When it comes to business, we know it can be easy to get bogged down in the every day. And when you’re stuck in the every day, it can be hard to actually strategise and grow your business.
In his book ‘This is Marketing’, Seth Godin talks about the importance of having a daily practice in your routine. A daily practice is something you implement into your day that can help you look at the bigger picture of your business, while still being able to implement it into a more achievable daily task.
It’s important for all of us to be trying to grow our businesses or careers, so no matter what stage you’re at, here are a few ideas of what to add to your daily routine to start working more on your bigger goals.
Start planning your day the day before
Let’s face it, unless you’ve put everything off to the last minute, the last 20 minutes of your day usually don’t make too much of a difference to your daily workload. You might be able to send a few extra emails or make a few more calls, but a better use for that time is to start planning the next day.
You’ll feel more productive and inspired looking at your goals for the following day than you will trying to smash out those last few bits and pieces. Plus, it means that you’re starting and finishing every day fresh and prepared for what’s ahead, rather than spending the first part of your day trying to scramble and figure out what you’re meant to be doing.
Reflect on the day that has been
Planning isn’t just about preparation, it’s also about reflection. Think about how your day has gone, what you have achieved, and what roadblocks you faced. Looking at how a particular task has gone or even thinking about how you reacted in a certain situation, will help you in the future.
Think about what you could have done better and what you might want to improve upon for the next day, and implement that into your plan for the following day.
Call your most important couples or clients
Whether you’re working with couples, clients, or other suppliers, it’s good to get in touch with the people who matter most for your business. You could have a different person nominated for each day of the week, or make a point of calling those people you haven’t heard from in a while.
Whatever it is, touching base over the phone vocally and asking whether there’s anything you can do for them is a great way to build relationships and also adds that trust and personal service to your day.
Start speaking with more positive language
We can sometimes find ourselves in a meeting thinking about all of the things we need to do, rather than thinking about what we’ve already achieved. When you’re looking at your to-do list, try to start thinking about it in a more positive way. Those aren’t just tasks to tick off, they’re couples to help and weddings to plan.
Think about what you’ve already achieved, what you have yet to achieve, and the couples you’ll help in doing so. This will help bring a little bit more positivity into your every day.
Map our your 6 most important tasks of the day
Six may sound like a random number, but it’s a great way to split your day. When we have a large to-do list we can sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by not finishing it all the time. Rather than thinking about everything you need to tick off the list in general, think about the 6 tasks you want to focus on for that day.
The chances are you’ll be able to achieve these six tasks, plus it lets you split them evening into before and after lunch. The benefit of only choosing six tasks is that you’re more likely to tick them off the list, be able to do some more work, and feel more accomplished doing so. It’s all about starting and ending the day on a positive note feeling like you’ve achieved something, rather than feeling like your work is merging into the next day.
Set yourself a goal for the day
On that note, set yourself one strong goal for the day of what you want to achieve. Do you want to lock in a couple for a viewing? Convert one lead a day? Finally write that blog article for your website that you’ve been thinking about?
Whatever it is, set yourself a goal for the day alongside your six most important tasks and work towards achieving that. It can be something to achieve for the day or something that will help you work towards your larger business goals in general.
Get back to your emails first thing
It’s important that clients know you’re responsive and can get back to them in a timely manner. Whether you’ve already sent them an automated email or not, touching base first thing in the morning is a good way to show that they’re on your mind.
Follow up an automated response with a more personalised email about what a couple has enquired about, catch up with that internal discussion from yesterday, or follow up on that email you sent a few days ago. Whatever it is, getting in touch early in the morning gives the respondee the entire day to get back to you.
Start the day with a smile
This one is easier said than done, but starting the day with a smile to your colleagues, staff, or clients can surprisingly make a difference between having a productive day or starting the day in the wrong mindset.
Starting the day with a smile, and focusing on that positive language (eg “I’m GREAT thank you, how are you?”) are always useful ways to help change your daily mindset, and they can help change the way you start your working day.
So chin up and smashing out those goals!
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