productivity tips for startup founders | likehack

Productivity Tips for Entrepreneurs

How to get all that crazy stuff done on time

Common Problems

Entrepreneurs have to do more than others

1. Too many “life-or-death” tasks.

2. Brain exploding with information overload.

3. Not enough time to sleep.

Your own brain is tricking you!

1. It makes you afraid of the hardest tasks

Your brain says, “Oh, that’s a big project, I’ll do it later…”

For example, you need to rethink an interface…

2. It’s easily distracted

Your brain says, “I should talk to them, it’s important…”

You’re finally prototyping… and someone comes by

3. It likes to store junk

Your brain says, “No need for notes, I’ll remember.”

You have a new idea or thought…

4. It doesn’t like thinking and learning

Your brain says, “Don’t google it, I have an easy answer.”

When you need to do something new…

5. It makes excuses to feel better

Your brain says, “It was just a bad day, that’s all.”

When you have no results to show…

As a result, you don’t deliver results in time

Things get worse and worse No user growth You’ve blown all the deadlines Your team and investors hate you You feel like you can’t do it

Trick your brain with productivity hacks!

1. Identify your next big goal

Raise funding Reach break-even Get traction (N users in T)

Make it very specific!

2. Start every day with…

What can I do today to reach my goal?

Is this the most important thing that’s needed to reach it?

Just 20% of your work gets you 80% of the results.

3. Think on paper

Goal lists Project lists Daily task lists Call lists Project task lists etc.

Don’t keep things in your head.

4. Keep your inbox clean

Can you answer in 2 minutes? – Answer! Is there an action with no concrete deadline?

– Put it on the list! Is there an action with a deadline? – Put it in

Google Calendar.

Do the same with all your other incoming tasks!

Your inbox should be empty each evening.

5. Avoid distractions

Have at least one day a week without distractions – no meetings, phone, Skype, e-mail, or social media.

This is the day to do your hardest and most important tasks. Wednesday is a good day for this.

On other days, use headphones and work for 40-minute stretches with no interruptions.

6. Start your day with the hardest task

Prioritize tasks according to their impact: A – I won’t reach my goal without this B – Someone will be unhappy C – I can decide not to do this D – I can ask somebody else to do this E – I won’t do this

Do all the A tasks and some of the B tasks.

7. Say NO

When somebody asks you to do something, your first question should be“Do I really need this more than anything else to reach my goal?”and your second question should be “Am I the only person who can do this?”“Will someone die if I say no?”

If none of the answers are “yes,” say no.

8. Good enough is better than perfect Imagine that 80% of your time is going

towards “making it a little bit better.”

This means you could do 4 such tasks instead!

Check if it’s enough – does it achieve the goal? Does it work? Will anyone die if I stop now?

Once again

1. Know why you’re doing it.

2. Always start with the most important and hardest tasks.

3. Don’t keep it in your head.

4. Always ask yourself, “Is this the one thing I should really do now, and will it bring the most positive impact?”

5. Go offline one day a week. Every week.

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Before doing something new, google it. You’ll probably find a way to do it faster!

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