When you are running a business especially a start up, you have to multitask to a great extent. You are the one who is running the show and so you need to be extremely careful and alert all the time. You have a lot on your plate and sometimes it might seem discourage and de motivate you. But all your insecurities and fear can be tackled if you follow the listed strategies below.

Create and follow a to-do list for the day: When you wake up, write down all that you want to accomplish on the professional front on that day. Right before going to sleep, open the notebook and see what all you have been able to achieve, tick them and in case there is anything that you couldn’t do that day, do not be disappointed. Instead use it as a source of motivation to be more productive.

Schedule your activities hourly: It is human tendency to deal with easy things first and procrastinate when it comes to the big, important task. Get rid of this habit by setting a timer and competing with time to complete the work at hand.

Write down your goals: Get a small diary and pour in all your goals in them. Look at them every day before you go to work. This is an excellent way to keep you on your track and to remind you that even if the going is tough, the goals are totally worth it for all this trouble.

Prioritize your goals: Determine whether a particular thing needs to be done that day itself or if you leave it for the next day, nothing will hamper your business. Also, make sure that you give more importance to things that are in the top in your priority list and less to the bottom ones. Sometimes things might spin out of control and then you may need to alter your priorities. Be mentally prepared for that.

Limit time for Emails: Emails can be extremely distracting and so you need to allot a specific time when you will check your mails. Many a times your inbox will be flooded with tons of mails from people starting from your clients to your employees. You need time and patience to handle them. If you have assistance, he/she can look into it and sort out the important mails for you. This way you won’t waste time reading unnecessary junk.

Take a break from business: Too much work makes Jack a dull boy and you need your brain to be sharp and fresh if you want to run a successful business. His is perhaps the best piece of entrepreneurship advice that can be ever given to you. So keep a day entirely for yourself each month where you completely disconnect yourself from the whole world. Switch off your phones and shut down your laptop and focus on yourself. Do whatever make you refreshed like listening to your favourite band or watching that movie which you couldn’t make time for earlier.

Reduce clutter: Get a desktop scanner and use it regularly. A messy desk might give you the illusion that you are working too hard and you are on the right path but often it shows that the mess that you created on the desk is a result of all those scattered thoughts in your mind which is definitely not good for running a successful start-up.

Ditch the conference room: You do not need to use the conference room as often as you think you should. Thanks to technology, you can have Skype sessions with your clients and others even if you are sitting in your office. And you can also replace those long, mundane conference sessions with one on one 5-minute chats with people.

Always stay positive: Get rid of all those negative thoughts and embrace positivity with your heart and mind. When the going gets tough, you need to remind yourself that you are strong and no obstacle can make create a barrier between you and your dream.

Handle your failure and move on: Use your failures constructively instead of wallowing in self-pity and giving up. No one likes a quitter and it is up to you entirely what you want to do with hat lesson. You can either learn from it and apply the learning in your next plan or just give up and close the business. A smart entrepreneur knows which option he needs to choose!