Time management and discipline
How do you remain disciplined as an entrepreneur or solopreneur?
With very little guidance on daily activities, not knowing what will drive impact, and no monkey, i.e., boss on your back. What tips do you have for remaining productive every day?
Here's what I've been doing:
- Time block for daily planning
- Scheduling time on the calendar
Tips:
- I'm able to get through most stuff and make sure I keep a little breather/flow room to go over in case I have to
- Any incomplete stuff moves over to the next day with a little note/journal entry on what happened
Would love to hear what you all are doing.
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Get out of the house. I like to work from a co-working space. This really stops me from wasting time on YouTube.
When I quit my job and became a full time indie hacker, I got rid of my gaming PC. I didn't want to be distracted.
I quit drinking alcohol. This meant I wouldn't lose days being hung over.
I'm doing this full time, it's all I do really, so I don't want to fail at it.
I'm with you on all of these points. I find that when I have fewer distractions, I'm able to get more done and be more productive. For me, quitting alcohol was a big help in this regard.
That's amazing!
Getting out and changing your physical environment is a great one. I usually WFH, but on days when I want to do something big accomplished, I step outside to a coffee shop or coworking space, which helps me get quite a bit done.
Beyond a certain age, I think quitting alcohol does wonders to metabolism and overall wellbeing :) Been a while since I gave up on it.
There's no one answer that fits everyone, but some things that have helped me stay disciplined and productive are:
Set clear goals for what you want to achieve each day, week, and month. Write them down or keep them in a tool like Asana so you can track your progress.
Break down your goals into small, actionable steps. This will make them feel less daunting and more achievable.
Find a system that works for you to keep track of your to-dos. This could be a physical notebook, a digital tool like Trello, or even just a simple list on your phone.
Set aside dedicated time for work, and stick to it as best as you can. This could be first thing in the morning, during your lunch break, or after the kids are in bed.
Take breaks when you need them, but try to stay focused when you're working. This could mean setting a timer for 20 minutes and working on one task until the timer goes off, or taking a 5-minute break for every 20 minutes of work.
Find someone to be accountable to, whether it's a friend, mentor, or coach.
Great, this is golden.
Adding on to what you already mentioned - one thing that keeps me honest is a daily review of my accomplishments from the day, and a similar exercise at a weekly level.
Time management is the key to success in the modern world as well as discipline. If you know exactly how to efficiently work on the tasks, you manage the time perfectly. I am a college student and I have a full time job at IT company, so it is essential for me to fulfill the deadlines for both work and study. Recently, I read interesting samples at https://edubirdie.com/examples/time-management/ about how time management helps to achieve work and life balance. So I am sure that it is all about the desire to be successful.