Three Ways to Make the Most of Your Workday

## [](https://yellow-blog-images.imgix.net/2016/06/MG_1442.jpg)If you’re like me, you are a busy gal trying to change the world. On the upside you love what you and you don’t mind working nonstop because your business inspires you. On the downside, you’re only one person so you wear many hats within your business. Although you love your business, working too much and not working smart can cause burnout which is not good for your business or for the people it serves. Today I was talking to one of my previous coworkers who is now also a creative entrepreneur. I left my last job in May 2015 to start my own design studio. A few months later she left the company to take her side hustle to full-time hustle. One thing we both acknowledged is how many distractions there can be in an office. Between non-stop emails, meetings, and marketing “emergencies” by the time I sat down to do my actual job the day would be over. It’s no wonder I had so many late nights at the office. **But staying late at work doesn’t mean you’re being productive.** So I’ve outlined three methods you can implement today that will help you to work smarter not harder. [](https://yellow-blog-images.imgix.net/2016/06/MG_1495.jpg) ## Cut the Distractions Now that I work from home I don’t have to worry the typical office distractions. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t have other distractions on the daily. One way to work smarter not harder is to cut the distractions. * Log Out of Your Email A new email notification might seem harmless but those 5 minutes that you take to write a quick response can turn into 30 minutes and after that it’s much harder to refocus your mind to the task you were doing. Even if you don’t answer your email, just the notification alone will take you out of the focus needed to do the task at hand. * Put Your Phone on Silent Ever since I started working from home people seem to think that it’s okay to call me during “regular office hours.” I know I may be my own boss but my business is not going to grow itself and me being on the phone with my girlfriend rather than working is not going to do good for my business. **So I put my phone on silent, turn off my iMessage notifications and don’t check my phone until the end of the day or during my lunch break or during my next break.** If it’s a real emergency, whomever is trying to contact you will find a way to get in touch with you. * Get Offline Okay so I know you’re excited that you’ve started implementing a new Instagram strategy but checking your social media multiple times a day going to do more harm than good. Reserve a time to catch up on social media and stick to that time slot. [](https://yellow-blog-images.imgix.net/2016/06/MG_1367.jpg) ## Do One Thing at a Time Remember back in the day when we used to put “multitasking” on our skills section of our resume? That’s what employers wanted to see and boy did we get good at doing it. My first job out of college involved me answering phones, scheduling meetings for the creative director, helping to coordinate play productions and much much more. I was the queen of multitasking. But what I’m noticing now is that when your brain is busy trying to do multiple things at once you’ll end up neglecting the quality. It’s best to focus your attention on one thing and don’t stop until that thing is done. So let’s say you’re writing a blog post, it wouldn’t make sense to try to write your blog post and at the same time write an email. See what I’m getting at here? ## Use a Time Tracker When I first launched my design studio I did not know how to manage my time. It felt like the work week would go by and I didn’t accomplish what needed to get done and I would end up feeling like “where did my time go?!” So I started using a free time tracker called [Toggl](https://toggl.com/). I track how much time I spend on email, social media, writing blog posts, admin stuff, and client projects. For my business, I should be spending most of my time on client projects because that’s where my income comes from. So if you see that you’re spending too much time on email or social media or other admin tasks that are not direct money-makers for your business try to find a way to automate those tasks.[](https://yellow-blog-images.imgix.net/2016/06/MG_1488.jpg)These are just a few ways to work smarter rather than harder. What are some other ways that you make the most of your time? _Photos by [Karen Marie](http://karenmarieco.com/)_ [](http://littletrailerstudio.com/)