Become The Most Productive Person You Can Be – 8 Productivity Lessons From Top Entrepreneurs

Whether you’re testing the waters or already jumped in, one of the best ways to become the most productive business person you can be is by learning from the experiences of top entrepreneurs.

Why You Should Seek Out Top Entrepreneurs for Advice

Undoubtedly, if you’ve already tested your entrepreneurial skills and need a bit more input on what’s required to stay motivated and productive, reading the words of those who’ve ‘been there and done that’ can be impactful and inspiring.

And if you are contemplating becoming an entrepreneur, you will need to adopt behaviors that will catapult you into the realm of solid productivity. That’s if you plan on going the distance. Why not heed the advice of those with solid experience?

Nonetheless, even ‘roses have thorns’ and there will be challenges. Seeing that the top entrepreneurs have met those challenges and achieved success; they are the ones to turn to for inspiration. Heeding their words will help you remain productive and motivated throughout your business challenges, and keep you balanced through your successes.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Steve Jobs

Take a look at the top business moguls. Do they appear stressed out, cranky, or disoriented? They’re definitely under pressure and lots of it. But how do they remain – at least during their public appearances – so nonchalant and easygoing? The late Steve Jobs was the personification of swag and worldly refinement.

When viewing videos of Steve Jobs, pay attention to how he takes command of the audience. Smooth and articulate, he made it all seem so easy. But there’s something he mastered that every entrepreneur should learn to do. What is it?

Jobs was an expert at managing and organizing his time. He was adept at eliminating tasks that were a waste of time.

Did he put in 70-hour work weeks? More than likely. However, he didn’t spend his time on things that he could delegate to others. His focus was on what he could do well instead of handling time-wasting tasks and not being productive.

If you optimize your time properly, both your life and your business will be productive.

“My favorite things in life don’t cost any money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” - Steve Jobs entrepreneur, founder of Apple Inc, App Store

Global Entrepreneur Statistics

According to the latest research, globally there are roughly 580 million entrepreneurs. The majority, 26%, stated their main reason for making such a move was the desire to be their own boss. Followed by 23% who felt the need to realize their life purpose.

• 19% took the leap because the opportunity was there
• 6% made the decision after being laid off
• 3% said it was due to their life situation
• 26% look to the internet for business advice, followed by their workmates, books, and lastly family members
• according to data on the most popular industries for start-ups, businesses, and comestibles tops the list at 11%, wellness/beauty at 10%, merchandising at 7%, and home services at 6%

Parvesh Benning, entrepreneur and founder of Protect Your Wealth, wanted to foster a trusting, long-lasting relationship with his clientele on his terms. So, he left the corporate world and started his own business with top LLC formation services.

“I did not want to limit my clients’ financial opportunities because of corporate policy,” he adds, “I wanted to offer a holistic needs-based practice that puts its clients first. Protect Your Wealth was established with this goal in mind.”

8 Productivity Lessons From Top Entrepreneurs

1. Think outside the box

If you remain too cautious, you won't make progress. This is not a call to be reckless; however, by thinking outside the box, you instinctively look for ways to improve.

Not only for your business but the world around you. The pay-off is intelligent and enterprising ideas and solutions. Opening up to alternative viewpoints and ways of doing things is what successful entrepreneurs are made of.

“Whatever you do, be different—that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” -Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

2. Maintain focus

“It’s a mindset and a lifestyle. When you eliminate unimportant things, you circumvent distractions and focus on essential goals. Essentialism is about making the best possible investment of your time and energy, with the intention of operating at your highest point of efficiency by only doing what is essential.” - Greg Mckeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

If you find yourself visiting the comment section of your favorite forum or watching a video on one of the many video-sharing platforms when you should be working, you’re taking precious time away from honing your entrepreneurial skills and building your business.

“Cut out the excess and remain focused on the most crucial activities or projects each day.” - Evan Musk founder, CEO, CTO, and chief designer of SpaceX; early investor, CEO, and product architect of Tesla, Inc.

Tips for focusing on what’s important:

• Organize and prioritize day-to-day chores and stick to deadlines
• Become ‘unsocial’ and deactivate your social media and smartphone alerts
• Avert, if possible, unanticipated visits and/or meetings
• Get emails out of your way with a task management tool like Trello or Evernote
• Maintain a tranquil and ergonomic setting

3. Money isn’t everything

“Chase the vision, not the money; the money will end up following you.” -Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO. This is not to say that money isn’t important.

“Don’t presume that loads of money will make your startup take off. There are more things to a business than investors, and it’s possible to achieve success with your startup without breaking the bank.” - Barnaby Lashbrooke, founder and mastermind of Time Etc.

“Remain financially independent as long as possible” - Garrett Camp, Co-founder of Uber, StumbleUpon, and Expa.

Founder of SkinnyMe Tea, Gretta Rose says “Start as small as you can. When I started I had $24 in the bank, and I was completely self-funded.”

