How to Stay on Track While You Build a Startup
After coming up with the idea of the startup, the entrepreneur will have to face many discoveries and difficulties; he will have to make dozens of decisions every day – from the smallest to the most serious and fundamental. Dealing with so much information, contacts, stress, in the early stages of doing business, one has to accelerate their pace of life. How to alleviate the hustle and bustle of the work environment and not burn out at the first crucial times is a question that all startup entrepreneurs wonder the most. In this article, we have collected a few small tips that we hope will help you organize your routine and reduce stress in the company and life.
Evolved concept of to-do-listing
A piece of great advice from a business blogger Pete Sveen. On Think Entrepreneurship he noted that “The list is designed to be added to, so it can make it hard to feel satisfied if you’re adding as much as you’re checking off.” So it is quite refreshing to stick to the idea of “when” to do rather than “what else” to do. Assigning the time and date gives the “more realistic” tint to the task; it will ensure that this item will be accomplished and not lost among the other things.
Prioritize the Least Desirable Tasks
In a situation where someone is faced with the task of doing a hundred things and visiting numerous places as quickly and efficiently as possible, looking through the list of necessary tasks, the performer will tend to perform first what he considers easier and more enjoyable, leaving the difficult elements for later, “after dealing the smaller matters.” And this is fundamentally the wrong approach. It has long been proven that if you start your day, be it work or a weekend with a bunch of planned household chores, with the most difficult and less desired task, then all the rest will be completed much easier and faster than you initially thought. Many business coaches take this life hack almost in the first place, and hardly any of you have not heard the expression “Eat that frog.” The father of the idiom is Mark Twain, who said: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” The frog is that one thing you have on your to-do list that you have no motivation to do and that you are most likely to procrastinate on. Train yourself and your employees to deal with unpleasant tasks on the list first and foremost, and soon you will see how this will boost the efficiency and motivation at work.
Trust your people and delegate
At the very beginning of your journey, the best option will be the absence of unnecessary worries that can be avoided, and this is not at all difficult to do. The best thing you can do as the founder of a startup is to delegate all the little things to employees or attract outsourcers, and calmly deal with the most urgent and important matters. In the long run, it will not cost you a fortune, but you will be sure that everything is done efficiently while you focus on the essentials.
Appreciate your progress
In the process of improving any skill, be it drawing, composing, or the art of doing business, it is very important to soberly assess your progress, and develop at your own pace. It is completely unacceptable to get upset and give up when you see that you are not developing as quickly or as efficiently as it was with world-famous businessmen at the time when they were developing. Compare your results today with those of yesterday, a month, or a year ago - this is a much more correct view from the outside.
Take care of your team
Admit that when you are in a good mood, you tend to be more productive. Studies show that happy employees are 20 percent more productive than their unhappy colleagues. Ask yourself, which makes you feel better when you are at work, and apply that with your colleagues. Hold informal meetings to build a friendly and confidential atmosphere, get out into nature, organize joint barbecues or go to a conference - even if this can be more regarded as a business trip than a vacation, anyway, a change of scenery and schedule for a couple of days will bring something new and sure will have a good effect on work efficiency and working relationships.
Take care of yourself
How alert, focused, and energetic do you think you’ll be if you eat junk food, don’t exercise, or hardly get enough sleep? Sleep-deprived employees are proven to be unproductive and inefficient. The same is true if you always feel stressed and anxious. Stop putting your mental and physical health on the back burner and start making it a priority today. Pause for a moment, take a break, and take your time when you enjoy your meal. Put some effort into bringing sports into your daily routine. A tired, sleepy person with chronic colds and gastritis cannot be a happy leader. But a satisfied and happy leader will build an outstanding and prosperous business.
