But I felt compelled to win over potential investors, customers, and team members. If I didn’t succeed, neither would my venture.

Here are some of the tactics I used to help establish my credibility as a young founder, and grow my business in spite of my age:

1. Show others that you’re committed to the venture.

Find visible ways to demonstrate your willingness to serve the company.  I was always the first person at the office.  The signals founders send speak louder than their words.

2. Present yourself like the most successful people in your industry.

Given that most of our revenue came from brand managers and advertising agencies, I couldn’t show up to meetings looking like the college sophomore that I was.  I ordered and wore bespoke dress shirts with my monogram on my cuffs.  When advertising buyers started our meetings asking where I had my shirts made, the subsequent discussions usually went well.  Don’t take this too far and spend beyond your means, of course, but first impressions still count.

3. Find creative ways to inspire confidence.

My team was fired up when well-known leaders like Fred Hoar, the late VP of Communications at Apple, and Dana Summers, Nordstrom’s former VP of Marketing and CIO, joined our board.  Sometimes I would ask board members and other well-known advisers to come in and share their lessons with my team.  Most leaders love to give back to motivated young entrepreneurs, and this helps improve your credibility in a very noticeable way.

4. Set and deliver on objectives.

Goals and guidelines will go a long way towards establishing momentum and lifting team performance.

5. Develop your character.

While nothing builds trust faster than delivering results, nothing destroys it faster than a failure of integrity.  As you see your dream grow from an idea to an enterprise, your opportunities to cut corners will multiply.  Grow your character as you grow your business so the latter doesn’t crush the former.

Kevon Saber is the CEO of Fig, a mobile startup focused on personal well-being. Prior to Fig, Kevon was VP of Sales & Marketing at GenPlay Games, a mobile games developer he co-founded which has created fifteen games and $40+ million in consumer revenue. Kevon holds a BS in Finance from Santa Clara University and a MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Kevon and his family live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Saber is a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only nonprofit organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

QUESTION: WHAT IS THE BIGGEST PERK OF OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS?

Question by: Ashley

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. A New Business Brief

I used to think this was unnecessary, but it has been a game changer for the last two businesses I started. One day, after weeks of mulling it over in my mind, I sat down and wrote a two- to-three-page brief on the business I wanted to start. I then used that to contact potential colleagues, investors and partners. It’s not as compelling as a deck, but it takes one-tenth of the time to create.
- Gagan Biyani, Growth Hackers Conference

2. Trello

We use Trello (https://trello.com/) to organize our product road maps and company strategic goals in a way that is easy to share, organize and update as things progress and change.
- Robert J. Moore, RJMetrics

3. Gust

Gust (http://gust.com/), a new platform for startup funding, has an excellent website user experience that can immensely help founders structure their startup plans. There is space on Gust to add a company summary, management bios, video pitches, supporting documents and more. Even better, Gust enables founders to download a consolidated executive summary, as well as share corporate information securely.
- Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

4. Excel

If a new idea can’t be simplified into a one- to-two-page summary, then it’s probably not refined enough to be actionable. When analyzing big strategic decisions, Excel is still the best way to forecast a decision and understand the key factors to achieving success. If you’re honest with your assumptions, you will identify the key areas to focus on and then see if you can reach those milestones.
- Jeff Berger, Doostang and Universum Group

5. An Editorial Calendar

Coming from a writing background, I live and die by my editorial calendar. I need to know which marketing materials I need written at particular points — forcing me to do research to figure out financials and other details in order to make the calendar. It’s a framework that works for me, but it’s just that. Everyone needs their own framework.
- Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

6. The Painted Picture

I love the book “Double Double” by Cameron Herald and its “The Painted Picture” exercise. It’s one of the most difficult exercises I’ve ever done, but it helps you envision the type of business you’re building and how you should feel about the company, even while you’re growing it.
- Nathalie Lussier, The Website Checkup Tool

7. Google Calendar

When making a plan, it’s essential to tie dates to deliverables — I sometimes plot out plans directly into Google Calendar. You can create a new color-coded calendar just for the project, then plug your deliverables to their due dates.
- Laura Roeder, LKR Social Media

