As an entrepreneur, we have to take on so many tasks and responsibilities, and it is so easy for our days to feel hectic and overwhelming. We feel like we need to do everything and be everything, and hustle culture tells us that it’s going to be a grind.

While I do believe that entrepreneurship can require a lot from us, I don’t think it needs to be as chaotic as we’re so often led to believe. We’re all in control of how we use our time and energy, and we actually have a lot of control over how simple or complicated we make things.

These six tips to simplifying your work life have helped me so much as the owner of my own Pinterest Marketing agency. They’ve helped me to let go of the clutter and add some space and breathing room to my day, and I truly hope (and believe!) that they can do the same for you.

As Confucius said: “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

1. Change your mindset and stop glamourizing the hustle

This is a really big one because whether we know it or not, many of us run on the belief that to be busy is a sign of success- we can get really attached to being overwhelmed because it’s almost seen as a badge of honour in today’s society! 

So, the first and most important step for simplifying your workday is to stop glamourizing the hustle and let go of the idea that to be successful, you need to be overwhelmed and overworked.

2. Batch your work

Batching your work is a huge time saver, and I find it helps me to feel much more accomplished. Batching means doing the same task all at once, rather than spreading it out. So, for example, if you write four blog posts per month, you’d sit down and write all four at once, rather than writing one per week.

Batching helps you to really focus on the task at hand, and by doing all of the work at once, you’re saving time on any setting up/organizing that you need to do for the task. For example, say you need to shoot some photos for your Instagram. If you set up your equipment and get out your photo props multiple times a week, you’re wasting a lot of time compared to setting things up and shooting all of your photos monthly.

3. Stop Multi-tasking

We all know by now that multi-tasking really isn’t that effective, but it can be hard to break from the habit. Things like scrolling through emails while you’re on a call or editing a document while you’re in a work meeting may seem productive, but the reality is that neither task ends up being done well.

Taking the time to really focus on the task at hand ultimately helps you complete each task faster and more effectively. Not only that, but your day will feel a lot simpler and clearer because you’re not overwhelming yourself with lots of little tasks and are instead pouring yourself fully into what’s in front of you.

4. Prioritize

It’s all too easy to spend our time on busy work and fritter away our day on unimportant tasks. Checking your email every hour, agonizing over the perfect social media post over-researching/educating yourself when you already know your stuff, or giving too much time to what should be small tasks are just a few examples of the ways we waste time on unimportant things.

In his book, The Four Hour Work Week, Tim Ferris makes the distinction between efficiency and effectiveness. He says that we can efficiently do work tasks all day long, but unless they’re actually effective and benefit our business, they’re just wasting our time. For example, you may efficiently organize the folders on your computer every day, but is that actually an effective use of your time?

Go through your daily, weekly, and monthly tasks and get really clear on what is actually helping your business to grow and what is just filler work or work that can be allotted a much shorter amount of time.

5. Put your phone away

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, time waster in my day is scrolling mindlessly on my phone, and the worst part is, I’m usually on complete autopilot and don’t even realize I’ve been scrolling until a few minutes in!

I notice such a difference in my days when I put my phone away and focus on my work. And I really do need to put it away- even having it next to me with the ringer switched off is a distraction. I find that I need to put it in another room altogether so it’s not sitting next to me.

In that same line of thinking, you can also try deleting any apps that you find are your biggest time wasters/stressors. 

As a Pinterest marketer, I do use my phone for work a lot, but as much as possible, I try to leave it in another room when I’m working.

6. Outsource

While this may not be an option for you at the beginning, outsourcing is one of the best ways to simplify your workload. Once you’re at the point in your business where this is feasible, outsource the tasks that take up the most of your time and/or that you dislike the most. It will be a huge weight off of your shoulders, and it will help you to streamline your workday, grow your business, and focus on the tasks you actually enjoy doing.

Are you interested in simplifying your marketing strategy? I offer full-service Pinterest Marketing services for wellness and lifestyle brands who are ready to grow and thrive. Check out my services page for more info.