When you are your own boss, there isn’t always someone pressuring you to complete that tedious report or telling you to hurry up with that daunting project. While this can be refreshing for some people, it can also lead to procrastination or added stress because you are fully responsible for your own work load. Here are a few tips we have come up with to help you stay motivated and productive when you’re self-employed:

Establish a routine

Get up and get dressed as if you were going to the office. Make this a habit so you are mentally prepared every morning to work.

Take breaks

Have lunch, get up and walk around the block, etc. Reinvigorate yourself so you are able to maintain your productivity instead of sitting in your space all day long.

Create a work environment

Designate a specific room or desk as your “office” or consider joining a coworking space. Read our past blog posts, “5 Tips to Organize Your Cubicle or Small Desk” and “10 Organizing Tips for a Small Home Office” for additional tips and tricks for creating an effective home office space.

Batch tasks

If you’re self-employed, you’re likely wearing a lot of different hats and therefore doing a variety of tasks. Set aside recurring blocks of time to work on accounting tasks, marketing tasks, or anything else that is needed to maintain your business. The idea is that you want to spend as little time as possible transitioning between tasks because that ultimately wastes time.

Outsource when necessary

Consider outsourcing some tasks to a bookkeeper, human resources professional, virtual assistant, web developer, etc. Identify what you’re wasting time on or dislike doing so you can concentrate on growing your business.

Performance review

Make goals for yourself and evaluate if you’ve achieved them or not. You may want to consider having a standing meeting every 6 months with a fellow entrepreneur to help hold you accountable.

Need additional help staying productive while you’re self-employed? We offer individual productivity consulting!