What a "Little Guy" Can Learn from Forbes

This past week I saw a Forbes articles from last May going around Facebook. It's titled "11 Things Ultra-Productive People Do Differently." Feeling like I've been nowhere near as productive as I need to be of late, I decided to click on the link.

Judging by the website where it was published, I wasn't sure how many of the "things" would be applicable to my life and small business. I was surprised to find I was already doing a few of those things, and I did take away a few good ideas.

So what can a "little guy" learn from Forbes?

In this instance, quite a bit. Much of what is talked about are things all of us deal with, even those of us who don't work a traditional job or run a business. The bit about not touching something twice? Yes, they speak about emails in particular, but how many times do we find ourselves starting a chore, getting distracted putting away something nearby, and then going back to that chore again and again. Isn't that the same thing a popular meme a couple years back referred to as ADCD: attention deficit cleaning disorder?

A quick search found it at Life and Parenthood. Go check them out for lots of great comics & more!

I love the bit about getting ready for tomorrow before heading off for bed. I do this as often as I can, specifically setting up my soaping setup. It was particularly useful when I was working a full-time, on site job in addition to running Contented Comfort. I was able to get up and make a batch of soap before I had to head into work, and it was ready to take out of the molds by the time I came home. Even just having your workspace cleaned up and your clothes laid out can set you up for a great morning.

Other parts seem harder to translate to small business. When you're the only employee, delegating's difficult. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's going to require either a budget or a lot of creativity.

There are all sorts of advice articles on every possible topic out there. You'll find them for parenting, business, you name it. Don't dismiss them out of hand because you figure they can't apply to your situation. Some things in them might not, but you never know where you might find something that's helpful in the extreme.