I speak to loads of women business owners each week and many say the same thing: they don’t have enough time to do everything in their business.
When I ask what their typical day looks like, I can always find at least one – usually several – ways to save time and be more productive.
Here are 5 simple productivity hacks to help you get more done in less time.
1. Have A Plan
Know what you need to do each day. If you’ve got a myriad of ideas floating around in your head, get them out and onto paper (or into a tool like Trello, Notion or even just the Notes app on your phone).
Break big tasks into small chunks – things you can do in 10 minutes. Starting your day without a plan is like getting in the car without knowing where you’re going.
2. Protect Your Work Time
Do whatever it takes. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb, close your social media tabs, turn off notifications. If you work from home, shut the door.
Practical tip: Use the Focus mode on your iPhone or Android to automatically silence notifications during your work hours. You can set it to allow calls only from your kids’ school if that’s what worries you.
3. Tackle Your To-Do List Like You Mean It
Treat your work time as if it’s the last day before you go on holiday and if you don’t get it done, there’ll be a disaster. Nasty tasks AND nice ones – just get them done and tick them off.
4. Schedule Big Tasks In Your Calendar
If you need half a day to batch-create your Instagram content, book it in your Google Calendar or Outlook. Same for writing newsletters, filming Reels, or updating your website. If it’s not in the diary, it won’t get done.
Practical tip: Try “content batching” – spend one morning filming 4-5 Instagram Reels, then another morning writing 4 newsletters. Tools like Later, Planoly or Meta Business Suite let you schedule everything in advance so it goes out automatically.
5. Learn To Say No
Say no to people who think that because you work for yourself, you’re available for a chat or a favour whenever they call. Say no. Nicely. But stick to your guns.
And say no to the scroll! Set a 20-minute timer if you need to be on social media for business, and when it pings – close the app. The algorithm is designed to keep you scrolling. Don’t let it win.
If you use just one of these hacks, you’ll free up time. Use all five and you’ll be a productivity queen – with time left for the important people in your life.