Getting started on your new business routine
In last week’s article, we spoke about how helpful it can be to use the early autumn to review, reflect, refresh and reset your small business. Autumn, we say again, is such a great time to re-ignite your passion for your special project, your small business, your side hustle, your career. It comes with the slightly shorter days, the fresher weather and a sense that there is work to be done before we slow down on those dark winter days. Perhaps it’s part of an ancient instinct within us – and yes, instinct and intuition play a part in successful business, but more about that in a future post.
This week we’ve got some ideas to help you make the most of that period of reflection and review that early September has brought. If you want to make the most of the autumn to give your business a new spark, or to re-light your passion for a particular project, try out some, or all, of our top tips, gleaned from some of our own and our clients’ favourite projects.
Rework your routine leads to....reigniting your passion for your business!
The many benefits of a routine, for mental and physical well-being as well as for keeping your business on track has been well-documented and will also be the subject of a future post. (Let us know in the comments if you’d like this sooner rather than later and we’ll get it uploaded for you asap!)
1.To rework your routine, check in on your autumn review of your business:
Are there some activities you’ve decided no longer serve you or do not speed you to your goals? If so, they need to be cleared out of your calendar or planner (we love a planner at Athena!)
Are there new products you plan to launch or a new service you’re excited to tell your customers about
Have there been any changes in your team, or in your personal life that you need to take into account over the coming months (two of our clients have just welcomed home their summer babies and we’ve helped them map out their return to their home business / career)
Have you reworked your financial goals, or are there items of work that need to be completed by the end of the calendar year (this is often where our bookkeeping services are called into play!)
2. Find out how you work best and when
Next, have a think about you, and how you work best, and what the best times are for you for the many different activities that small business owners have to work on.
Are you a lark or an owl? If you thrive in the early part of the day, consider getting up an hour earlier and adding that extra time to your day, and that means, all going well, that you will have an extra hour for yourself and your family in the evening, but that you will be tapping into that ‘prime time’ for your energy and get much more done than when you are pushing yourself into working when your brain is not necessarily at its best.
When is your best time for creative work? Or for logical and rational thinking? You can work this out simply by observing your basic daily pattern. I used to think my best creative time was in the evening, but generally my brain power is petering out after a day’s work and duties, and more recently I’ve discovered that early morning is when the sparks of creativity are flying. How did I do this? A degree of trial and error but also checking in on myself every half an hour and writing down my observations of my own performance. Two weeks after I tried that out, I changed by routine and my productivity soared.
When are your best times for pausing and resting? This can often depend on the type of business or project or work you’re involved in and may depend on other colleagues, but the important point is stopping and resting. A pen can’t write if it has no ink, a blunt axe won’t chop wood. So pause, eat, rest, disconnect for at least half an hour. Get some daylight, walk, speak with friends who have nothing to do with your work. Refresh. And then back to your routine
3. Plan ahead – physically write out that new routine
Once you have the detail of what you need to clear out of your schedule or ‘to do’ list and what needs to be included, and you know your best times you can work out your daily routine afresh. Here is where a good planner helps. We advocate paper planners because there’s something about physically writing down your routine and your plans that makes it gel, but Google Calendar or any other form of planner will work:
Block out time for your most important tasks. These can include personal time like your lunch break, or dentist appointment or parent/teacher meeting. Then these situations become part of your daily life rather than being squeezed in between work assignments.
Block time on a regular basis for certain tasks. So for example, Wednesday mornings from as early as I can, I work on writing tasks, Thursday late mornings, I work on proofreading tasks which are less creative and more focused. On Mondays I spend the first hour of the day planning ahead the week and organising client meetings, and I usually meet clients just after lunch or during the afternoons, when my ability for rational thinking is lower and my social side is more productive. That’s me – what works best for you?
4. Set your intentions every month / week / day.
Your routine is not haphazard. To maximise your productivity and carve out the space in your life to work on what you really love, what you know will succeed, on that creative project that lights you up and inspires you, you need to make sure you know what you are doing, and you plan for it. It brings you clarity. So:
From your ‘to do’ list and your set of goals, pick out your priorities.
What is truly important? Schedule this in as early as possible.
What are the challenges? Tackle those head on and fast, before they go from difficulties to insurmountable obstacles
What is urgent? Plan to get those out of the way next.
And then everything else will slip into place.
Taking intentional action within your routine, keeps you and your business on an even keel and always sailing forward.
Autumn is a great time for new plans, new projects, new products. It’s also a traditional time to go get some new stationery and a new planner or a refresh of your usual planning apps will be instrumental in refocusing your mind and your personal power to boost your business.
Let us know how you get on. Have you planned out that perfect seasonal product launch? Have you reworked your routine and find you actually do have time for getting stuff done – personal and in business? We’d love to share your experiences!