Especially for startups and entrepreneurs, it can feel like there are never enough hours in the day to finish the work that needs to be done. For new businesses starting out, or for anyone trying to get more out of their day, achieving efficiency is key. Here are a couple of unsung productivity tips as told by Greenvelope.com founder, Sam Franklin.

The Morning Workout

When I was younger, my alarm was never set earlier than 11:00am. I had never been a morning person, but a couple years ago that changed when I discovered the benefit of starting the day with a morning workout. Waking up an hour earlier to work out helps me feel fresh, think clearly and be most creative throughout the day. I can definitely see the difference in productivity on days when I need to skip a workout. I know setting the alarm before 6:30 can seem intimidating at first, but the good news is that once you get in the routine, it continues to become more natural. Start with baby steps by waking up just a few minutes earlier every day and ease into it.

If you’re not sure where to start, a few of my favorite morning workouts include Core Power and rock climbing at Seattle Bouldering Project.

Make Your Commute an Education

Depending on where you live, you may commute for 30 minutes or more each way. This is at least an hour a day that can be put to “productive” use. Instead of browsing Instagram or staring off into space, use that time to learn a new skill or become more of an expert in your industry. You can use tools like Feedly to manage a list of blogs based on the topics you are passionate about. I learned Photoshop by watching tutorials on Lynda.com while on the bus! If you are the one behind the wheel, there are many great podcasts that share valuable insights as well.

A few of my favorite podcasts right now are Ecommerce Influence and This American Life.

These are just two tips that help me be a little bit more productive every day. What do you do to get more out of your day?

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