How to Avoid Draining Business Tasks

The drain we feel from some business tasks can be profound. When a simple task that should take only five minutes ends up costing us an hour, not only do we feel upset about our lost productivity, but we are also zapped of energy to do more. It’s a double whammy – we’re both frustrated and tired.

What’s more, in many cases we know which tasks are draining us, but we don’t always know the solution, so we’re stuck facing them again and again. Below we share some strategies for eliminating the draining business tasks in your life and tips to prevent future ones from emerging.

Tips to Boost Productivity and Eliminate Brain Drain

If you find yourself expending too much energy on certain business tasks, it’s time to reset before you burn out. Here are some ways to minimize the draining business tasks you and your team face.

• Audit your hours – First, it can be helpful to do a time audit. Track your team’s hours for a week. How are employees spending most of their time? Hopefully it’s on strategic tasks, but chances are good that a lot of time (likely more than you care to admit) is being spent on draining business tasks. The goal of this exercise is not to micromanage everyone’s time. Rather, it’s to gain data and insight into ways to improve efficiency and productivity across the board.

• Automate repetitive tasks – Once you know where time is being lost, you can take steps to streamline your business. Automating repetitive manual processes is a good place to start.

• Outsource where appropriate – The best use of everyone’s time is when we all focus on tasks in our wheelhouse. It’s no surprise that if asked to do a task you’re not an expert at, it will take longer than for someone who knows what they’re doing to do it. The work may also be prone to errors. This is why SMBs looking to improve efficiency choose to outsource. When you outsource services like HR, you and your team can refocus your energy and resources on strategic initiatives that will grow your bottom line.

• Prioritize tasks – Those who wander may not be lost, but without a plan, they’re wasting a lot of time hemming and hawing over their next steps. If you don’t face each day with clear priorities, you’re expending a lot of unnecessary energy. Focus on high-priority, high-impact tasks first and outsource, delay, or eliminate low-priority ones.

• Implement time-management techniques – One of the reasons business tasks become draining is because they take way longer than they need to. To nip brain drain in the bud, consider exploring time management techniques like the Pomodoro Technique, time blocking or the two-minute rule to stay focused and avoid procrastination.

Lastly, it’s always important to prioritize balance. Establish clear boundaries for your work hours and personal time and avoid the temptation to work on draining tasks during your downtime. By taking breaks and having personal time, you can recharge and refocus on your next day’s priorities.

For help maximizing your SMB’s resources, contact us at The OIS Group. We’ll conduct a full review free of charge and offer a custom solution just for your business.