Even the most organised person can sometimes find themselves in hot water with a to do list that is growing by the second. So, if organisation is not your forte it is likely that this is more the norm than not.
I have worked with many clients who are brilliant at what they do but cannot organise for toffee!!
The great thing is that just a few simple changes in your routine can make an enormous difference. So here are a few tips that might help.
- Keep on top of that to do list – By to do list, I mean those everyday jobs, these do not include your big ongoing projects, these will be covered next.
How you manage this varies and depends on whether you like a list, an app, a board on the wall, it doesn’t really matter but have a way of dealing with this that suits you.
I personally use a diary and each day has two or three tasks in it to complete. I use this for work and my personal life and I endeavour to tick these off each day.
If you don’t get round to them, depending on the urgency, move them to the following week. It took a while to find a process that suited me but once I did there was no stopping me and my to do list has never been so small.
- Break down those bigger tasks – When a task is too big we tend to procrastinate about it, so break it down. Split that one big job into several smaller tasks, then when you have a half an hour free you can look at this list and tick some things off. Those big jobs then don’t seem so daunting and actually get done!
- Block out time – If you block out time in your diary for the tasks that need to be done regularly, for instance social media scheduling, blog writing, invoicing and expenses, your monthly review, you know that it is planned for. Booking time out in the calendar in advance for these tasks means you know they are coming up and can plan around them. This includes picking the kids up from school and walking the dog!!
- Look ahead – always try and work a couple of months ahead. This may not work for all aspects of business but for many it will. You can plan your social media content, topics for blog writing, what you want to review when, promotional activity etc. so when it comes to actually getting it out there it is all ready to go. And if this is done, written, created in advance you can never be caught out.
These are all processes that work for me and help me stay organised. This in turn reduces my stress levels and keeps me focused. I employ the same principles with my clients and have seen great results. So, give it a go and let me know how you get on. I would love some feedback and it is always great to know if these tips have helped.
If you would like to talk through how to put these processes in place for your business, please do get in touch at emma@theumbrellatree.co.uk or visit www.theumbrellatree.co.uk