Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner and just like every year, there will be an avalanche of sales and deals coming at us left and right. To make some sense in this messy shopping-extravaganza, I decided to curate a list of all Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals related to time …
These Black Friday deals will skyrocket your productivity (2021 edition) Read More »
Staying focused in your work can be a challenge even at the best of times, but when you’re an entrepreneur then staying motivated can be even more difficult. Now, add to that the constant traveling lifestyle of the ‘digital nomad’ and it becomes near impossible! You’re in a new city, new country, you’re excited to …
Being a solopreneur is a rare privilege. You get to run your own business, build a brand from the ground up and do it all single-handedly. Because you started off solo, you may feel like you have to keep it that way. And many solopreneurs want to keep it that way because they think adding …
Our most important and best work was born in a flow state, wherein we gave our undivided attention to one task for long stretches of time. But in the digital age, our attention span continues to fall. According to researcher Gloria Mark from the University of California, Irvine, it is found that the average information …
You’ve probably heard about that thing called “blue light” emitted by your mobile phone. You may be feeling bothered by its possible effects on your sleep and your health. While more studies still need to be done to determine whether blue light damages the eyes, experts agree that blue light has a disruptive effect on …
This article was last updated on November 16, 2019IntroductionWelcome to the wonderful world of meditation. I’m glad you’re here.You’ve probably heard all about the amazing things meditation can help you with: relax your mind, calm your body, bring inner peace. But where do you start? If you’re interested in learning more about meditation and mindfulness, or …
The Ultimate Guide on Mindfulness and Meditation (2020) Read More »
With this calculator, you can see how the hourly rate of your (future) freelancer/assistant translates to your bottom line. The first results “outsourcing cost” calculate how much your freelancer will cost you per day, week, month, and year. If you want, you can also enter how much you, as an entrepreneur, earn yourself to see …
An anecdote about Warren buffet is often told about Warren Buffett asking his long-time pilot to list his top 25 goals. According to the story, Buffett told him to circle 5 goals that are of highest priority to him. His pilot struggled to choose the top 5, as the other 20 were also important to …
Prioritize and Laser-Focus: Use the “Warren Buffett 5/25 Strategy” to Set Goals Read More »
Whenever the topic of outsourcing comes up, one of the most asked questions I get is: how much does it cost to hire a freelancer?To be frank, the correct answer would be: it depends.But everyone hates that answer, right? I know I do. So I decided to dive deep into this and I decided to …
Curating the right plan is crucial to the success of any business owner. However, it’s particularly important if you’re a solopreneur. Without anyone else to hold you accountable, you need to ensure you’re prepared to reach your goals more efficiently. That becomes easier when you adopt a Management by Objectives (MBO) approach. Developed by Peter …
How Solopreneurs Can Start Managing Based on Objectives Read More »
I come into contact with many solopreneurs who find it hard to meet the business goals they set out at the beginning of the year. No matter how great our best intentions or how clear our objectives are, it is very easy to lose momentum as we strive towards our end goals. But there is …
As solopreneurs, we often experience downtimes as we wait for clients, customers or freelancers to get back to us. Instead of twiddling your thumbs, bored, and idle you can make this time count! Here is a list of productive things to do when bored which will not only pass the time but will enrich your …
Every entrepreneur wants to be more productive without burning out. The good news is, there are a lot of great apps you can use to organize your ideas, coordinate with your team, and help you integrate your business schedule with your personal life. Below are 13 of the best time management tools I use on …
When it comes to motivation, it can be a little tough as a solopreneur. We don’t have a team of colleagues behind us pushing us forward, or a manager we need to impress. What tends to happen is that our focus wanders, leaving our goals unmet and our to-do list untouched. What’s a solopreneur to …
Accountability Partners: Why Every Solopreneur Should Have One Read More »
Are you easily distracted when you’re supposed to be working? Do your finger and thumbs constantly crave to scroll through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram when you hit any sort of obstacle? Or perhaps the incessant pings and notifications are demanding your attention when you desperately need to concentrate? Then you’re in the right place because …
For some, time management means squeezing every minute to get as many things done as is humanly possible before we collapse in exhaustion. In other words, “How can I do more in less time?” Let’s consider a more humane definition. The process of deciding on the order in which you will do tasks, and making …
The Hawthorne Effect has been used as a means to bolster productivity in the workplace for more than 80 years. But the professional landscape has drastically changed since it’s conception. The rise of remote teams means that the workplace and its behaviors have shifted, which begs the question, Is the Hawthorne Effect relevant to today’s …
Is the Hawthorne Effect Relevant to Solopreneurs? Read More »
Thanks to the rise of freelancer platforms such as FreeeUp, solopreneurs have unprecedented access to a worldwide pool of talented experts ready, willing, and able to help them reach their business goals. You can be working from your home office in a small town in mid-America and employ a VA located thousands of miles away …
Are your Freelancers Polychronic or Monochronic? Read More »
Introduction You can’t change what you’re not aware of. The same thing goes with shifting habits: Understanding how habits are formed allows us to work with our biology to create positive routines. As you read Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, you’ll realize that you …
Book Summary: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg Read More »
This is a list of the 20 most read articles on the Habitgrowth blog. These articles have clearly been helpful for others looking for time management tips and strategies, so I hope they will be helpful for you as well.