8. Management Goals

We have a simple spreadsheet with management goals for every member of our team. We update this list of goals every month. In a startup, accountability is even more vital than it is in a large company. Everyone needs to pull their weight or the company fails. With everyone creating their own lists of goals, they become accountable not only to everyone in the startup, but also to themselves.
- Mitch Gordon, Go Overseas

9. MyStrategicPlan

One resource to consider is called MyStrategicPlan (http://mystrategicplan.com/). It can help with business planning on all levels and includes financial forecasting assistance as well.
- Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

10. A Business Model Canvas

Alex Osterwalder has created the “Business Model Canvas” (http://www.businessmodelgeneration.com/), a one-page document that forces you to clarify your business model in very little space. This resource, which you can get for free, helps entrepreneurs clarify their key activities, partners and costs. Limiting space and making the plan visual forces you to think critically about your new idea.
- Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. Full-Sized eBooks

eBooks deliver a ton of value. The fact that a consumer is getting an entire book for free is perceived to have a LOT of value. For most people, it’s always worth taking the time to fill out a few lines on an opt-in form.
- Richard Lorenzen, Fifth Avenue Brands

2. A Customized Training Quiz

I rolled out a fully customized training based on a quiz for my email opt-in early in 2012, and it has been really well-received. The idea is that you can get a little extra information about your prospects, even as you are delivering a ton of value to them. You can see my example at http://Websitecheckuptool.com.
- Nathalie Lussier, The Website Checkup Tool

3. Gift Cards

Webinars and eBooks are attractive, but most potential customers are more motivated by cold, hard cash. But that’s not to say that your giveaways need to be expensive. Keep it at $5 and you’ll still get solid responses.
- Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

4. Presentations on SlideShare

Post a valuable presentation to SlideShare (http://www.slideshare.net). Doing so will help your SEO, establish you in the industry, tease your business, tap into the existing SlideShare network and optimize your presentation for social media. You’ll be surprised by the number of views you get soon after posting. Secret tip: Load your presentation up with an SEO-rich script and use images over the top as the slides.
- Benjamin Leis, Sweat EquiTees

5. A Health Food Plate Document

We created a Health Food Plate, which is a one-page image that shows people which percentage of foods to eat for a healthy balance — proteins, carbs, fats, snacks, water, etc. You can see it at http://bartonpublishing.com/healthyfoodplate.
- Joe Barton, Barton Publishing

6. An Ultimate Industry Guide

A while back, we created an “Ultimate Guide” eBook for our industry. Coupons and vouchers are good, but if you really want people to purchase your product or service, give them your expertise. eBooks offer great value to the clients and, in turn, make them more likely to view you as the authority in your industry.
- Nick Friedman, College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving

7. One Product Each Day

In March 2013, we created the “Mod-a-Day Giveaway.” The idea was to give away a different product each day for a month. By committing to doing this daily, we created a reason for people to continue to engage. Of course, we’re having other conversations on social media, too, which allows these prospects to learn more about what we stand for. Stand by your own product and offer that for leads!
- Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

8. The Right eBook

I have four eBooks that I wrote as a set several years ago that are still driving traffic to my website on a regular basis, as well as converting traffic to leads — despite having no gateway (such as a requirement to subscribe to a newsletter for access). These aren’t any old eBooks, though: They were written to specifically address the four questions I get most often from prospects.
- Thursday Bram, Hyper Modern Consulting

9. Discount Coupons

Discount coupons are the clear winner for our e-commerce business to drive leads/sales. Once we added a coupon sign-up icon on our website, sales revenue increased by 30 percent. When the online shopper perceives he is getting a good deal in the form of a discount, he is far more likely to convert to a sale. Make sure you set an expiration date to create a sense of urgency to purchase.
- Anthony Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings

10. A Hardbound Book

I wrote a book, and we offer delivery to your door for free! It really helps us stand out and has done a great job with lead gen. “60 Seconds: How to Tell Your Company’s Story and the Brain Science to Make It Stick” has useful info for people to make their own videos, hire and work with our competitors or work with us to produce a great video.
- Andrew Angus, Switch Video

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

For entrepreneurs, business school presents a unique set of choices and opportunities that can drastically alter a founder’s chance of success — for better or worse.

