14 Tips to Make Business Easier in 2018

We all need motivation in life. Especially when we start off the year on the right track. We try to get as much done as quickly as possible, but sometimes we need real strategies that help us out. Here are some great tips to make business easier in 2018 –

1. Eat the Frog for a Productivity Boost

Procrastination is a killer! It makes us avoid work for long stretch and it doesn’t have any long-term solution in sight. So, what can really help us beat procrastination? Front-loading your pain. Basically, if there’s something you’re dreading or wanting to avoid – that’s the one thing you should do with both feet dipped in the pool. Also called “eating the frog”, its an expression that has so much packed into it. Just do it!

2. Check Your Passport Expiration Date

This is a great tip for those who are absent-minded. If you’re on the go and always moving, you have to carry your passport every now and then. Business travellers and sales people know this all too well. You must ensure that your passport expiration date is far far away. 8-9 months is where you want to start thinking about applying for a fresh one.

3. Plan for Cravings by Packing Snacks

A great trip to avoid cravings on the road, is to pack healthy snacks. They could be as simple as taking some protein power bars or homemade kitchen salads. You can carry some trail mix and take it along with you as well. Avoiding sweets, sugars and unnecessary carbs should be your main objective.

4. Activate Gmail’s “Unsend” Feature

Finally, there is an undo button on Gmail! Go to your Gmail settings and enable "Undo Send" feature. You have 30 seconds to take an email back.

5. Compare Yourself to Your Past Self

You want to be able to analyse how you are v/s how you used to be in your past. If you feel like you’re evolving day over day, then you’re on the right track. If not, then you might be in trouble. If you’re not moving ahead, you might be feeling stuck and stressed out. Hidden stress can be bad for our health and moving ahead is healthier.

6. Implement the “One-Minute Rule”

For anything that can be done in one-minute, it should be done now. If you delay these mini-tasks day over day, it just lingers there in your mind. It’s better to just do it and focus on becoming more productive in your life. Stopping on smaller tasks can make us feel low in energy as well.

7. Try the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro technique is an interesting working system, where you have short bursts of intense and distraction free work, followed by some intervals of entertainment and distraction. Since it’s a technique invented by an Italian entrepreneur, it’s a great way to activate this in your own business and life. Tried and tested by thousands of entrepreneurs across the world, the Pomodoro technique is an interesting approach to working longer and harder.

8. Or Experiment With Free Apps

Tide’s a great app that works on the basis of the Pomodoro technique. It sets a simple timer that tells you to focus your attention on certain tasks for a stretch of time, and then it sets out time where you simply can’t work. There are hundreds of these apps on the app store and they’re great to get the ball rolling.

9. Always Return to Your “Why?”

Ever felt lost in the middle of your work? That’s a familiar feeling we get when we’re stressed or have to much uncertainty in our lives. We try to mitigate that by asking ourselves “why”. When we remember why we started what we started, or why we have a certain goal, or what impact is this going to do in our lives, we return to our “why”. This “why” is our guiding light when times are tough.

10. Start a 5-Minute Workout Routine

Everybody has 5-minutes, and its surprising to know that not a lot of people workout or do any physical activity throughout the day. A quick 5-minute workout is enough for anybody to get the benefits that they can receive from exercise. You can go online or download an app that will give you clear instructions on how to make the most out of your busy schedule.

11. Practice Gratitude

Here’s a principle that many start-up founders follow. After stress takes over and we enter a bad mood, we ask ourselves why we are where we are. Sometimes the answers aren’t what we’re looking for and we think about all the negativity in our lives in one go. This is where practising gratitude comes in as a super-tool. We can change our day immediately with a simple gratitude exercise.

12. Create a Business “Emergency Fund”

When times are tough, you must have a backup plan. Whether that’s a new job or a savings account. You must have some amount of money put away or something planned as a safety net.

13. Meditate for 5-Minutes

After your 5-minutes of workout, you can cool-off with 5-minutes of meditation. It’s not that difficult. All you need to do is to watch your breath for 5 minutes. Feel the sensations of your lungs filling up and whenever a distraction arises you should let it go. This meditation technique becomes even more powerful when practises daily.

14. Use Airfare Alerts for Affordable Travel

Who doesn’t want to travel cheaper? You should get on the email list for all airlines and make sure you catch a good deal when it arrives. You can check out their specials and visit their site for more information.

Conclusion

Consider starting off this year different from how you spent the previous one. You can go over your notes, your goals, your timelines and your job performance. If you find areas where you’re lacking or feeling stressed out about then you should try some of the tips mentioned above. They’re a great way to kickstart the new year!