Many equate remote work with living a dream life–working anytime and anywhere, on projects and with clients you’ve chosen yourself. But as a popular quote goes: “With great power comes great responsibility.” In the case of remote work, well, that power to run our own show also implies that we are solely responsible for our …
Have you ever found yourself finishing a project, but you just can’t stop thinking about your email, your phone, or your latest social media post? Many of us can relate to feeling agitated when we don’t check our phones or go online. The only way we can stop feeling anxious is by caving in. So …
When it comes to background music, there is an unlimited number of tracks we can choose from (last time I checked, Spotify had 35 million songs in their library, it would take you 200 years to play them all). Some songs help me to boost my mood when I’m doing repetitive tasks. But I needed …
Procrastination was once thought to be a basic time-management problem, but recent studies have proven it to be a highly complex phenomenon and one which is largely individual. While the behavior is universal, the HOW and the WHY we experience procrastination are very personal. In Part I, we looked at the larger picture of procrastination, …
Many people ask me how to overcome procrastination, hoping that there is a quick fix that they can implement and suddenly stop it. Sorry guys! That’s not how it works. Procrastination is a highly complex thing and ‘curing’ it is a long hard process and one that won’t happen overnight. Sure, you’ll find a huge …
We all hit those unexpected days, weeks, or months when we have more on our plate than usual. How do you tackle them? Do you just ‘buckle down’ and get on with it? Do you go into ‘crunch time’ of working longer and harder? That is what most people do. But a 2014 study by …
Myth Buster: Working More Hours is More Productive Read More »
If you’re just about to hire your first freelancer you may be a little worried about delegating tasks. Or, perhaps you already work with freelancers but the process isn’t going as smoothly as you’d hoped. Either way, delegating is a valuable skill to have if you want to grow your business. Many solopreneurs struggle to …
As solopreneurs, much of our success hinges on how well we can manage our time. Below I’m sharing 10 of my favorite time management tips, techniques, and strategies. I also share how you can combine some of these tips to craft a schedule that matches your priorities. 1.80/20 Rule or Pareto Principle According to the …
Not Enough Time? Try These Top 10 Time Management Tips Read More »
Sometimes, as a solopreneur it can seem like you need a split personality just to fulfil all the roles required to run your business. In a traditional 9-5 business you’d have whole departments managing the different tasks that you are now solely responsible for. You have many hats to wear— the CEO hat, the accountant …
Productivity framework: Vertical and horizontal Time Theming Read More »
You’ve chased and won the biggest and best client of your solopreneur career so far; a real big fish and it’s going to put you on the map. You should be elated, buzzing with excitement and giving yourself a well-earned pat on the back… But no. Instead, you have cold sweats as you lie awake …
Introduction Have you ever caught yourself feeling compelled to check your email or social media accounts every five minutes? Have you ever been so engrossed in a game (say, Candy Crush, Temple Run, or any other game) that you would play it for hours even if you know you have tons to do? If your …
Let’s do a little visualization. Close your eyes and imagine your head as office and in the office is a desk- this is your brain. Is that desk all in order, neat and tidy with no outstanding tasks? Or is it a cluttered mess with a million and one post-it notes all over it, so …
Hiring remote workers can be an effective option for solopreneurs looking for support in their business ventures. But if certain things aren’t agreed beforehand, the solution can easily become a problem. Remotes workers can be all kinds of wonderful but they aren’t mind-readers! This is why setting clear expectations from the very beginning is key. …
The Importance of Setting Expectations with your Remote Staff Read More »
Introduction Effective communication Pre-vetted freelancers Fast hiring process A team that understands my concerns and has streamlined hiring processes These are some of the reasons why I’ve ditched Fiverr and Upwork and exclusively hire remote freelancers through FreeeUp. FreeeUp is a freelancing platform that connects over 4,000 businesses to the “top 1%” of remote workers. …
Do you find yourself lying awake at night thinking about all the things you didn’t get done that day and all the things you have to do the next day? Yeah, we’ve all been there. It’s like a suspense movie playing on a loop inside your head, but it never gets to the end. Instead, …
You may have been working hard on your business and your efforts are finally paying off. But now your tasks are piling up as well. You may be dreaming of generating more sales, offering new services, or launching new products. But you’re already up to your eyeballs in work. In this scenario, outsourcing can help …
Some people are born into greatness, while others have it thrust upon them. Still others, like me, stumble over it in the dark, breaking some furniture as they fall and bumping their heads into the coffee table. When I was starting my business, I thought that if I was going to be a great entrepreneur, …
Being an entrepreneur is a risky business. By definition, entrepreneurs take on financial risk in the hope of profit. Success or failure is dependent on decisions made, decisions which should be based on facts, figures, intelligence, and intuition. But so many entrepreneurs base their decisions on sunk costs, believing that past costs matter to future …
Many people feel trapped on the office treadmill because they think they don’t have what it takes to grab a virtual job. But here’s the thing: you don’t have to be a slick graphic designer or a whizz-kid programmer to work online. There are countless ‘work from anywhere’ jobs that require basic skills, skills that …
Has your to-do list ever been empty? If your answer is “Never,” you’re not alone. Sometimes our to-do lists are even longer than our grocery lists. And each time we check off something on our list, several tasks get added. Frustrating, isn’t it? As you grow your business or expand your career, that list will …
