All in A Day's Work
Laundry, dishes, emails, errands, and work can fill an entire day. The trick is knowing what needs your attentions first.
The kids are on the bus, the dog is fed and walked, and you finally showered. You put a load of clothes in the washer and head to your desk.
On the way to your desk you remember, I need to take ground beef out of the freezer so it defrosts in time for dinner this evening. Then, you load the dishwasher and clean out the sink.
It’s Tuesday, you almost forgot it’s your day to volunteer at your church. You grab your coat and head out the door. As a local, small business owner it’s important to be involved in the community plus you’ve become friends with the people you volunteer with. It’s fun and you genuinely like giving back to your community.
Your new plan is to be back by 1pm to have lunch and get work done this afternoon. When this afternoon comes around, you send out invoices, respond to emails, post on Instagram, and your work day comes to an end.
All of these things matter.
A clean house that feels good to live in, eating a delicious, healthy home-cooked meal, taking care of pets, putting your business out there on social media, processing invoices, and being active in your community.
As a small business owner, it’s easy to keep busy. There’s so much to do all on your own. But being busy isn’t the same thing as moving your business forward.
Putting off the work that keeps your business healthy can be the problem. There are certain, non-negotiable tasks that need to get done in order to keep the needle moving. These tasks will of course vary based on the type of business you own.
Things like following up with potential clients, reaching out to existing clients, creating a plan for next quarter, updating your pricing, or organizing your finances can all help keep your business on track and move it forward.
So can developing a new service or product, or fixing your systems so they work for you even when you’re not working.
Don’t wait until all the other things are finished. The laundry, the dishes, another walk for the dog, and emails to respond to will always be there. Protect your time, decide what steps will make the biggest impact on your business, and do that first. Otherwise, you may never get to it.
