Making the most of working on your business

Between running sessions, planning sessions, commuting, getting your own workouts in and family time, there is often not a lot of time and energy left over in a day for working on (not in) your business.

The good news is that you don’t actually need a lot of time. If you can find just 60-90 minutes in a day to work on your business from Monday to Friday you can get a lot done.

The problem is that 60-90 minutes can get eaten up pretty quickly on things like social media or planning workouts. My trick to making the most of that time is to use an interval training-like method called Pomodoro.

How Pomodoro works is you do 25 minutes of work followed by 5 minutes of rest. It’s that simple.

Just like with physical interval training you want to go hard for the 25 minutes or work with no distractions (phone on silent, social media tabs closed). Then for the 5 minutes rest make sure you get up and walk away from your desk, maybe do some mobility exercises, check your phone/social media if you need to, then get ready to get back into it.

The 25 minutes of work is short enough to create some pressure to get the thing you are working on done and checked off. Then the 5 minute break gives your mind a much needed refresh. I find by working this way I can get a lot more done in a shorter period of time. When I work non-stop I find my productivity level drops off by a lot after about an hour.

One key to getting the most out of each 25 minute round is to spend some time before starting planning out what I’m going to do in each work block.

Here’s an example of 90 minutes from my notepad:

1. WRITE: Write and publish this blog post
2. PROJECTS: Research and begin draft on module 2 of new course
3. TRIBE: Reply to comments on BootCraft, check emails, be helpful in BCI: Ask

Do the hardest and scariest stuff first, then do the easier stuff later. Notice also that my work-related social media time is allocated so that I don’t spend hours and hours there.

Here are some suggestions for other things you might do during your 25 minutes:

• write a blog post or draft your social media for the entire week
• follow up with clients who’ve missed sessions recently
• write and send your weekly/monthly newsletter
• catch up on book keeping
• get that shopping for new equipment done (instead of constantly browsing)
• plan out this week’s sessions using BootCraft
• complete a module of that online training course you’re doing
• check-in in your community Facebook group
• draft a welcome email series for new members
• plan out a community event for your members

Here’s the process again in a few easy steps for you to try:

Step 1: Work out how many rounds you can get done (eg. 1 round in 30 minutes, 4 rounds in 2 hours).

Step 2: Plan out what you’re going to do in each 25 minute block.

Step 3: Set a timer for 25 minutes on/5 minutes off (I like this app).

Step 4: Get stuff done!

Give it a go this week and let me know how it goes.

Kyle Wood

Kyle Wood created Bootcamp Ideas in 2010 when he was hunting around on the internet for workout ideas. He ran a successful bootcamp in Victoria, Australia and spends his spare time managing this site, adventuring (or lazying) with his wife and find new ways to make bootcamps even better.