Off the back of last week's post where I talked about the benefits of creating a schedule, I thought I would share some ideas on how to make use of those 'quiet' times. There will be times throughout a given day/ week where your workload is lighter than usual- maybe all the important jobs have been done, or you're waiting for the phone to ring? Perhaps as you settle into Monday morning, you sit at your desk, go through your work diary, iPad or organiser and realise the week ahead of you is still pretty murky. What can you do in the meantime that will be productive? Here's some ideas which can be quite beneficial in the long-term:
Get your accounts up to date
Check your most recent bank statements, enter new financial data, shuffle through that pile of receipts you've been trying to ignore, get all your financial figures up to date, back-track through your invoices and make sure there are no outstanding amounts owing. Going through your financial data is one task where it's easy to procrastinate (and you could always watch that cool youtube video just one more time, couldn't you?) but if you get your finances up to date now, you'll be glad you took the time out to do so when June 30th rolls around- and so will your accountant!
Give your inbox a spring clean
You'll be glad you did this when you're trawling through your inbox for an important e-mail and can find it easily. Deleting junk mail and messages you've already read/ replied to means you'll save time when looking for the e-mails that really matter later on. If you have the time, why not go one step further and check your e-mail settings to ensure your inbox is as free of clutter as possible from now on?
Organise your business files
Create separate folders for documents depending on year/ month of creation or last edit, website related data, accounts, marketing, legal, set templates, client database etc. Check that more recent files are in their correct folder or sub-folder. Doing this now not only makes your daily business operations more streamlined, but it also prevents the time-consuming stress of having to search for a particular document if you don't remember the exact filename- and this helps especially if it's a document that is a few years, even months, old. Time only travels in one direction, even though you know where that document is that you finished yesterday, would you be so certain you'd know where to find it 6 months from now- or even what it was called? An efficient handyman knows where his tools are stored. An efficient cook knows where all their utensils are kept. The same goes for an efficient entrepreneur and their documents!
Create a new voicemail
Updating your voicemail at least every 6 months creates a good impression for you and your business- it conveys that you're up to date and, for those clients who don't call you on the regular, it helps them to immediately realise you haven't dropped off the face of the planet and you are in fact still very much open for business. It might take a couple of deleted attempts before you create a new voicemail message you're happy with, but it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes- time you can afford to spend.
Update social media pages
Any new skills or experience you can ad to your C.V? More detail you can ad to your listed expertise? Got a better, more recent photo you can use for your profile? New links you can post? Not only does this help to keep your professional image up-to-date, but that extra bit of relevant information could be just the thing that clinches business from a potential contact. A simple change to your social media could equal a big change to your business success.
The above are just a few tips, but as a general rule anything which streamlines your daily business operations, saves you time and stress and ensures you have the professional credit you deserve, is a very worthwhile investment of your down time. Just making a few small changes can make a big difference to your professional success- and peace of mind!
Get your accounts up to date
Check your most recent bank statements, enter new financial data, shuffle through that pile of receipts you've been trying to ignore, get all your financial figures up to date, back-track through your invoices and make sure there are no outstanding amounts owing. Going through your financial data is one task where it's easy to procrastinate (and you could always watch that cool youtube video just one more time, couldn't you?) but if you get your finances up to date now, you'll be glad you took the time out to do so when June 30th rolls around- and so will your accountant!
Give your inbox a spring clean
You'll be glad you did this when you're trawling through your inbox for an important e-mail and can find it easily. Deleting junk mail and messages you've already read/ replied to means you'll save time when looking for the e-mails that really matter later on. If you have the time, why not go one step further and check your e-mail settings to ensure your inbox is as free of clutter as possible from now on?
Organise your business files
Create separate folders for documents depending on year/ month of creation or last edit, website related data, accounts, marketing, legal, set templates, client database etc. Check that more recent files are in their correct folder or sub-folder. Doing this now not only makes your daily business operations more streamlined, but it also prevents the time-consuming stress of having to search for a particular document if you don't remember the exact filename- and this helps especially if it's a document that is a few years, even months, old. Time only travels in one direction, even though you know where that document is that you finished yesterday, would you be so certain you'd know where to find it 6 months from now- or even what it was called? An efficient handyman knows where his tools are stored. An efficient cook knows where all their utensils are kept. The same goes for an efficient entrepreneur and their documents!
Create a new voicemail
Updating your voicemail at least every 6 months creates a good impression for you and your business- it conveys that you're up to date and, for those clients who don't call you on the regular, it helps them to immediately realise you haven't dropped off the face of the planet and you are in fact still very much open for business. It might take a couple of deleted attempts before you create a new voicemail message you're happy with, but it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes- time you can afford to spend.
Update social media pages
Any new skills or experience you can ad to your C.V? More detail you can ad to your listed expertise? Got a better, more recent photo you can use for your profile? New links you can post? Not only does this help to keep your professional image up-to-date, but that extra bit of relevant information could be just the thing that clinches business from a potential contact. A simple change to your social media could equal a big change to your business success.
The above are just a few tips, but as a general rule anything which streamlines your daily business operations, saves you time and stress and ensures you have the professional credit you deserve, is a very worthwhile investment of your down time. Just making a few small changes can make a big difference to your professional success- and peace of mind!