7 Small Business Productivity Tips To Stay Active During Summer

These are the top summer productivity tips to stay active with your small business. The content is inspired by the Office Depot Business Solutions Center as part of a sponsored post for Socialstars. #GearLove

Summer is a slow season for most of us in the small business world, unless you are running a restaurant or bar, then you’re in luck. It’s unfortunate though, as people are out vacationing and relaxing by the pool. They are having barbecues and back yard parties with their friends. But we’re stuck in work mode, dealing with our businesses.

With so many distractions around and an increase in the summer heat, it is easy to get off track. Trust me, I know. I’m personally working to get a personal branding course up by fall, but the distractions come in every day.

These tips and hacks will allow you to keep your business on track to success:

  1. Stay hydrated.

Our health is the most important part of our business’s livelihood. Without us, there would be no business. So to keep up with the excruciating heat of summer, it is best to have a glass of water each chance we get. More often than not, the poor decisions we make in life are due to the inability to think clearly. That is often the cause of dehydration. A bottle of water every hour will be able to help you keep your thoughts on track.

  1. Stay focused.

Our friends are out having the times of their lives. It’s easy to get distracted and want to go out and have fun. But we decided to take on a mission: To be business owners. With great power comes great responsibility. To stay focused, build out to do lists each day. It doesn’t matter if you write these lists on post it notes or on note pads. These to do lists help organize each day out so you are able to ensure you are doing everything that you need to do. Make sure to keep on track to checking off these tasks each day so you can maintain progress with your business.

  1. Go to bed late or get up early.

Caroline Zelonka, an advertising copywriter brought a key insight with her best summer productivity tip for small business owners. If you need to focus, get up early or go to bed late. The summer heat can often interfere with productivity, and if you have children home on summer break, you may find yourself distracted a bit more in the summer months. 

Set your alarm for earlier than your usual wake time and commit to completing your important task before the day gets hot or stressful; or plan to complete it in the evening hours if you don’t perform well in the morning. 

The days are longer, too, so it’s not as much of a problem if it’s a task that requires daylight.

  1. Hire summer interns.  

Byron Hsu, CEO of Modern Everyday, a business that does $10mm a year in revenue provides the next three key tips:

Summer is a time when a lot of students are off of school and looking for extra work. Some of these students are looking for college credits and are actively pursuing working opportunities.

Seek these students out and bring them in as interns.

Once you find them, put them on projects that are easy to explain, interesting to think about and hard to solve. Make sure you allocate enough time to manage them so that they have an educational summer and you have a conclusive result for the year.

  1.  Stay cool.  

The summer heat is brutal. It can cause productivity to slow down at the office. Employees that are too warm may feel tired or sluggish. Any costs spent on air conditioning are likely more than compensated by increases in productivity.

  1. Change your scenery.  

Sometimes, getting clogged up in the office causes us to to feel a sense of missing out. I mean, it’s easy to feel cramped up while our friends are out playing and we’re stuck at work. Just because you’re working though, it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the summer weather.  If your work allows, try working in an outdoor cafe, park, beach or anywhere else you can get a wifi signal.

  1. Be prepared. 

Albert Chen, Growth and product strategy consultant understands business well. He has worked with most the big box Fortune 500 companies in the world. With his expertise, he has seen that the holiday rush can be the most productive season for small business owners, but only if they are prepared. Albert says to be prepared.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. They are all around the corner. Before the holiday rush, get everything in order so your holiday season flows well. They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So take the steps necessary to prepare for when all the orders come in. Stock your inventory, talk to vendors, close out the sales, etc. Make sure you have enough working capital, your delivery system is ready and you are ready to rock out once the orders hit.

This will keep you on edge and make sure your small business stays productive during the summer months.

The Office Depot Business Solutions Center brings additional key insights in regards to being more productive around the office. These tips will not only bring you additional success, but provide an outline for your employees as well.

office depot summer list

Sometimes, we’ll be out of the office and out on vacation. Make sure to prepare for your trips outside by following these check lists:

Office depot checklist

Office supplies are essential for any type of business. Check out these cool uses for office supplies.

What office gear can’t you live without?

Do you have any other summer productivity tips that you want to shed some light on? I’d love to hear them! Feel free to comment below or share this article with your friends who are running small businesses!

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