How to increase productivity when you're self-employed. From the self-employed.

Do you feel exhausted but feel like you didn't do anything the whole day? I was here. I'm also self-employed, and I will show you how to be more productive.

If nothing work's for you there is special chapter: When nothing else work

Most important thing

If you were to take one thing out of this article, let it be this very point.

The most important thing is to focus on what is most important. And reminding yourself of that for a whole day.

If your issue is that you don't have contact with any visitors, customers, or clients, don't waste time on thinking much about pricing (except you sell on Amazon).

Look, if you don't have visitors on your website, or people don't call, changing the design of your business card don't change anything. More important is how to bring customers so they will SEE the business card. Improving design is later.

Focus on the most important thing, and it will boost your productivity because you will have more time and energy to do the thing that brings the most value, like the 80/20 principle.

To decide what is most important, you can use Eisenhower Matrix sometimes called Urgent vs Important.

It looks like this

Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eisenhower_matrix.svg

Start your day with the hardest issues

In the morning, even if you are tired, you probably still have more will to do hard things than in the evening.

Imagine you have a pile of logs to chop. When you start from the biggest when you are still fresh, you will get it done quickly. What's more, a few of these biggest logs contribute to almost 80% of all your wood. After a while, you did the hardest and biggest job.

The rest will take you longer and contribute only 20%, so even if you are tired and want to quit, you already did the biggest part.

It's like the 80/20 rule or Pareto principle.

Take a break

It sounds easy, but it isn't. If you feel like you didn't do anything meaningful, but you are tired, you don't think about taking a break.

But it's not that you were doing nothing. You were taking actions that made you tired, like surfing the internet for a few hours almost without moving, constantly stressing that you should do something different.

It's tiring. You should take a break. Do something different. Because you are tired, for real! Thinking about how you will start tomorrow day and going to sleep is one of the best options.

Use tools that help you manage your tasks

There are various free tools online, but I have something special designed for people like you.

I was lacking a good but simple app that will help me with managing my tasks and writing notes. Like personal organizer.

So I created one for people like you and me. Constito.

• It's simple. There is no room for complex things and feeling like you're working, but you are not. It helps you to keep your task management simple.
• Low resource hungry. If you are using a laptop, then it will not drain your battery while staying in the background and don't slow other programs.
• It's secure and offline. So you can use it even while traveling. Because it doesn't need an internet connection, it also makes it easier for battery.

One thing that Constito lacks at the moment is integration with your phone. There is no mobile app yet. So if this is something you must have, then Constito is not there yet.

Read more about Constito features in depth.

Small actions add up everyday

Reading one article per day or per few days will add up after months.

Don't underestimate courses for example on Udemy. You are self-employed. You feel like an expert, and you are probably one.

Courses are also made by experts. You probably know 80-90% of the course, but having a reminder about the basics and broadening your horizons can help you even better.

When you are self-employed, you are ambitious, and it might make you think that every day you have to push yourself to work all day. That's not true!

Focus on work for 4 hours straight, and then take a break.

You are still going to be more productive than an employee working 8 hours without motivation. Think about it.

When nothing else work

Take a longer break. For a few days, go easy; give yourself some time to rest.

Treat yourself like someone you love.

Get more sleep. Do something fun, maybe playing games?

But schedule one day that you will do hard work.

Do the most important things for a straight 8 hours, and you will see the effects.

You need rest to clear your mind, but after it, you should take action and do something with new strength to show yourself that you can be productive.

To show yourself that you can discipline yourself.

Time for a motivational quote:

Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most

~ Abraham Lincoln