1. Start the day dreaming

As counter-intuitive as it may sound, you will be more productive spending the first few minutes of the workday thinking about where you are headed with all this. What are your long term goals and what are you doing this day to move in that direction?

2. Make a to-do list

Although not a cure-all, making a list makes you take random hopes and thoughts and put them in concrete items to perform.

3. Calendar all your tasks

Even with a to-do list, smaller, more tedious tasks tend to get pushed back, and back and back, so that they are never completed. Setting an actual time on your calendar forces you to “eat the frog” and get this stuff done on schedule.

4. Send someone a bill

Getting paid is awesome and someone owes you money. As frustrating as collection is, many solos simply neglect to send bills. Take a look at that accounts receivable and send another bill.

5. Fire bad clients

They waste your time, don’t pay and are the most likely to lead to ethical complaints. You have the right to fire them; give yourself permission and let them go.

6. Stop reading so many “Top 6” lists

Hypocrisy aside, goofing around on the internet not only takes time, it saps your motivation and yields very little results. Work hard and complete your tasks. Then stop for the day, and read whatever you’d like without the guilt.