As a business owner, I often feel overwhelmed by my to-do list—by the time I finish writing down everything I need to accomplish, I’ve filled several pages. And when I first look at all of those necessary tasks, it’s hard to know where to start. So, in order to avoid getting discouraged, I have adopted a few habits and systems that help me narrow my focus and prioritize what I need to do.
That’s where the Power Hour comes in. There are certain responsibilities I absolutely need to take care of daily, even if I don’t necessarily enjoy them. In order to tackle all these tasks and not put them off, I have a separate “Power Hour” task list that I knock out first thing in the morning before any other duties.
One key to a successful Power Hour is completing your tasks one at a time. As entrepreneurs and hustlers, we often get caught up trying to multitask. It might feel like doing several things at once will help you knock out more tasks, but in reality, multitasking is rarely successful. You end up spending more time on all of your tasks than you do if you simply power through them one by one.
What to do during your Power Hour
The Power Hour is different than a to-do list. You can organize it in several ways, but I like to organize my Power Hour by category. I recommend brain dumping once a week (or more) and writing out each and every task or goal you are working toward conquering, then organizing them based on urgency and priority. This should be a list that you don’t have to re-write every day.
Next, think about your income-producing activities—things like following up on unpaid invoices, going Live on Facebook, booking a paying client, or cold calling potential new clients (obviously, these activities will vary depending on your type of business). Try to cater most of your Power Hour to knocking out these hard-to-do income producing activities. However, a good Power Hour isn’t exclusive to tasks that will make you money—it should also include anything that you’d like to start doing more consistently.
How to fit a Power Hour into your schedule
I know when I first heard of incorporating a Power Hour, I thought, “I don’t have an extra hour to spare!” But it turns out that when you knock out the harder tasks right away, your productivity level will increase ten-fold. After experiencing the benefits to my productivity, I even started adding a personal Power Hour to my schedule in addition to my business-focused list.
When I knock out all the items on my Power Hour list, I can effectively take care of my businesses and myself. There’s a rewarding sense of accomplishment at the end of the day when you realize you took care of your most important tasks and also knocked out some of those less urgent items as well. It feels good to know you’re doing everything in your power to move your business forward.
