Life “Hacks”

While web-surfing this week, I came across an article on Business Insider about “life hacks,” aka advice offered by entrepreneurs about how to increase productivity by changing simple things about your day to day routine. The term “life hack” is relatively new. There is actually a whole website dedicated to life hacks – lifehacker.com.

So what exactly is a life hack? It’s thinking of a new, creative way to do something that will save you time, money, or just plain make things easier. Sometimes these life hacks are totally simple and just not something that you would ordinarily think of, and others are more complicated ways to get to an end result. For example, an article on Life Hacker talks about summer life hacks, including a way to kill ants at a picnic and how to use a muffin tin to serve condiments at a cookout.

So what does this have to do with business and the Internet? Well, there are lots of life hacks that you can use to be a better entrepreneur. The entrepreneurs featured in the article I read shared a few tips, and I wanted to share them with you:

• Set aside a day with no meetings. This will increase your productivity because you are able to focus on your work and what you need to get done. If you’re anything like me, the meeting itself isn’t the only time it takes out of your day. You’ll need to prepare before, and process after.
• Work on Sunday night. One entrepreneur suggested staying up late on Sunday to prep for the week. You’ve been mulling over issues on the weekend, and Sunday after everyone has gone to bed is a prime time to get it all out.
• Prioritize your tasks and write them down. Personally I have to write down the things I need to do either on paper, a whiteboard, or both. Physically seeing what you need to get done can help lead you toward productivity.
• Try turning everything off. One entrepreneur suggests putting your phone (and yourself) in “airplane mode” where no one is able to contact you. He says he is most productive on a long flight with no interruptions from his cell phone or email. Try it out for a few hours here or there.
• Focus the best that you can. Try to get rid of distractions. Start working as soon as you get to the office and don’t stop for email checks or news breaks. These things can break your train of thought and cause your progress to get de-railed.

Most small business owner try to do it all, which is likely the cause of many becoming burnt out. If you use these life hacks you’ll find yourself being more productive and feeling less stressed. So why not give them a try?