Do you need to increase your productivity and efficiency?
Would you like to know what are the favored techniques of
successful women entrepreneurs when it comes to increasing
productivity? I wanted to know, too.

Recently, I conducted an informal survey of 250 women
entrepreneurs asking them this question: "What's the number
one thing you do to boost your productivity? "

Listed in reverse order, here are the results:

5. Prioritize your daily list using the "ABCD and E" method.

A = must do.

B = should do.

C = would be nice to do.

D = delegate.

E = eliminate.

4. Delegate everything possible.

If it isn't directly making you money, it's time to
delegate it to someone else. Turn over data entry tasks,
packing and shipping, and answering non-essential emails
and calls to a competent administrative professional. Not
sure how to tell if you should turn something over? Ask
yourself, "Does this task need my direct attention, or can
it be done by someone else?" As an enterprising
entrepreneur, your job is to concentrate on what is of most
value to you and your business success, not on errands.

3. Break up projects into tasks.

If you have something on your to do list that's been there
for a long time, realize that it's probably not a task.
It's a project. To do lists are for discreet tasks. When
you put a project on your list, you'll get bogged down and
productivity will slow. Many of the women surveyed use
business strategist Brian Tracy's method for breaking up
projects into easy-to-do tasks:

+ First, list the finished result you want.

+ Next, map out each step of the project.

+ Then, put the steps into order, putting the important
steps to the front.

+ Now, delegate tasks and assign responsibilities.

+ Finally, devise a way to track the progress of the
project.

2. Give only 20% to what is urgent and a full 80% of your
attention to what is important.

As an entrepreneur, your job is to discern the difference
between what's important and what's urgent. To figure out
the difference between the two, ask yourself, "Will
focusing on this move my business forward and make me money
or will I just be putting out fires?" Dealing with the
urgent all day is draining. Dealing with what's important
is energizing. Make sure you're giving a full 80% of your
time and attention to what's important each day.

1. Focus on one thing at a time.

The #1 thing women entrepreneurs do to boost productivity
is... focus on one thing at a time. Although women are
known to be natural multi-taskers, surprisingly, those
surveyed said they were able to get more done when they
focused on one thing at a time. Starting and stopping in
the middle of things was frustrating for them and meant
that not much was completed at day's end.

What is the number one thing you consistently do to boost
your productivity? As you've just seen, among the 250 women
entrepreneurs I surveyed their answers ranged from
prioritizing their daily to do list to learning to break
projects up into smaller. Decide which of their favorite
techniques will help you the most, and start implementing
them right now. You're sure to boost productivity for
yourself and your business.