So, how did you manage the summer holidays? Did it go past in a blur of activities? Or did you feel like you were a human vending machine, dishing out snacks every 12 minutes and wondering when this became your full-time job?
Now that our wonderful small (getting bigger every day!) people are back at school, we can all get back to our usual routines.
Before we do- take a minute to ponder this.
Over the last 6 weeks, when an email landed, order was received, or an overall action was needed in your business, which did you action right away, no matter what was happening that day?
I ask because, those tasks are the ones you love doing – because you’ll jump to them and know you’ll enjoy completing that [insert your task here].
They are what you work for, why you do it and what you love doing.
Then there are the other tasks that you’ve ignored or put on the to-do list and are still weighing on your mind. These are the ones you dread doing and always rush on a Friday afternoon to get done – or maybe even bump to the following week.
Here’s a little 2-minute task for you. Grab a pen and paper, draw out this table, and put these jobs in the grid, to really see what you enjoyed doing.
| Job done within 1 hour of landing | Shoved on the to-do list |
- New business enquiry
- Spurious question from a client
- Newsletter creation
- Check work social media notifications
- Invoices
- Pay bills
- Stock check
- Website maintenance
- Writing a blog
- Designing social media posts
- Creating reels
Did this surprise you? Some people say they are a numbers person but hate doing their accounts, and that’s fine. Doing the books for other people is so much easier than doing your own.
It’s the same for creating marketing content for your business.
I find that in between the hustle and bustle of family life, I’m mentally listing all the business tasks that I’m looking forward to doing. The tasks that get me to my desk, which is why I love what I do.
I will be catching up with my clients this week to see how all of the systems we put in place held up over the summer break. There will be lessons learnt, and adjustments required, which is great. But, I know with the right processes and systems, business owners can take some much-needed time off.
When we are busy, time becomes even more valuable. We have to prioritise effectively to hold everything together. Humans tend to do the tasks they find easiest and enjoy the most first, which is lovely but not always helpful. We all spend a lot of hours working, so wouldn’t it be amazing to spend the time doing only the tasks we really enjoy doing? (There are always people to outsource to for all the jobs you shoved on the to-do list!).
School holidays are all about fun and making memories for me and my family, this year we went to the Isle of Wight, and yes, we saw the Needles, had endless beach days, and marvelled at ‘island life’.
But – all good things must come to an end hey? And that’s ok. Because sitting here at my desk, doing the work I love, supporting my awesome clients – is a great thing to come back to.
So, here we go: press the power button, unlock the clinic door or turn on the oven and get ready for the next few months of building businesses that we love.