If you're a self-employed sole proprietor (SESP), then you likely understand how difficult it can be to stay productive.
Being a SESP means that you work for yourself, needing to source your clients yourself and making you fully responsible for your success. This applies to several industries like real estate, law, accounting, and anyone that works as a freelancer.
When you don't have anyone to hold you accountable, it can be easy to slack off and sabotage your productivity. There aren't any immediate consequences for doing this, but it has the subtle effect of limiting how much you can get done.
Because of this, you need to prioritize improving your productivity. This involves things like making use of tools for real estate agents and developing time management skills.
We'll take a look at a few more techniques to make you more productive below.
Manage Your Time
One essential tip is to properly manage your time.
This is easy to take for granted but makes a major difference in how productive you are. There's a great chance that you aren't currently spending your time optimally and this means getting less work done.
Unfortunately, there are several ways of mismanaging your time. You might be trying to do too much in one go, working in poor circumstances, or spending time on insignificant tasks.
Make sure that you take plenty of breaks during your workday. Splitting your day up into focused work and decompressing relaxation makes you more productive during the time that you are working.
You should also avoid working when you're tired. If you need to force the effort, you aren't going to do very well and you'll end up taking much longer than you'd like.
As a final suggestion, you should limit any distractions. It's easy to spend time on things that are more fun and attractive, but this takes away from getting work done and it will take progressively longer to get back on track.
Balance Your Workload
Another critical tip is to balance your workload.
This means only taking on as much as you can handle. It can be easy to take on a lot of work because more business means more income.
Unfortunately, taking on too much is counterproductive. You'll either stretch yourself thin and spend too much time working or fail to meet your deadlines.
If you overexert yourself to get work done, then you'll be fatigued and this means you'll spend longer to complete tasks. The more work you have, the longer it will take to clear everything off your plate.
With a mountain of work to do, you can quickly get overwhelmed. Knowing you have a lot to do can make it hard to start, which can rapidly snowball and result in missing your deadlines.
Having too much to do can create a lot of pressure that kills your productivity. Make sure you're honest about what you can handle and don't exceed it.
Track Your Performance
You should also start tracking your performance.
This might sound like it adds more for you to do, but it provides you with accountability. When you know what you've been doing and can compare it to your goals, then it makes you more likely to make a positive change.
If you don't keep track of your productivity, then it's easy to overlook lackluster results. You might not even be aware of your underperformance.
Having real results gives you a dose of reality and forces you to reconsider what you're doing. You can evaluate how you spend your time and see what's problematic and what you need to improve.
Tracking your performance is a commitment to improving your productivity and this alone will put you into a productive mindset.
Use Productivity Tools
As a final suggestion, you can use productivity tools.
These are tools that provide services specifically to help you be more productive. It can be for time management, performance tracking, or anything else that helps you get more done in less time.
For example, real estate tools can be used to help you make quick calculations for analysis. You could also find something to simplify marketing, help generate leads, and keep up to date with clients.
Productivity tools vary in function, but they all assist you in getting more done. The less you need to do yourself means less of a burden and this is a great reason to use productivity tools.
Closing Thoughts
As a self-employed sole proprietor, you surely have an abundance of obligations and it's easy to get overburdened. This means that you need to find a way to stay productive as this will help keep you above water.
To make this easier, there are a few techniques you can use to improve your productivity. This includes time management, balancing your workload, tracking your performance, and using productivity tools.
Increasing your output is certainly possible, but it requires you to make significant changes. If you're dedicated to getting more done, then take these tips into mind to make yourself more productive!
