“Summer days, drifting away”
Got to love a Grease quote. Those summer days are well and truly drifting away now. It’s been 6 crazy weeks since we were in a normal routine and we’ve been busy juggling; spending time with the children, growing our business and hopefully kicking back in the sun a bit. Children or no children, the summer always brings that interesting period where lots of us are away on hols, and so are our customers and clients! Now that autumn is here and the children are back at school or in childcare, do you feel raring to go or slightly manic about the prospect of the whole day stretching out in front of you? If you remember one thing about this blog post, my advice is not to rush straight in to try and do all the things.
A time of reflection
Stop. Have a little mini-holiday and think about some of the good things that have happened over the summer. Make a drink and spend 5-10 minutes enjoying the quiet. A little distance may have given you a new perspective on your business. Is there something you would like to change? Perhaps a new product or service inspiration has struck. Write down your thoughts while your mind is clear and fresh and then return to them in a few days to think about what needs to happen next. After a hectic few months in a different routine, you might feel like your brain is in a bit of a funk. Don’t panic, be kind to yourself and ease yourself back into the flow.
Take your time
I did a bit of a Google on how to get going after a holiday. The advice was to get up early so that you can get back on top quickly – I think I have to disagree on this one though. Yes a bit of preparation and planning will help, but why burn-out all the good relaxed vibes you might have built up after the holidays? Take your time and start gently. Hop onto your Trello boards and have a review of where you are at and what needs to be done. If you are really stuck, go back to your brand values to help you re-connect with your brand purpose and re-energise you for the next few months.
Get your thoughts out
It’s hard to get going when you have a million things racing round your head, so start by getting everything out, ideas, fears, tickable to-do list items. Write them all down on a long list or record them on your phone (my favourite method) then type or write them out as you listen to them. Make sure you don’t just leave them on one long list though, and organise them into categories instead. A ‘do now’ list, a ‘future’ list and an ‘ideas’ list is a good place to start.
Re-connect with your brand values
Having a wobble about what your brand values are? I would invite you to complete my challenge “Nail your brand values in 5 days”. You can access the resources here or join my Facebook group to be notified the next time I am running the challenge “live”. It covers everything from un-muddling the heart of your brand through to customer profiling and how your product or service resolves their problems. The last time we ran the challenge in the Facebook group we had a great week and I loved this feedback from Gemma. “This process has really helped me focus on what I need to do for my business and my productivity, sometimes it’s easy to get stagnant.” Whoop whoop!
Fill out the Marketing Channel Planner
When you’ve not had time to download your thoughts, but have been spending time looking at what everyone else is doing, it’s easy to get your thoughts muddled on which marketing channels you should focus on. Head over to the resources, section or click this download link to get your hands on the FREE (yes baby) Marketing Channel Planner to help you get clarity on what to focus on, what you should start doing, what you stop and what processes you’re going to put in place to make sure you meet your objectives.
You can’t squeeze six weeks of work into one day
Keep your to-do list manageable and try not to squeeze a week’s worth of work into one short day. Prioritise what actually needs to be done by categorising your list by “grow” and “maintain” your business. Check out my recent blog posts with all sorts of productivity tips for you, and come to the Fb group for lots of videos coming soon!
Celebrate successes and prioritise “me time”
Still have that post-holiday “glow”? Hold tight to it! By sticking close to your brand values, you can get out of the back to work blues, grow your business and avoid running out of steam before we even hit October. When you get to the end of your first week back, have another moment of reflection and celebrate your successes, they can be big or small – made a new sale? Got to the end of the week without forgetting anything for the kids, it’s all good! We don’t need to wait for someone else to recognise successes. Enjoy the little moments and even if the celebration is just a 5 minute nap (I love naps), it’s still looking after yourself and will help you find and keep your groove.
Use your network
Feeling a bit lost and alone? I’ve said this before, but there are so many supportive groups both online and in person. If you do feel stuck or blocked, then use your network, I can guarantee someone else will be feeling the same as you and that is a very comforting thought. Got big plans for the business but not sure how to knuckle down and focus. Definitely check out the Fb group for tips, but you could also try finding an accountability buddy to help you out!
Join my group to be the first to know when my courses to help you go live
If any of this has made you think oh yes, this is the approach for me, then I’d love for you to join me in the Facebook group where I help you connect with your brand values and share helpful productivity tips.
