Five productivity tips from Scottish entrepreneurs

SETTLING back into the work routine can be difficult after the festive period but there are ways to boost your productivity to ensure you hit the ground running in 2016.

RBS Chief Executive Ross McEwan at Entrepreneurial Spark Glasgow chatting to Tracey Eker of Flexiworkforce and right Jim Duffy CEO Entrepreneurial Spark Glasgow. Picture: Robert Perry

For small business owners there is no so such luxury of easing themselves back into workplace activity.

Growing a business from scratch is no mean feat and requires constant drive and focus to ensure success.

Start-up entrepreneurs have to maintain high productivity levels throughout the year to keep their business afloat and enable them to continue to grow.

Inside Glasgow's Entrepreneurial Spark 'hatchery'. Picture: John Devlin

We spoke to some of the entrepreneurs at Entrepreneurial Spark - the world’s largest, free business accelerator - to discover how to shake off that January lethargy and boost productivity in the workplace.

TACKLE WORK TASKS STRATEGICALLY

Fiona Gowing from Ayrshire, the Founder of Bitzbags Ltd, advises tackling tasks one at time.

Fiona said: “Coming back to work after the festive break can be daunting as you hit a pile of emails and tasks for the year ahead and it can be difficult to clearly see where to start. Multitasking is a myth – this can actually reduce your focus and productivity.

Inside Glasgow's Entrepreneurial Spark 'hatchery'. Picture: John Devlin


“Tackling work tasks strategically, by allocating time for blocks of similar tasks, can help you focus your efforts to achieve priority outcomes on a daily and weekly basis.

“Focus! Follow one course until successful.”

PLAN YOUR DAY



Scott MacFarlane, founder and UK Director of Edinburgh firm, Transworld Soccer, offered the following advice:

“Take the first 15 minutes of every day to plan your day. Don’t start your day until you complete your time plan.

“The most important time of your day is the time you scheduled to schedule time.

“Use commuting as a means to get ahead: novels have been written on the commute to work whilst others stare into space!”

GET THE WORST TASKS OUT OF THE WAY

It’s all to easy to put off the tasks we enjoy the least, but Glasgow-based entrepreneur Jim Law - founder and CEO of sport organising app, Find a Player - warns against this.

Jim said: “Rather than focusing on the monumental pile of stuff you have to catch up on, just focus on one job, but make it the one you want to do least.

“Getting that out of the way will give you a real mental boost and make you feel good about yourself, which in turn will make everything else seem much easier”.

INVEST IN THE RIGHT TOOLS

Leah Hutcheon, founder and CEO of Appointedd in Edinburgh, suggests: “Use the best tools you can find to do the job at hand. While we can’t all afford lots of staff, investing in the right tools to make your job easier will pay dividends.

“There’s so many innovative software products now that can help all types of businesses, and they are often free or available for a small monthly fee.

“Just have a search on Google for your particular need and you’re bound to find something that will lighten your load and streamline your processes.”

DON’T FEAR CHANGE

Entrepreneurial Spark founder and Chief Executive Jim Duffy believes the new year is an excellent time to set yourself new goals to reinvigorate your working life:

“If you continue to go along doing the same thing, and speaking to the same people, then you’ll never manage to break out and achieve real, exciting success.

“This year make a promise to yourself to get out of your comfort zone and meet new people, and change the way you work on a day to day basis.”