Be productive with your time Startup founders are notoriously busy and short on time. Make sure that you’re choosing tasks that fit the amount of time that you have and that you make use of every minute. There are only so many hours in a day, and as a startup founder, you have to remain focused on the tasks only you can do. Create your to do-list so that you focus first on important tasks that you need to get done, and limit yourself to three to five tasks. Do something every day for your business No matter what day it is, do one thing for your business. Having a mentor can motivate you to focus and achieve your startup goals because you know someone is checking your work. It’s not easy to build a startup, but burning yourself out by not taking a break, not resting your mind, and not sleeping won’t help you build the success you deserve. Disconnect while your work Entrepreneurs and startup founders are used to multitasking and switching from task to task quickly. This, in turn, will make it easier to focus on the important decisions that you need to make for your startup. Distractions can come in the form of making decisions, networking, distractions, and multitasking.
Many startup founders think that their biggest battle will be to find funding.
What those founders have forgotten about is the demon of distraction.
Distraction and a lack of focus can slay any startup, stopping it dead in its tracks.
At the rate that startups fail, you don’t want to risk your business with a lack of focus.
By year three, 44 percent of startups fail.
Sharp focus is critical to your startup’s success. Maintaining your goals and your objectives for both short- and long-term gains can help you build a successful startup.
The distraction demon won’t ruin your burgeoning business if you utilize these 18 lessons on staying focused.
Where’s the revenue?
Each time that you’re about to make a decision for your startup, the first question you should ask yourself is, “Where’s the revenue?”
Many startups fall into the trap of believing that you won’t have revenue in the beginning stages. But why shouldn’t you have revenue?
If there’s no revenue, it’s easy to get distracted.
Many startup founders are motivated by the possibility of making money from their business ideas. By keeping the idea of revenue present in your mind, you’ll be more motivated to make your startup successful.
Keep your startup lean and focused by always keeping revenue present in your mind when making decisions.
Choose your leisure activities
Staying focused is all about choosing your leisure activities. Startup founders and entrepreneurs don’t waste their time on mindless distractions.
That means no TV. Sixty-seven percent of wealthy people watch one hour or less of TV a day. Skip the latest reality show and use your downtime for more beneficial activities.
The average American watches almost three hours of TV per day. Leisure time and activities are important for maintaining your focus, but that doesn’t have to mean going brain-numb in front of the television.
Manage your time and choose your leisure activities wisely so that you can maintain your focus without distractions.
Consider reading a book that might help you make critical decisions for your business. Listen to entrepreneurial podcasts. Brainstorm new ideas.
Be productive with your time
Startup founders are notoriously busy and short on time. Seriously, there’s always something to work on.
When you only have a short amount of time, it becomes imperative to be productive with each minute that you have.
Make sure that you’re choosing tasks that fit the amount of time that you have and that you make use of every minute.
Got off a call early and have five minutes to spare? Clean out your email inbox by getting rid of spam emails or responding to messages that require short answers.
When you find yourself with time to spare, don’t waste it on social media, YouTube videos, or surfing the Internet.
The average American spends 40 minutes a day on Facebook.
Unless you’re spending time on social media to network for your startup, don’t waste your time there.
Streamline tasks
Streamlining tasks helps you focus on your startup by not wasting time. A streamlined task is one that’s done in the easiest possible way.
You can easily optimize each task if you focus on the simplest route from Point A to Point B. You might look into management tools such as Trello and Slack to keep you on track.
You can also streamline your daily to-dos by making sure you’re working on similar tasks at the same time. Need to write a newsletter and a blog post? Do them one right after the other so that you don’t have to switch hats and your thinking style.
Streamlining should also involve the delegation of tasks.
There are only so many hours in a day, and as a startup founder, you have to remain focused on the tasks only you can do. If someone else has the skills to do what you’re working on, it should be delegated to them.
By delegating tasks, you streamline your day and allow yourself to focus on the most critical needs of your startup.
Create a to-do list
We have to re-think the to-do list. Many people create their to-do lists with the mentality of a superhero who never gets tired, distracted, or interrupted.
That’s not how a startup founder’s day goes. Create your to do-list so that you focus first on important tasks that you need to get done, and limit yourself to three to five tasks.
Consider this — only 50 percent of completed tasks get done within a day.
Those tasks that are on the list and don’t get done are much more likely to never get done.
Create your to-do list each evening before you leave your desk and make sure it only has on it the tasks that you know you can get done the next day.
Get up early
Successful people wake up early. The most productive hours of the day are first thing in the morning when there are no distractions, no phone calls, and no emails dropping into your inbox.
Studies show that the majority of people wake up between 6 and 6:30 a.m.
Get up before the rest of the world, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by just how much you can get done in that first hour or so.
Eat the frog
When you first wake up (after coffee that is), you’re at your most focused and productive. During that first most productive hour, you should eat the frog.
What that means is that you should do your toughest task at your peak work time.
Everyone has slightly different circadian rhythms, and some people work better at night than in the morning. Find that ideal time of focus and make sure you take care of your toughest task right then.
Do something every day for your business
No matter what day it is, do one thing for your business. Whether it’s a holiday, your birthday, or just a Saturday, take one step toward furthering a business goal.
Doing at least one thing every day for your business keeps your mind fresh and focused on your startup.
When you take a day off, it’s harder to drop back into working on your business the next day.
Now, I don’t advocate that you never take any…
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