In this blog post, we will discuss effective time management and productivity hacks for entrepreneurs. Yesterday, we held a Zoom session on the same topic and had over 35 enthusiastic startup founders join the show and share their thoughts with us.
The Zoom session was hosted by Anshuman Sinha, an angel investor and co-founder of Startup Steroid.
Our mentor, Anshuman Sinha, started the show by asking, “How many of you keep your smartphone notifications on throughout the day, and for which apps?”
He further explained that keeping notifications turned on for multiple apps can be distracting.
Amit Pandey, Founder & CEO—Do It Zero, suggested that he mainly keeps all other notifications off except for Calendar and Slack. Amit also clarified that Slack is one of the most effective tools for team collaboration and helps each team member know what they are up to.
Tim Vosburgh, Founder—Coulomb Technology, was also on our show, and he stated that he mainly uses WhatsApp and SMS because he has to stay connected with lots of people scattered across several time zones. He also wanted to know if Slack is available for free. Yes, the basic version of Slack is absolutely free. Anybody can start using it. He also uses calendar notifications so as not to miss out on any important events or meetings.
Anshuman also pointed out an important productivity hack—to have an introductory draft ready whenever you go to an important meeting or event.
It saves time, and you don’t need to retype your introduction. Keep the draft saved on your smartphone notes so that whenever required, you can just copy the content and paste it as needed.
Diwakar, founder of SiteGuide, also shared his thoughts. He explained that he uses Google Calendar plus Asana for work-related purposes. Both these tools help him prioritize tasks that require urgent attention.
Our mentor, Anshuman Sinha also discussed the relevance of a notebook even in the current age of apps and digital devices.
Most of the attendees agreed that notebook writing still serves the purpose and is one of the most effective ways of handling and managing your to-do list for the day.
Ashish Saboo, the co-founder of StartupSteroid, also raised a valid point, “Founders work round the clock, and fitness is very important too. Time management should free up some time for your own well-being. To make such time more productive, you can listen to podcasts, and audiobooks while you are walking, biking, or doing any workout. Even attend a Zoom and listen in.”
He advised that apart from work, startup founders should dedicate a few minutes per day to their mental and physical well-being. Because you can’t give your 100% at work unless you are physically and mentally fit. Meditation, yoga, and workouts are some of the easiest ways to stay physically fit and mentally happy.
We also had Krutika Panari, a business development professional at Startup Steroid, on our Zoom show. She suggested some vital tips to manage leads online in the least possible time. She advised marketers and startup founders to use HubSpot for sending business-related emails for lead generation purposes. Using this tool, the sender can easily know if the emails were opened, read, or unread. Based on the obtained information, these emails can be further tweaked and sent to interact with the recipients.
Krutika further added, “Dripify is a useful tool to streamline your messages on LinkedIn and interact with potential leads.”
But it’s a paid tool, so startup founders need to compare the expected benefits in terms of the cost involved in it.
Overall, it was a great interactive Zoom session as we explored various solutions and tools to enhance productivity at work.
Key Takeaways
Set Clear Goals: Define your short-term and long-term goals to provide a clear direction for your efforts. Break them down into actionable tasks and prioritize them based on their importance and urgency.
Prioritize Important Tasks: Identify tasks that have the most significant impact on your business and tackle them first.
Time Blocking: Allocate specific blocks of time for different activities throughout your day. Create dedicated time slots for focused work, meetings, email correspondence, social media interaction, and breaks. Stick to the schedule as much as possible to enhance productivity.
Avoid Multitasking: Contrary to popular belief, multitasking reduces productivity and increases the chances of errors. Focus on one task at a time to achieve better results and maintain your concentration.
Delegate and Outsource: Identify tasks that can be delegated or outsourced to others. As an entrepreneur, it’s crucial to focus on your core competencies and offload non-essential tasks to free up your time and energy.
Eliminate Time Wasters: Identify common time-wasting activities such as excessive social media use, unnecessary meetings, checking smartphone notifications early in the morning, or unproductive conversations. Minimize these distractions to optimize your time management.
Practice Effective Communication: Clear and concise communication helps streamline processes and prevents misunderstandings. Use tools like JIRA, Asana, or Slack to improve collaboration and keep everyone informed.
In Conclusion
The idea is to stay productive and optimize your time. In addition, invest some time in self-improvement by staying updated with industry trends and acquiring new skills.
Attend webinars, read books, listen to informative podcasts, or join professional networks to enhance your knowledge and adapt to changing circumstances. Thus, an entrepreneur is always on duty, but they stay fully focused on doing things that can help them accomplish their goals.
You are not alone in this startup journey of yours. Join our weekly online Startup meetups to participate in our interactive Zoom sessions and share your experience and talk with experts. Check out the Zoom calendar for our upcoming meets.