The shift in business has made online entrepreneurship as easy as visiting your local grocery store. The possibilities are endless and the variety is abundant. As creative entrepreneurs, your mind is always powered on flying through hundreds of ideas, thoughts and visions at any given moment. It’s the Jekyll-Hyde of being overwhelmed with too many ideas or a drought of none.

Online business is both a blessing and curse in that, you can reach a wider audience while getting caught up in the noise of your competitors keeping you from being competitive.

Here are the 5 productivity tactics that will help you win in online business as a creative entrepreneur:

1. Create Before You Consume

As a creative, you’re wired to look to the world for inspiration. With social media at our fingertips it makes it easy to get caught up in what our competitors are doing falling victim to comparison syndrome. Start your day off by journaling and using an outlet to release your creativity that’s been bottled up through the night. Only once it’s been released should you then consume the content of others for inspiration. The idea is to only absorb what will help you and not get caught up in the quality of their work to yours.

“Productivity is less about what you do with your time and more about how you run your mind.” – Robin Sharma

2. Silence Your Creativity

The blessing and curse of a creative mindset is our inability to switch it off. We often get so consumed in striving for our goals that we missed all the signs leading us to burnout. We then hit a wall that stalls us for a few days, weeks or even months. Dedicate time every day to doing something non-creative. Go for a walk, meditate, get lost in a book and let your mind relax to refill your creative juice tank.

3. Lean On the Right Support

It’s so easy to get caught up in doing everything on our own. You hold massive visions and goals for your life that others simply won’t understand. The beauty about that is, we all do. Take that first step and reach out to others in your network or invest in a coach or mentor who can keep you from getting deep in your negative thoughts and motivate you to keep pushing through. Support is crucial especially for a creative entrepreneur. You need someone to communicate your vision to and help you create strategies to achieve it.

4. Invest in the Right Tools

Having the right tools can make or break your creative career. Tools don’t have to be a heavy financial investment. Some of the best tools you can use are free. Find the ones that work for you to keep you on track, organized and productive. A hangup many creatives encounter is their ability to lose track of time. The Pomodoro Timer is a lifesaver when it comes to keeping you on track to achieving your goals.

It has three time options, a 25, 10 and 5 minute setting with the 5 and 10 minute settings being used for necessary breaks before restarting the 25 minute timer. Another tool popular among creatives is Trello. It allows you to tap into the Type A personality while still owning your Type B. These are just a few of the many available to you.

“Productivity is never an accident, it’s the results of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning & focused effort.” – Paul Meyer

5. Establish a Healthy System

What makes entrepreneurship fun for creatives is their ability to tap into the world around them for creativity at any given moment. Where this becomes a challenge is they often neglect their own self-care to fulfill their creative big-picture vision. Start by dedicating 30 minutes to yourself every morning to relax, enjoy the calm and ease your mind into the day. This will allow you to create a steady and consistent flow throughout your day instead of jumping right in and burning out quickly.

What do you use that helps your productivity as an entrepreneur? Comment below!