I founded Troop ID while I was an MBA candidate at Harvard Business School in February of 2010. And while today we employ 17 people and sign up nearly 1,000 new members daily, our path to success would have been much swifter had I leveraged the resources at my fingertips while in business school.

Here are 5 of my top lessons — many of them learned the hard way — for other MBAs considering entrepreneurship:

1. Research vesting carefully.

If you have a co-founder, then you will inevitably face a choice about how to split ownership of the company. Initially, this will seem simple: 50/50. But what happens when your co-founder – comparing his ramen noodle diet to the average starting salary of your MBA graduating class — decides to take a high-paying corporate job several months later and wants to remain an equal owner?

That happened to me, and I felt physically ill for almost two months until we sorted it out. Fortunately, smart investors won’t invest in companies until non-full time founders sell back their shares, and, ultimately, that reality allowed me to resolve the situation. But the confrontation cost me precious time and it ruined my personal relationship with a classmate I had once trusted. Looking back, I could have gone down the hall to see Noam Wasserman, a professor at Harvard who literally wrote the book on optimal ownership structures for Founding Teams. I still kick myself over that missed opportunity.

2. Find a mentor.

MBAs are uniquely positioned to find a mentor who is invested in their success. While I would steer clear of pure academic types, there are usually plenty of successful entrepreneurs on faculty.  If you develop a personal relationship with a successful entrepreneur who trusts you and is passionate about your venture, then you will have gained the most valuable asset of all: someone who can open doors for you within their trusted network. Since most MBAs are first-time CEOs or founders, sophisticated angel investors will often require that a person they trust sit on the board of the company.

My mentor, Kelly Perdew, helped me navigate multiple pitfalls that could have killed our business; he kept our chins up when the breaks went the wrong way; and he kept our eye on the ball when they started to go right. Kelly provided introductions to most of our current angels and he walked me through the financing process. He’s the single best thing to happen to me and my company.

3. Understand the commitment.

An MBA provides a safety valve that many other entrepreneurs don’t enjoy — a terrible thing for entrepreneurs, because it means that you can waltz out of your company at any point in time and land in a safe, high-paying job. I had a full-time offer from a top management consulting firm that paralyzed me the first few months after I finished business school.

Until I declined that opportunity, I couldn’t make the tough decisions about the best geographic location for the company, I wasn’t fully bought into my own vision and, most importantly, I couldn’t hire talented people or ask them to leave their jobs because that would be unethical. Only when I fully committed to making my company successful did I feel free.

I waited far too long to make this decision and I allowed my Facebook feed – filled with my classmates’ vacations and ski trips – to influence my thinking. After declining the job offer, the next year was even worse. I was lonely. My credit cards maxed out. But I never quit because I was passionate about the problem that I was solving.

4. Focus on your product, relentlessly. 

Before we even had a product, I had built a sharp-looking Excel business model that projected a meteoric rise to success. I cringe now when I write about it because, while I understood financial modeling, I understood virtually nothing about building a company. Because I had business training, I thought that my job was to go out and build a sales and marketing plan and to develop relationships with other businesses. I pursued these activities at the expense of the product — the core of the business.

After a few months and a harsh (but much-needed) conversation with one of our seed investors, I stopped doing everything else until we nailed our product and validated our assumptions with small cohorts of customers.

Today, focusing on product first is a personal mantra. It’s also incredibly rewarding because it allows for a level of creativity and self-actualization absent in most other functions. MBAs are well-suited to leverage their business training to provide analytical rigor to validate customer assumptions based upon customer behavior with product features.

In the meantime, I’ve learned not to waste money selling and marketing a product that doesn’t solve a real problem.