4. Know your priorities

“It’s not enough to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” - Kunika Rathore, entrepreneur, software engineer, writer, designer, dance artist, and co-founder of theunkowns.ai.

Studies reveal that over 40% of a business owner’s time is used unproductively. Take the time to organize your day effectively with the right apps. Only assign what you think is doable. Forget trying to look busy, be honestly busy with the right priorities that will help your business flourish.

“Be realistic about what is vital and what can get done. If you find yourself continuously rescheduling something, you need to determine whether it’s actually a priority for your task list. Successful people know how to pinpoint their priorities, so it’s not uncomfortable for them when it comes to purging irrelevant tasks.” - Omer Perchik, founder of Any.do

A serial entrepreneur and investor Neal Taparia, who now runs a brain training platform Solitaired, says — “We have a tendency to procrastinate some of our most difficult tasks, which tend to be the most important. When you start your day and you’re mentally fresh, take on the toughest tasks. Not only will you get them out of the way, but it also makes the rest of your day easier and more productive. This system has allowed me to succeed at multiple businesses''.

In addition, Tim Ferriss, who penned the book ‘The Four-Hour Workweek,’ is a pro when it comes to productivity. He prefers to focus on the three essential things he can achieve in the first 60-to-90 minutes of the day to ‘win the morning.’

5. Learn to relax

Alan Cohen is a well-known inspirational author of 27 books. He says “There’s virtue in work and there’s virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”

If you are seeking a way to balance your entrepreneurial leanings, learn how to take it easy during your journey.

Taking regular breaks and power naps provides the opportunity to regroup, re-energize, and re-focus. Meditation, listening to soothing music, taking a walk, reading inspirational prose, whatever you do..enjoy it and forget about work during your break.

6. Stay physically fit

British entrepreneur, author, investor, and philanthropist Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, is the founder of the Virgin Group which manages over 400 companies. One of his most famous being Virgin Atlantic airlines and Virgin Records.

Branson’s advice about staying productive includes regular exercise. He believes that staying fit keeps the feel-good hormones – endorphins – flowing, and keeps the brain active and productive. He’s adamant about keeping fit and feels confident in the fact that ‘he achieves double the amount in one day’ by staying fit and healthy.

Entrepreneur Selena Narayanasamy the founder of Orthris – an SEO and digital strategist company – highly values the benefits of taking care of your health. “Even though my workload is less, my output and perceptiveness have increased, and I’m more proficient with my clients.”

Schedule time for physical activity, which should also include eating healthy. Whether it’s taking a brisk walk or jog before getting down to business each day, going to the gym a few times a week, or practicing a low-impact muscular strengthening exercise like Pilates.

7. Go tech

Access to today's technology has awarded entrepreneurs massive opportunities to improve communication, and efficiency, explore fresh markets for growth, increased employee engagement, and more.

Modern technology offers a variety of business apps and software to assist with increasing productivity without compromising quality.

Remote working stats suggest that many people now work from remote locations largely because they have the right tech tools.

The key question you should be asking yourself each day is “can this be automated and if so, how?”

The words of entrepreneur Michael Dell, Dell Chairman, and CEO, profoundly express the need for technology “Ideas are a commodity. Execution of them is not.”

Setting up automation systems and processes utilizing tools like Zapier or IFTTT will help to boost productivity. Perhaps you require tools for creating data visualizations, reports, or infographics. Use tools that help you transfer data between your web apps automatically while you concentrate on more essential work.

Utilize technology for tasks, email responses, setting up video conferences, and more, which is crucial for business growth.

8. Devise An Effective Email Strategy

Every aspiring business entrepreneur needs an effective email strategy. An inbox that’s swamped with emails can dampen your spirits or make you miss important deadlines. It’s difficult to remain productive when your mailbox is a mess.

Rob Rawson, the founder of Time Doctor, advises that you, establish a zero inbox policy. It just means that you’re always going back to zero with your inbox, so you’ve got this conscious attention on handling each email immediately. When it comes to you, you don’t procrastinate, going ‘Oh, I’ll do that tomorrow. I don’t need to do that now.’ And then you come back to it and you go ‘Oh, I don’t need to do that now,’ again, so you’re constantly re-reading all of the e-mails. Instead of that, you handle it straight away, you delete it, you archive it, or you can actually then put it into your task system and prioritize it.”

Using reliable data, entrepreneurs can generate better business insights and deliver significant value such as performance optimization, product innovation, business growth, efficient campaigns, team empowerment, and customer experience. It is a super productivity hack to work out inefficiencies and a trial-and-error approach. - Gary Viray, founder of Propelrr.

To be a productive entrepreneur, develop and stick to an effective email policy.

Final Thoughts On Business Productivity Tips By Successful Entrepreneurs

As an entrepreneur, you want to be successful, and there’s nothing wrong with that! However, keep in mind that there will be challenges. All business owners have them. Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder, and CEO say “Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.” Those are encouraging words!