Save time, add profits with these productivity tips

Advisers typically spend too much time on tactical maneuvers, and not enough time thinking strategically about their business, a productivity guru said.
Laura Stack, an expert in employee and team productivity who has worked with financial professionals for 25 years, said advisory firms that want to run more efficiently and generate more output from each individual should begin by examining the practices of the person at the helm.
“Most advisers have confessed that the long-term projects and initiatives that will really drive their firms forward get crowded out day-to-day by having to put out brush fires,” said Ms. Stack, founder of The Productivity Pro.
The most effective leaders spend their days performing the right mix of three activities, she said: operational tasks, including client obligations; working with the team; and thinking strategically about the firm’s growth and future.
As the firm expands, advisers should be spending more time on the second two pursuits, according to Ms. Stack.
Those who don’t develop the ability to delegate and outsource to reduce their workload as the firm grows will become overwhelmed. They’ll spend too much time in the office and their lives will be out of balance, she said.
One key step for advisers is to evaluate all the time they spend on nonincome-producing activities and find other methods of getting those tasks done.
(More: Elite advisers focused on employees and operations for future growth)
Leaders should have contract staff at the ready to provide certain services, which may include marketing projects, blog posting, webpage updates, etc. Ms. Stack said online freelance services such as Upwork and Guru.com can be great resources for tasks that don’t require full-time employees.
Advisers also need to make sure they have high-quality, skilled people in place on whom they can lean to handle most of the operations, and who also understand when it’s right to cede important decisions to the boss, she said.
“Too many executives are wading through their own emails,” Ms. Stack said.
Finally, once advisory firm owners have figured out which activities they should be devoting the most time to, they need to be disciplined and get those things done, even if they don’t particularly enjoy doing them.
(More: 4 tasks top advisers spend the most time doing)
Some productivity experts recommend getting the most challenging tasks of the day done during the first two hours. Ms. Stack said that’s not really practical for everyone, especially those working with clients whose needs may require responses at any hour.
And not everyone is a morning person.
“Some people may work best in the morning, but not everyone,” she said. “Figure out your own rhythms and set up a schedule that flows for you.”