies in discipline and simplicity. Never overwhelm yourself because the state of overwhelm brings procrastination, frustration, and disappointments. Keep your daily schedule simple and focus on your priority tasks!
2. Identify Your Most Productive Hours
“Identify when you are the most productive and focus on the tasks that are the highest priority to complete during that time. To do so, eliminate distractions such as calls and emails, and instead use the time you are at your mental best to accomplish your most important tasks.”
Many entrepreneurs state that 5AM is one of the best hours to start working. For me though, waking up a little later than that makes the entire difference. Therefore, I’d suggest you find your own unique hours and stick to them each day!
3. Pay Close Attention to Deadlines
“Keep two sets of deadlines. Have a master list of when things must be completed and a wish list of when you would prefer things get finished. Setting the bar higher for yourself reduces your chances of dropping the ball and making a mistake, or overlooking an important detail.”
When you don’t clearly establish what you have to do, procrastination tends to kick in. That it is the best if you differentiate the “musts” from the “shoulds”.
4. Develop a Healthy Morning Ritual
“Setting a morning ritual has been instrumental in my daily productivity. Having a nourishing breakfast, getting in a workout, and setting aside time for meditation each morning helps prepare me for my day ahead by helping me stay focused and energized.”
Morning routines rock. You can use your body to wake up at a certain hour, to be hungry at a certain hour, and to work at a certain hour. Plan your morning successfully and your day will be a success.
5. Stay Away from Multitasking
Jonathan Gass, Nomad Financial
“There is no such thing as multitasking – it’s actually rapidly changing tasks, reducing focus, and significantly increasing switching costs. Toavoid the temptation to multitask, turn off all notifications so you control your communication flow. Batch tasks, including email, as much as possible. Create office hours, so you can have undisturbed time toexecute. “
Multitasking is clearly not helpful or effective. If you try to eat, work, and pray at the same time, how well will you achieve these activities? Test your brain with simple multi-tasks and you’ll see, using your common sense, that multitasking is not an appropriate approach.
6. Some Tasks Are Better Deleted Than Rescheduled
OmerPerchik, Any.do
“When you find yourself constantly rescheduling something, you need to ask whether it actually *needs* to be on your task list. The most successful people really know how to focus on their priorities, so they’re comfortable with deleting tasks that aren’t highly relevant. “
Another entrepreneur advises you to clearly differentiate the “important” from the “unimportant”. Be objective while you decide and stop wasting your time with irrelevant tasks.
7. Avoid Distractions by All Means
Shannon Palme, Shannon Palme Web & Graphic Design
“It’s really tempting when you’re acting as your own boss to visit time-sucking websites like Facebook and Reddit, and what you might intend as a 10-minute break can easily turn into losing hours of valuable work time. I use a free extension for Chrome called Block Site, so that I’m not able to visit websites that distract me while I’m working.”
The focus is key to productivity – try to keep it high and you will generate gorgeous results. Get distracted and you’ll be miserable for the rest of the day.
8. Pay Attention to Your Health – Always!
Selena Narayanasamy, Orthris
“You have to build in time to workout and manage your health. A typical day for me involves a set number of working hours, time to actually make or grab something healthy to eat, and I schedule in (yes, actually schedule in) my workout hours. Even though I’m working less, I have a higher output and I’m more responsive and helpful to my clients.”
If you want to be productive, efficient, and successful, you must pay close attention to your health. Eat a lot of “live foods” (raw and organic) – you’ll feel better, you’ll work better, and you’ll be better.
9. Analyze, Measure, and Decide What Makes Your Days Successful
Greg Archbald, GreaseBook
“Ask yourself, ‘what’s the one thing I could accomplish today that would make me satisfied with my day?” Now, block out at 2-3 hours to focus on that one, stinking item.”
Many of us are extremely pretentious with ourselves. That is why, it is useful to ask ourselves whether there’s something, one or two tasks, that if achieved, will give us complete satisfaction.
10. Work Even When/If You Don’t Feel Like It
Mark Gibson, Essay Geeks
“As an entrepreneur for 10 years now, I’ve learned that you have to do things even if you don’t feel like it. There is nobody above you forcing you to do the difficult parts. At some point, I realized this is not school anymore and there is no teacher giving me an assignment that is due next week. Part of becoming an entrepreneur is realizing there is never a right time to do the things you need to do in order to move the business forward.”
Live the present moment and stop creating excuses. When “work gets tough”, it’s only because you’re not giving it your full attention. Your full focus in the sense of concentration on one single thing. Your mind is wandering around, so it’s obvious that there are a difficulty and struggle!
11. Schedule Like You Did In College
Michael Pomposelo, InfluencerConnect
“A task I estimate will take 15 minutes to complete will usually be done in 10 or 15 since I am focused on getting that done during the set time. Without setting a deadline I may wander and do other things causing this one task to take 30 or even 45 minutes.”
Set deadlines and schedule your work under your own rules. Do not let anyone intervene. Lastly, make sure you fully focus.
12. Don’t Answer Your Phone While You Work
Paula Rizzo, Listproducer
“Never, ever answer your phone. Not unless the person on the other line has an appointment to talk to you right at that moment. This will cut down on distractions and derail your day!”
If you want to be a true professional, you must learn to say “no”. Say “no” to distractions such as friends, social media channels, or other possible (less-important) tasks that you have scheduled. Most importantly, as Paula Rizzo says, don’t answer your phone while you work.
13. Prioritize!
Matthew Eagan, ImageFreedom
“Prioritize the things that must happen without forgetting the things that should happen as those always seem to be the biggest revenue generators.”
To reach an objective, you need a roadmap. Plan ahead your tasks and prioritize objectively. When you’re in the process, use both your intellect and intuition to make decisions whether a task is more important than another. Think both short-term and long-term, and you’ll be fine!
14. Leverage the Pomodoro Technique
Shaun Walker, HEROFarm
“Follow the Pomodoro Technique, and move around at least once an hour to get the blood flowing.”
Simply put, the Pomodoro technique supposes 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes of break. For me, it doesn’t work. I must stay focused longer – 50 to 60 minutes will do for me. However, every entrepreneur has a different work style and preference!
15. See ProcrastinationAs Your #1 Demon and Enemy
Vincent Dolliole Jr., successful niche blogger
“So many people my age and younger let procrastination get the best of them. When I don’t feel like doing something I just ask myself this question: “If procrastination was a thief who was blatantly and continually stealing money from me, would I continue to let him do it?” Asking myself that question is usually enough to give me a massive surge of motivation.”
When you procrastinate, you know that you’re under attack.M ediocrity, stagnation, and frustration are knocking at your door. If you’re already a big procrastinator, it means that your unwelcomed guests are already inside, having a great party in your house.
To be productive, effective, and successful in entrepreneurship, you must have an internal monarchy. You must be a sovereign and you must “rule” over your internal kingdom, which is your mindset, attitude, thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Takeaways
Advice is one thing, personal action is another. If you are able to take these successful people’s advice into your life and integrate them as your beliefs, habits, and attitudes, you’re going to change your life forever. Entrepreneurship is not easy – staying on the top of the ladder requires self-knowledge, self-control, and continuous attempts for progress!
