2015 has been an interesting year.  Some great things have happened…and some not-so-great things.  Life is unpredictable, but life as an entrepreneur seems doubly unpredictable.  It’s not for the faint of heart or the easily discouraged.

I came across this image on the interwebz and it clearly sums things up:

creator unknown

Some great things:

• Completed a whole calendar year self-employed
• Landed some great clients by referrals and partnerships with CPAs
• Lost my biggest client
• Took a vacation and had a peaceful, inspiring time
• Established two additional income streams
• Created my first tax course for entrepreneurs
• Put systems in place to organize my clients and my life

Some not-so-great things

• Hired wrong on my first attempt at hiring
• Had to fire said bad choice during start of tax season, leaving me to run the brick-n-mortar tax office alone
• Lost my biggest client

Notice that “lost my biggest client” is in both lists.  Not a typo.  Found some unscrupulous ways with this company, and even though they were the biggest account I had, it wasn’t worth it to be involved or have my name anywhere as the source of the financial statements.  This client wouldn’t take sound business advice and chose to do things his way no matter what I said…and going down the tax evasion path is not my specialty.  On the bright side, the dissolution of this relationship has given me more time to work on bringing quality business finance infoproducts to the digital space and restructuring my brick-and-mortar office, thereby enabling the creation of new income streams.  So financially, it was a small setback, but in the long run it was the best decision to make.

Being the shiny-new-object junkie that I am, I’ve been trying out new productivity and business tools all year.  I like to be able to recommend good quality apps, software, and methods to my clients, most of whom are aspiring small business owners.  The systems I’m putting in place for myself have improved my productivity and helped me get organized.  I’ve saved time, increased visibility online, and connected with great people all at the same time.  This allowed me to focus on my accounting clients and be more present in their monthly needs.

Being a productive entrepreneur is my overall business goal for 2016.  Here are five lessons 2015 has taught me.

Systems are great, but you need to optimize their use to get the best use out of them and your money’s worth.

I love Evernote, but sometimes it can be overwhelming if you’re trying to learn to use it to its fullest potential.  It helps to have a guide that will walk you through it thoroughly.  Even Michael Hyatt has talked about Evernote on his site and made it easy to  customize.  Nozbe, my task management software of choice, has been great for taking things off my mind and more tangible.  With each new update and improvement, however there is always something new to learn about the software.  Taking a little time to learn the software through a more experienced user’s eyes can make using your new tool a more enjoyable and productive experience.  This is true of pretty much any app or software in existence.

Frustration makes you switch from tool to tool, and you feel like you’re not getting anywhere.  Take the time to learn helpful tips about the software upfront and make it work for you.  You will find you don’t have to switch from software to software every time your “free trial” period is up.

You need to listen to your body.

Working through until 4 am seems like a good idea, especially when I’m “in the zone” or when I feel like I’ll forget something.  It turns out that staying up late only made me less effective the next day.  Sure, I can Netflix my way through the hours of midnight and 6am, and even catch up on some work, but when I measure how much I actually get don, it’s not enough to be worth the hassle.  Sometimes you just need to jot down your thoughts during that burst of creativity, sleep on them, and revisit them after a good night’s sleep .  Giving your mind a rest overnight helps that creativity go even further the next day.  I’ve learned to stop fighting and let sleep take over.

Clear your desk of everything but the one thing you’re working on at the moment.

How do you avoid distractions when they are right in front of you?  You should be working on one thing at a time, but if you have your inbox tray, folders, or any other work sitting on your desk while you’re working, they can tend to be just as distracting as a person standing at your door, your phone notifications or your Facebook page.  I’ve found that clearing my work space of everything helps me focus better.  Even when I’m on the road, I take only those items that I will work on in a portable file case and pull them out individually as I’m working on them.  I tend to have an organized mess on one desk, and a clear desk where I lay out only what I’m working at that particular moment.

Take social media fasts regularly.

Besides the obvious reasons such as less distractions, social media can suck the creativity out of you.  This has been a year of so much turmoil, negativity, and despair that it helps to take a social media fast regularly.  I’m not saying to stick your head in the sand and ignore world events, but sometimes it can be so discouraging that your mind festers and you lose the motivation to keep working.  We have so many opinions, conflicts, and  issues in this day and age, that it can overwhelm the mind.  Some of my entrepreneur friends who have had a successful 2015 have had to cut way back on social media to be successful.  I aim to withdraw from social media for at least one week every quarter in 2016.

Establish a morning and a night routine.

It’s been increasingly important to have a regular daily routine when I open my eyes and before I go to bed.  I want to make sure I spend time in prayer and have a balanced breakfast to get my day started right.  I also want to make sure that things are in place before I go to bed, so that there is less to guess about when I get up in the morning.  Earlier this year, I was spinning my wheels and floating by with no clear direction at the beginning of each workday.  I was basically letting my day take its cue from whatever emails were at the top of my inbox in the morning.

Highly successful business owners know that their mornings are the most valuable hours of the day.  The morning routine sets the tone for the rest of the day and decides your level of engagement and productivity.  So I decided to made an investment in my life and my business.   I purchased the Make Over Your Morning course taught by Crystal Paine (from the blog MoneySavingMom.com). In taking this 14-day course, I was able to identify the holes in my morning routine that were preventing me from reaching my desired outcomes for each day.  I was also able to take action and make real changes to my morning routine.  The result?  More productivity, less spinning my wheels, and less burnout.

If you want to check out Make Over Your Morning for yourself, it’s available now.  I’m actually going through the course again so that I can get even better as this new year rolls in.

The bottom line

I’ve made some significant progress this year in my business, but since there is always room for improvement, I will continue to strive for more work in less time.  Some of my main goals: more and better quality clients and employees.  2015 was all about implementation.  2016 will be about automation and delegation.

What are some of the lessons you’ve learned in 2015?  What’s your theme for 2016?