5. Pitch everyone. 

The biggest advantage of being an MBA is that you have access to virtually everyone you need to poke holes in your idea: faculty, lawyers, angel investors, VCs, corporate executives, classmates, and potential customers. Pitch everyone you meet while you are in business school, and soak in the feedback. After a few weeks, you’ll notice that the critiques you receive are clustered around perceived weak points in your business model or flaws with your product idea.

If you can gather the data to answer each one of those critiques, then people will start writing checks to you — and they will leave their jobs to come work for you.

America needs more talented leaders to choose entrepreneurship. Our best and brightest have the most impact when they build new products that solve meaningful problems and give people jobs. We don’t need more bankers and consultants. If you decide to go this route, I wish you the best of luck!

Blake Hall is the Founder and CEO of Troop ID, a digital authentication engine capable of verifying military affiliation online. An Airborne-Ranger qualified officer, Blake led a battalion reconnaissance platoon in Iraq for fifteen months during 2006 – 2007. He has written for The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, The Huffington Post and Vanderbilt Magazine. Thanks to The Economist, he is also the first Google result for the phrase “muscly entrepreneur.”

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Question by: Ashley

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

The following answers are provided by the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

1. Put an End to the Dog Days

Are your employees down in the dumps? There are few things that make people happier than puppies. Allow your employees to bring their pets to work one day, or have the local animal shelter bring some of their newest arrivals over for playtime. You will see pawticular improvement in your employees’ morale.
- Benjamin Leis, Sweat EquiTees

2. Offer Service Perk Upgrades

Beyond physical space adjustments, some of the best upgrades to an office environment involve service perks. For example, some hip companies have a weekly shoe shine, massage or mani-pedi opportunity covered by the company. Since people are living at the office nowadays, bringing fun services into the office environment on a consistent schedule will make employees love the space more than ever.
- Doreen Bloch, Poshly Inc.

3. Open Up a Family-Style Kitchen

One tip for an employee-friendly office upgrade is having a family-style area for eating meals. A kitchen table with multiple chairs immediately changes the dynamic and opens up a communal space for conversation away from everyone’s desks.
- Caroline Ghosn, The Levo League

4. Make It Fun(ctional)

We recently added a meditation room to our office. On one hand, it’s a novelty, and it’s fun to say you have one. More importantly, though, our employees actually use it. It benefits them because it’s a reasonably secluded spot to unwind in the middle of a stressful day. The added bonus is that it increases their productivity in the long term.
- Nick Friedman, College Hunks Hauling Junk and College Hunks Moving

5. Think Convenience

Some of the best offices I’ve ever seen offer the added benefit of convenience. Convenience can come in many forms. The best examples are in-office gyms, spas and barbers. Offering these elements within a workplace allows your hard workers to schedule their personal time within their work hours, rather than externally. This nurtures greater productivity and employee happiness.
- Logan Lenz, Endagon

6. Feature a Fun Zone

Just as it is important to have a work area that is organized and conducive to productivity, it is equally important to have a communal gathering space that affords a break from the daily grind. This space can be anything — a corner ping pong table, a comfy lounge or a kitchen bar — so long as it encourages staffers to relax or be social for a bit.
- Alex Lorton, Cater2.me

7. Reflect Culture Through Office Space

Just like our home reflects our personality, the office should reflect our company culture. If your startup is in the health space, offer free gym memberships. If your company values constant learning, start a book club. If your environment is collaborative and positive, share kudos publicly on a high-five wall. We’ve seen the embodiment of our culture become more important than the furniture.
- Shradha Agarwal, ContextMedia

8. Purchase a Soul Seat

I tested out a Soul Seat (www.mysoulseat.com) the other day, and it’s the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in. It’s built by a yoga instructor with the idea of active sitting in mind, and it has dramatically improved my posture throughout the day.
- Kelsey Meyer, Digital Talent Agents

9. Incorporate Mood Boards

We have mood boards all over the office with pictures that inspire us, make us happy and articulate our brand. It’s a great way to feel inspired every day when you come to work.
- Kit Hickey, Ministry of Supply

