The past few weeks have been very busy for me as I complete client work but also prepare to head to a conference for nearly one week. It has made me appreciate the systems and processes I have setup for my business. These systems help when interruptions, new contacts and other things not written in my daily planner happen during my workday, I can easily deal with most of them and not get off task.
Staying on task for me is vital, I have many different things in my daily work that must be completed for each client. If I get backed up or behind then it is not affecting only me, but my clients.
What can get you off track? When you work from a home office, it’s a myriad of things and not just clients. For me it can be the dog, the kids, my home phone as well as contact from new clients, new requests from present clients, computer issues, internet issues … the list goes on and on.
What systems help me? The main ones are:
- New Client Inquiry procedures/info packets
- A 10 minute per hour break time
- My own business scheduled time each day
How do these help? The new client inquiry packets save me time in that I have the info ready when someone asks for it. The hourly break time allows me time to grab some laundry, a coffee, check on the dog or deal with other items that happen. Having time for my own business allows me to stay on top of my own social media tasks and blog writing and other marketing efforts for my business. This time also gives me space in my day to deal with the unexpected that may take even more time.
All of this helps keep my stress levels lower as I have time set aside to deal with the planned and the unexpected. When things are on a roll and your hours are filled every day it is important to be able to deal with new business/contact or other tasks that pop up, and deal with them in a way that does not adversely affect your day.
What is your top tips to handing the busy-times of your workday?
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