How small business leaders can be more productive
Simple strategies to help SME leaders manage their time, energy, and priorities more effectively
Dan Martin Small business journalist, event host
Reading Time 5 minutes
Sending emails, organising meetings, chasing sales, updating social media, paying bills… these are just some of the tasks small business owners find themselves doing on a daily basis. And with so much going on, it’s easy for productivity to suffer. However, there are some simple actions business leaders can take to change that and be much more productive.
Focus on structure rather than routine
You might think that sticking to doing the same tasks at the same time, on the same days, week after week, will help your productivity. But in fact, it could do the opposite.
Alice Dartnell, coach, speaker, and author on time and energy management, encourages business owners to focus on structure rather than routine. and author on time and energy management, encourages business owners to focus on structure rather than routine.
‘Structure is about knowing what matters most in the week ahead, what your priorities are, and how you’re going to fit those into your available time,’ she says.
‘That means planning your time weekly, not rigidly repeating the same schedule. Some weeks will be client-heavy, others focused on admin, strategy, or events, and that’s completely normal. Productivity comes from designing a flexible structure that supports your energy and workload, not forcing yourself into a routine that doesn’t reflect real life.’
Improve your meetings
Meetings can be the ultimate time-sapper. We’ve all been on one of those calls when after an hour of chatting, you wonder what the point was. London School of Economics research found that more than a third of business meetings are unproductive, so if you’re looking for a fast way to improve productivity, this is an area to focus on.
Dartnell says, ‘meetings can be far more effective than endless back-and-forth emails because they allow real-time communication. However, without structure, they also make it very easy to go off-track. I don’t believe in cutting out the “friendly chit chat” at the start altogether. We’re human, and a few minutes of genuine connection at the start of a meeting helps build rapport and trust.
‘My top tip is simple: set a clear intention. What exactly do we want to get out of this meeting? Be upfront about this from the start. Are we brainstorming ideas, making a decision, or seeking clarification on next steps? That intention should dictate how the meeting is run. When meetings have a defined purpose, they stop being a drain on time and start being a productive use of it.’
Do what you do best and outsource the rest
Most small business owners wear many hats, but taking some of those hats off can help to improve productivity.
Management expert Peter Drucker was the first to coin the phrase ‘do what you do best and outsource the rest’ in the 1990s, but it still very much applies today.
Rather than trying to do everything, look at what you can pay an expert to do so you can focus on what you’re good at.
Dartnell advises that a simple way to decide what to outsource is to look at what’s actually stopping you from making more money.
She says, ‘write down the tasks you’re spending time on and ask yourself, “is this a £10 task, a £100 task, or a £1,000 task?” Your time should be focused on activities that generate the biggest returns, such as sales conversations and strategic decision-making, not designing graphics or getting lost in admin.
‘If a task doesn’t require your expertise and isn’t directly linked to revenue or moving the needle forward, it’s probably time to pass it on. Freeing yourself from the £10 jobs creates the time and energy to focus on the work that genuinely moves the business forward… hello productivity!’
Use digital tools, but don’t overdo it
While lots of small business owners rely on pen and paper, digital calendars, and email to organise their time and tasks, there are plenty of digital tools you can use to improve your productivity.
Here are a few options:
- Project management: Trello, Asana, Monday.com
- Communication: Slack, Teams, WhatsApp for Business
- Automation: Zapier, Make, Pabby.com
- Accounting: QuickBooks, Sage, Xero, Freeagent
There are lots of AI-driven solutions too: AI tools to help small businesses improve productivity
Don’t get too carried away though. Too many tools can lead to chaos and confusion.
‘Keep it simple,’ Dartnell says. ‘I see a lot of business owners fall into the trap of using overly complex tools that end up taking more time, creating frustration, and adding to their sense of overwhelm rather than reducing it.’
Monitor how each tool is helping you. If it doesn’t save you time after a month, ditch it.
Reduce the overwhelm
With so many things to do, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and struggle to tackle all your tasks effectively. A survey of business leaders by the Small Business Charter found a fifth feel overwhelmed by everything that’s required of them, a figure which rises to over a third among those aged 18 to 24.
To reduce these feelings, Dartnell says entrepreneurs should stop thinking about time management and start thinking about energy management. She argues that overwhelm isn’t caused by the number of hours you work, but by how draining those hours are.
‘Some tasks energise you and you could do them for hours, while others completely drain you, even if you only spend a short amount of time on them,’ she says.
‘To reduce overwhelm, start looking at your diary, to-do list, and workload through the lens of energy, not just time. Ask yourself, “which tasks give me energy, and which ones deplete it?” Once you’re aware of that, you can start structuring your days to protect your energy — batching draining tasks, outsourcing where possible, and prioritising the work that fuels both your business and your wellbeing.’
Dan Martin Small business journalist, event host
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