10. Make Your Office a Company History Museum

Use the cast-offs from previous retail interiors, marketing campaigns or art installations that used to occupy your business interiors. There’s no better way to keep employees connected to where the company came from, and it keeps everyone in the organization humble to know that the executives are working on vintage furniture.
- Michael Portman, Birds Barbershop

11. Keep It Open

Lose the cubicles! Keep an open area where people can see each other work and interact, including the executives. Have a dining area with a loaded refrigerator or free vending machines. Make them feel like they are at home, and they will be more productive.
- Ak Kurji, Gennex Group

12. Set an Example With Family Time

Everyone is welcome to have family (including dogs) come by our office anytime. As an executive team, we set that example by being sure that our families DO come by. We’ve got five toddlers running around at different times. Including the family in the workspace makes people comfortable, brings the team closer and helps create an environment of understanding.
- Wade Eyerly, Surf Air

13. Make It a Playground

We bring as many unique and creative activities in our office as possible to help give our team easy outlets when they need some time to recharge. We make sure to schedule gaming tournaments, cookouts, happy hours and pick-up hockey games on a regular basis. We also own every video game console known to man, an office gym and a kitchen fully stocked with everyone’s favorite drinks and snacks.
- Eric Corl, Fundable LLC

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

TIME YOUR WORK SESSIONS

“The Pomodoro technique is a very effective work-pause-work method invented by Francesco Cirillo in the late ’80s. Each work sprint of 25 minutes is followed by a 5-minute break. First, choose a relatively simple task to accomplish, focus on the task for 25 minutes and then take 5-minute break to grab another cup of coffee. Then, start again. Works like a charm, especially if you’re on the move!”

- Juha Liikala | Co-Founder & Director of Marketing, WebVehicle Oy

 

TAKE BREAKS TO NETWORK

“I live by a structured schedule, but it’s hard to concentrate when there’s a lot of opportunity around when I’m working. Scheduling work blocks and breaks is a great way to “reward” myself with time to network, get distracted and enjoy some freedom while still accomplishing my tasks.”

- Kelly Azevedo | Founder, She’s Got Systems

 

RELIABLE WIFI WITH MIFI

“The danger for me when working on-the-go is the lack of reliable Internet connection. When the connection is spotty, I may get distracted with my phone, a newspaper article and more. Having a MiFi device has been an amazing solution; you’re guaranteed to get a fast and fail-free connection so you can work anywhere, anytime.”

- Doreen Bloch | CEO / Founder, Poshly Inc.

 

PREP YOUR OFFLINE WORKLOAD

“We tend to have a lot of reliance on Internet access, but sometimes when WiFi is spotty or just unavailable, make sure you have plenty of work you can do offline. You can still upload it online later, if needed. Just thinking about Internet problems can be distracting, so by eliminating the need for Internet access, you can focus more energy on getting your work done.”

- Danny Wong | Co-Founder, Blank Label Group, Inc.

 

SET THREE CLEAR GOALS

“When I work away from my desk, I usually list out three things I have to get done. I can network or do anything else I want as soon as I finish that work. I make a point of not doing anything else until I finish that work. I’ve never had a problem telling someone that I simply must get something emailed off before I chat — fellow entrepreneurs in particular often understand!”

- Thursday Bram | Consultant, Hyper Modern Consulting

 

ARTIFICIAL DEADLINES REALLY WORK!

“I’m a big fan of giving myself artificial deadlines for whatever I happen to be working on, and doing so can really help you stay focused wherever you happen to be. Make sure the deadlines are tough to meet, though, otherwise you’ll be easily distracted by whatever is going on around you. If you’ve got twenty minutes to finish up that presentation, your eyes will stay on the prize.”

- Colin Wright | CEO, Asymmetrical, LLC

 

REMEMBER THE MILK

“When traveling, you generally only have a few minutes here and there to really accomplish anything. The way I get around that is to have my to-do list, which is housed at RememberTheMilk.com, stare at me in the face with Priority 1 projects. I then shut the email off so no new distractions come my way. That combination allows me to get things done and then enjoy the world around me.”

