Your ability to focus and manage time are the skills you need to maintain higher levels of productivity in your small business. However, if time management is not your forte, here are three productivity tips you and your team can adopt to help improve your overall business performance as you start 2019.

Pomodoro Technique

When you find keeping focus over long periods of time impossible, the Pomodoro Technique provides a solution. This handy time management system was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s and emphasises completing tasks within strict timeframes. It requires you to break down tasks into 25 minute intervals known as Pomodoros (with five-minute breaks in between).

Once you have completed four Pomodoro intervals, you can reward yourself with a 15 to 20-minute break. The limited time frame allocated for each task demands higher levels of concentration, leaving less time to procrastinate.

Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule is a well-known strategy first proposed by Vilfredo Pareto in 1906. The principle works on the notion that focusing on 20% of your tasks will account for 80% of results in your business. You need to determine which 20% of tasks you complete each day produce the highest value for your business.

Prioritise these items to manage your time more efficiently.

Keystone habits

Keystone habits are routines that have the power to push you to success. Introduced by Charles Duhigg in his book "The Power of Habit", they are simple, yet essential habits you can adopt. Small things like making your bed each morning or creating a plan for the day ahead set you up to form more positive habits down the track.

Keystone habits start a ripple effect. For example, by eating breakfast every morning or getting sufficient sleep each night, you experience several positive results like increased concentration and higher productivity levels throughout the day.

Creating constructive habits like these will help to improve your ability to focus on the tasks that will give you the most value every day at work.