With the weather getting warmer and the days longer, ( especially in this very rare heatwave that the UK is currently enjoying! ) it’s easy to start thinking about summer holidays instead of the day to day chores of running your business. Here are our top 5 tips to keep your business in shape as summer rolls around.
1.Get strict with your time management
Putting things off and hesitating to do tasks can be a problem at any time of the year, but it gets even worse when the weather starts improving. Do you sit there, wondering about what holiday destination to go to? Often thinking of what to do with your children over the summer holidays? We mean, you could look into all those emails stacking up in your inbox, but why not make the most of the sunshine?
Whether you’re tempted now to do all of the things above and enjoying the great outdoors, planning your time in advance will help you stick to the tasks you need to get done. And if you check the weather forecast, you can even see when were in for a rare spell of sunshine and plan in well in advance!
2.Rethink the way you make lists
For many self – employed people, lists are just how you get things done!
However, if you’re finding it difficult to stick to what you have planned, try changing how you plan things out. Make your daily list a weekly list or vice versa and give yourself firm deadlines. With all the modern technology out there for small businesses, there’s plenty of software that can help you, a little reminder on your phone or email calendar is all you need sometimes!
3.Dream BIG and go for it
Giving yourself something big to aim for will help you get focused. Feeling busy and having something you’re set on achieving will really give you a push to get stuck into your day to day work. Some examples of goals you could set are:
- Land a big client
- Making a certain number of sales
- Getting your work featured in the press
All of these are fairly easy to plan ahead for and equally enjoyable! Whatever you got for, make sure it’s ambitious but something you feel you can achieve.
4.Take breaks!
When you are self- employed you know fairly well the burden of feeling that you should always be working. If you do feel this way, then the easy way to get breaks in, is to build them into your work schedule. You can’t be all work and no play!
Social scientists who have worked with the productivity app “DeskTime” have found that the highest-performing 10 percent tended to work for 52 consecutive minutes followed by a 17-minute break. Those 17 minutes were often spent away from the computer, by talking a walk, doing exercises, or talking to co-workers. So don’t forget to have some time to yourself away from work.
5.Try changing your routine
If you are trying all of the above and still feel like you’re banging your head against your desk. It may be time for something more drastic.
A change of scenery can make all the difference, try moving your desk or work space to a different part of the room, or a different room all together. If you tend to work until a task is finished, try dividing your work periods of time – work on something for a set number of hours instead, then move onto something else.
Only you know how you work best and these simple 5 tips are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to your business being summer ready! If it doesn’t work for you, it’s not a failure, it’s just experimentation!
To find out why we are the one bill solution to all of your small business utility services click here