Since the COVID-19 pandemic began disrupting industries in many countries around the world, savvy business owners and entrepreneurs have been digging deep into their creativity well to survive. Fortunately, many of the techniques they used have served them well and allowed them to not just stay afloat but actually thrive amid the pandemic.
This stability amid adversity separated the driven and creative business owners from the rest of the pack, which is something that you should strive to replicate. Many of the tricks successful entrepreneurs use throughout the pandemic involve using modern technology, adopting sound business principles, and incorporating new ideas and tools into existing business models and philosophies.
Here are five of the best business productivity hacks that you should explore right now:
Use the right productivity software
Some businesses require only the most basic resources to function well, but some need more than the usual tools to meet high productivity demands.
For example, a trucking or delivery company must have vehicle fleet management software that would allow the person in charge of vehicle maintenance to handle things efficiently. The same software can be used to track maintenance expenses, monitor vehicle statuses, and schedule preventive repairs and other maintenance tasks.
The bottom line is to identify your business’ unique productivity challenges and requirements and to shop for the perfect software that can satisfy all of those needs.
Track your time religiously
Among the most time-honored tricks used by a lot of successful business people and advocated by time management gurus is tracking how one spends every waking hour. For businesses, time is a particularly precious commodity, which is why you should always mind how you use it each day.
You can prevent yourself from wandering aimlessly throughout the day by using a time-tracking app or recording your hourly activities on a spreadsheet. Both of these techniques will help you focus on the things that matter the most to your business, so you’ll hit your productivity quotas like a champ.
Use all possible collaboration and communication tools
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic where face-to-face interactions among individuals not living in the same household are discouraged, having the right tools to communicate with your employees, clients, partners, and suppliers is an advantage. Additionally, it’s equally beneficial if you have different collaboration tools that would allow concerned team members to work together remotely.
There are plenty of online collaboration software tools that you can use to facilitate a seamless experience for all stakeholders. You may opt for the free versions of these handy tools if your budget is limited or go for the paid versions if you have the money for such software. If your business has shifted to a work-from-home setup, then investing in remote collaboration tools is necessary to keep things working smoothly for everyone.
Work piecemeal
The concept of working piecemeal or in short bursts is advocated by a lot of productivity coaches and successful workers for their sheer simplicity of application and positive results. There are plenty of work-break configurations that you can try, so it should be a pretty exciting little experiment on your end.
For example, you can work for straight 25 minutes and then pause for 5 minutes to make a call, go to the restroom, grab a quick bite, or just do some light stretching. You can do this at least three times and then increase the break period on the fourth one before beginning another cycle.
The key takeaway here is to discipline yourself to focus on a specific task without any interruptions and then to reward yourself at the end of each burst of activity. There’s no hard and fast rule on the right work-break ratio, so feel free to discover what works best for you.
Delegate and break down tasks
One cannot expect to still be in A1 condition after doing everything single-handedly just because one wants perfection or thinks that handing over responsibilities to employees is too big a risk to take.
If you wish to make sure that things get done quickly and efficiently and if you want your employees to feel empowered, then be sure to delegate tasks and break them down into bite-size pieces. With proper delegation and task management, you can expect your business to run smoothly throughout the pandemic if you do these two tricks.
Managing a business in the middle of a global pandemic will be tough. But with these sensible and simple tricks, you can easily achieve the business success that others can only dream of.