- Greg Rollett | CEO, The ProductPros

 

WUNDERLIST STOPS THE WANDERING

“The best tool I have used to help me stay focused on the go is Wunderlist. I can sync my laptop, iPad and iPhone up at all times. If I’m using my phone, I can see the same list of priorities for each client that needs to get done as when I’m on my computer. I think that when you can’t visualize everything that needs to get done, you become easily distracted.”

- Steven Le Vine | CEO/President, grapevine pr

 

PEOPLE DON’T BOTHER BUSY PEOPLE!

“Staying focused outside of the office is all about the environment, so I put on headphones and listen to some light music. Not only does it block out ambient noise, but people are less likely to distract you if they think you can’t hear them anyway.”

- John Hall | CEO, Digital Talent Agents

 

BRING THOSE HEADPHONES

“When working outside of an office or your house, it can be easy to get distracted by the immense amount of noise at coffee shops or in the airport. Investing in a nice pair of headphones is a great way to stay focused on the task at hand and tune out the things going on around you.”

- Heather Huhman | Founder & President, Come Recommended

 

DIVIDE TASKS BY LOCATION

“When I’m traveling, I divide tasks by location: sitting in the airport, riding in the car, waiting in line, during ascent and descent, and cruising altitude. This requires a bit more planning, but I find that it makes keeping up with email, phone calls and projects relatively easy. The ease and efficiency of never having to wonder what to do now helps me to invest the time wisely.”

- Elizabeth Saunders | Founder & CEO, Real Life E®

 

WHICH TASKS ARE LOCATION INDEPENDENT?

“If I have to do work in an airport, lobby or Starbucks, I do my best to schedule what I will be working on in advance. Processing data and doing routine tasks is far easier than being creative in these environments. Set yourself up with tasks that you can accomplish given the time, resources and environment.”

- Lucas Sommer | Founder CEO, Audimated

 

DO A LITTLE DANCE!

“Okay, not really dancing; listening to music is kind of a must for me when I’m working in public, while traveling, or otherwise surrounded by people. Let We Are Hunted or The Hype Machine’s Popular list drown out the world, especially in the presence of abundant distractions.”

- Derek Shanahan | Growth Marketing, Playerize

 

KEEP CO-WORKING TO TRULY WORK

“Working on the go regularly will help train you to focus while outside your own office. A few years ago, I never would have been able to get four emails done as I walk from gate to gate at the airport, but it’s something you can really get good at.”

- Caitlin McCabe | Founder & CEO, Real Bullets Branding

 

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

 
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

]]> http://under30ceo.com/15-tips-to-do-more-focused-work-even-when-youre-on-the-go/feed/ 2 http://under30ceo.com/13-ways-to-manage-your-hectic-schedule-and-stay-on-task/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=13-ways-to-manage-your-hectic-schedule-and-stay-on-task http://under30ceo.com/13-ways-to-manage-your-hectic-schedule-and-stay-on-task/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:00:42 +0000 theyec http://under30ceo.com/?p=27692

Question: How do you keep yourself on task/maintain productivity with a hectic work schedule? 

TURN OFF THE DOPAMINE DRIP

“Let’s face it — we’re all addicted to email. If you want to get stuff done, turn off your email. Close your social media feeds and web browser too. You’ll be amazed at what you get done without the biochemical surge of ping, tweet, ping!”
- Michael Margolis | President, Get Storied

MAKE YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE

“The most influential changes I’ve made to my work habits and management style have been around accountability. I used to assume motivation was intrinsic, because internally, I’m a very motivated person. What I’d missed was that motivation isn’t the only thing fueling productivity, and accountability measures have done wonders to increase and organize my (and my team’s) output.”
- Derek Shanahan | Growth Marketing, Playerize

SEGMENT TIME INTO TASKS

“It took me years to understand that having a master task list was not good enough anymore. When looking at a long list of to-do’s, it’s easy to feel discouraged and not know where to start. It wasn’t until recently that I started segmenting my days into time intervals filled with specific tasks positioned to drive my productivity. Now, I only spend a certain amount of time on a task everyday.”

