What & What Not to Avoid. #7 Productivity Hacks for Entrepreneurs Hard work and dedication play their part in the entrepreneurial success but the mindfulness of doing things at the right time determines one's level of productivity

Despite working beyond office hours, the hard-working business leaders often end up feeling unaccomplished. A gnawing feeling at the back of their mind keeps questioning their productivity. A time comes when they start spending most part of their day at work, ultimately destroying their social life and mental health.

Serial entrepreneur Elon Musk had recently admitted working 17-plus hours each day of the week before confirming that the habit is taking a toll on his health. Enthusiastic entrepreneurs with the goal of success in their minds want to follow the same route and overlook what is at stake. While hard work and dedication play their part in the success, it is doing the right thing at the right time that determines one's level of productivity.

Here are 7 hacks to improve the productivity of entrepreneurs:

Digital Devices

Smartphones have changed our lives, for better or for worse, can't be said. On one hand, these tiny devices have time and again worked as saviours by working as a convenient medium to reach the needed individual or entity but at the same time have worked as the biggest distraction by popping notifications continuously.

Not only do these activities break the individual's focus but successfully ruining the outcome. The co-founder of Wakefit.co, Chaitanya Ramalingegowda believes that if one avoids these distractions for at least some part of the day, "A lot can get completed and the quality of output is also quite good when one focuses and thinks deeply about the problem."

Multi-tasking

Entrepreneurs have a tendency of trying to complete more tasks in less time. With so much on their plates, multitasking seems like the only good option to accomplish it all. What they overlook is the fact that multiple things occupying your head at one time slow its processing in comparison to one.

"A simple approach is to take up one task and take it to completion, rather than have 6 tasks at various stages of completion. That never works and is a waste of human potential," Ramalingegowda added. While keeping a check of tasks to be done is good, starting them all together could turn out to be a blunder.

Work-life Balance

Reaching the serenity of one's abode after a long day of work is not soothing for those who can't differentiate between office and home. As Ramalingegowda correctly pointed out, the cliché advice of 'not taking work home' is probably very hard to implement by most job roles as entrepreneurs today have blurred the boundaries between work and family time.

"It takes a bit of discipline to say that you will definitely complete all the pending things by a certain time or that certain time is sacrosanct for spending with kids and so on. But with this discipline, one can carve out clear time windows which are dedicated for personal development and reflection and not just working," he suggested.

Deadlines

Most of the people know what needs to be done but don't pay heed to the time a particular task will take in accomplishment and if they have completed it in that time. Self-imposed deadlines play a crucial role in getting the tasks done efficiently but that only happens when you stick to them.

What might work better is if you share your deadlines with your colleagues for a bit of extra pressure but make sure to add some extra minutes to your deadlines that needed to avoid burden? As the founder and CEO of ONGO Framework, Rama Krishna Kuppa put it, "If you're not performing as efficiently or effectively as others, your long-term job prospects could be in trouble."

Regular Breaks

Every now and then, it works well to take break for mental rest, otherwise things can get jumbled up in your head. So an expert advice would be to go for a stroll whenever feeling restless sitting in that god-forsaken office chair. "Take a five-to-10 minute break whenever you feel mentally fatigued," Kuppa suggested.

With a clear head, tasks get easier and working on them fun. For better productivity and love for self, take regular breathers between work.

Reading

Digital has taken over our lives, in more ways than one. From ordering clothes, food and electric alliances online to paying the bills through mobile wallets, today's generation has gotten dependant on new media like never before. This dependency has transpired into our reading habits too. Instead of reading a physical newspaper to stay updated with the world, most are subscribing to e-papers.

With eyes bored into their laptop screens and fingers tapping on the keyboard continuously, entrepreneurs regularly find them lost. "I try to work the analogue world as frequently as I can. I prefer reading a physical book over an ebook because I realize I end up reading faster and with far higher retention," the co-founder and creative chief of The Glitch, Rohit Raj shared.

Pen it Down

More than countable times, not only entrepreneurs but every individual find themselves in a situation where they had a brilliant idea in the morning but have forgotten the same when required. Maximum numbers of people are transitioning to their mobile phones and tabs to note down the important points and set reminders but how effective are they really?

Can typing ever beat the satisfaction of writing on paper? Hardly! "I make it a point to carry a notebook and sketch or write down ideas or thoughts and build out most of my decks on paper before translating it into PDFs," Rohit added. The idea is to never let your thoughts, good or bad, go waste. Note them down, on paper instead of digital devices for better retention.