You can’t build your business in just 15 minutes. That would be amazing, right? But it’s impossible.
Or is it?
Here are fifteen suggestions for ways you can build your business, all of which can be done in 15 minutes or less.
Canva makes this easy with ready-to-go templates for anything and everything you might want to share. Templates are available for any social media platform, so you can create a couple of these in no time at all.
We all get busy, so having a future content plan is critical. Knowing what you’re going to write or talk about before you do it makes it significantly easier. When it comes time to sit down and write out a few new blog posts for the week, you’ll already have a list of ideas.
Craft a short-but-sweet email you can use over and over again. You will want to reach out to bloggers, writers and businesses related to your product or service in the future. Having a friendly template ready to go will make networking easier and faster in the future.
What is going to move you to the next level of your business? If you have figured out what you want to do next, it’s time to break down that level into actionable, achievable steps.
Having content to reach for when you want to share something is important. Don’t waste time getting lost on the internet by scheduling an hour to ‘find quality content.’ When you have fifteen minutes to spare, find a couple of things you like and save them to a list.
Your followers may just be on one or the other, but the best way to get in front of them is to connect with video content. If you feel afraid to go live or are worried that no one is going to watch you, that’s okay. First, we all feel that way. Second, one view is better than zero. Read this article on Medium by Gary Vaynerchuk and just do it.
If you get hit with an idea for something specific and directly related to your niche – make a new Pinterest board. Later, when you find something relevant and interesting, the board will already be available. Don’t forget to name the board using keywords and add a description.
Every great article depends on the layout to really make it memorable. Like a great speech, your article should have three main ‘chunks’ for maximum impact*.
- Tell them what you’re going to tell them.
- Tell them.
- Tell them what you told them.
In fifteen minutes, you can outline a couple of those ‘chunks’ and be better prepared to write the full article later.
*Does not apply to list-based posts.
It feels great when you can proactively schedule content. Fifteen minutes is enough time to add a few posts to Hootsuite, Buffer, Later, Facebook or whatever platform you use. This can open up your schedule later for something more time-consuming.
If you have fifteen minutes, you can reply to retweets or direct messages on Twitter. You can say “thank you” to anyone who shared your Facebook posts on their timeline. Ask a question on the posts of your followers. Leave a thoughtful comment on a blog post.
Are you a morning person or an evening person? Depending on your habits and proclivities, you may want to rearrange your work schedule. Ensure you prioritize the work that requires the most energy for when you have the most energy. Fifteen minutes of brainstorming a list of things that require more energy and focus will help you prioritize those tasks later.
Finding ways to stay focused when you’re working is as important as when you do the work. If you’re the kind of person who stays focused when time-crunched, consider using a tool like Toggl. If you need structure to your tasks, consider using Asana or Trello to manage them.
Keep your brain focused with music designed to do exactly that. Check out Focus@will or Brain.fm for music designed to help your brain work better.
Planning tomorrow today gives you the opportunity to own your time before it gets away from you. If you have just fifteen minutes, consider using that time to plan tomorrow, or even to schedule out part of your next week.
Fifteen minutes will give you enough time to think about your top tasks for tomorrow. Use the 139 Productivity Method outlined in this article, and then create a short list of things you should do tomorrow.
Start a Quora profile. Allow it to notify you of questions that are relevant to your knowledge and interests. Then, when you have fifteen minutes, write an answer to one of them.
Creating a Facebook Page should take less than 15 minutes, and is an excellent way for future clients to find you.
The next time you find yourself with a few minutes to spare, try one of these fifteen ways to build your business in just fifteen minutes.