- Logan Lenz | Founder / President, Endagon

KEEP CERTAIN RITUALS

“I can get pretty scattered so if I don’t create rituals and stick with them, it’s tough for me to stay on task. Every night, I write out my to-do list for the next day. I get a good quick workout in the morning to get my mind clear and creative. Then I prioritize tasks and allot a certain amount of time for each task, and I’m ready to roll! Find what works for you and stick with it.”

- Trevor Mauch | CEO (Chief Entrepreneurial Officer), Automize, LLC

MANAGE TASKS WITH ANY.DO

“I use this task manager on my Android phone, and it keeps my important priorities in check. Without a task manager, I would be lost! I tend to put all my tasks in there, set reminders and priorities. It then breaks down what I need to do each day by importance.”
- Justin Nowak | VP, Community & Events, Canadian Cloud Council

WORK WELL WITH WUNDERLIST

“It used to be really difficult for me to keep everything I had to do in front of me. It was all in my head, which made everything take much longer to complete. But now I use Wunderlist, which is a great application that allows me to constantly keep all of my daily tasks and goals in front of me, categorized by each client. What’s even better is I can constantly sync it to my iPhone and iPad.”
- Steven Le Vine | CEO/President, grapevine pr

LEAVE IT ALL TO ASANA

“My go-to online productivity app is Asana. It has served as a tremendous business tool by providing a high-level view of my projects in queue, as well as supporting tactical level needs and team integration. It is user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing, and it can help you refocus and prioritize a chaotic schedule.”
- Erica Nicole | Founder and CEO, YFS Magazine: Young, Fabulous & Self Employed

TOUCH BASE WITH THE TEAM

“Every day, our team has a 10-minute meeting during which each person shares what they accomplished in the last 24 hours, and what their top priority is for the next 24 hours. This creates a sense of accountability among team members. We all know each other’s goals and whether or not we accomplished them.”
- Bhavin Parikh | CEO, Magoosh Test Prep

LEARN TO RESET YOURSELF

“We’ve all done it — you fall behind or get distracted when you have a hectic work schedule. The best thing to begin learning is how to reset yourself. Once you figure out how to snap out of a distraction and get back to work, it’s easier to stay on task and maintain your productivity. If you don’t learn how to reset quickly and often, you’ll get held back.”
- Doreen Bloch | CEO / Founder, Poshly Inc.

STICK TO A CRITICAL TRIAD

“It’s easy to mistake emails, meetings, and tweeting as critical work. Everyday I ask myself, “What three critical tasks must I get done today to move my company forward?” I then write these tasks on a piece of paper that I carry around with me. I cross out each task as I complete them and won’t work on anything else until I complete them.”
- Jun Loayza | President, Reputation Hacks

MULTITASKING IS OVERRATED

“Multitasking is inevitable, but vastly overrated. Focus is where it’s at. Focus on one thing at a time, and focus on completing one thing at a time. If you can cross something off your to-do list, from start to finish, do it. Do it now. Procrastination only makes room for excuses, and will ultimately lead to you feeling overwhelmed.”
- Matt Cheuvront | Founder, Proof Branding

STAY IN THE MOMENT

“If you’re distracted by what’s next, you’ll never focus on what’s now. Stay in the moment and do your best when accomplishing the task at hand. If you feel rushed or overwhelmed, remember to be quick — but don’t hurry.”
- David Gardner | Co-Founder, ColorJar

SET GROUND RULES

“I keep a long running to do list and before I start my work day I highlight the items that are most important to accomplish that day. As the leader of the business, the more time you carve out to spend on the most important strategic items the better. Once you’ve prioritized, set ground rules with your employees. Interruption comes in many forms and will suck the life out of your productivity.”
- Anderson Schoenrock | CEO, ScanDigital

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recently launched #StartupLab, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses via live video chats, an expert content library and email lessons.

Image Credit: Shutterstock.com

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