The Solopreneur Specialist Newsletter
In previous newsletters, I’ve discussed the importance of moving items from your to-do list to your schedule using Action Block Calendaring (ABC)™. Designating tasks to specific time blocks in your day will ensure you are strategically thinking about your time and what will help your business move forward.
An important piece of this process is creating a suitable daily work structure that makes the most sense for when it would be best to do certain tasks on your list. For example, if you’re an early riser, you probably get your best work done first thing in the morning as opposed to the late afternoon hours. Likewise, a night owl will need to make sure they are completely free of distractions in the evening for priority work, so they set their schedule to work on lower priority tasks (such as admin) earlier in the day when they are just getting started. It’s really up to you to determine what works best.
While challenging to create your own work structure (instead of an employer handing one to you), it’s also immensely freeing and many solopreneurs often find that they become even more efficient workers because they get to dictate what their work schedule looks like.
If you’re currently in the process of building your work structure–or reflecting on your current one–you might want to consider the following when setting your different blocks of time:
- Divide Your Day into specific time slots to, for example, follow up with current clients, strategize to attract new ones, work on major projects, handle administrative tasks, etc. Consider making these time slots an hour or so with short breaks. You may find it helpful to create weekly and/or monthly calendar templates you can follow and easily adjust as needed that include days that are devoted to networking and client relationship management, administrative tasks such as invoicing and so on.
- Relish Routines so your work day can operate on autopilot. It’s important to save as much creative energy as you can for your most important tasks and avoid the dreaded “decision fatigue” that inevitably sets in when you’re overloaded with minor decisions. You might, for example, consider creating a morning ritual that helps you make the mental transition from being “at home” to being “at work.” Or making a daily rule that you won’t open your email until one of the three high-priority things you want to accomplish each day has been completed. My favorite daily routine is to take the last 30 minutes of the work day and review the next day’s schedule, tidy up my office, and lay out important papers I’ll need upon my return to work the next morning.
- Standardize Systems so that as many of your daily repetitive tasks become automatic. By creating templates, checklists, and procedures, you’ll save time in having to think about tasks you repeat frequently throughout your day such as sending emails, proposals, answering questions, etc.
- Batch Similar Tasks such as checking email, listening to your voicemail and making calls, data entry, and out-of-office client visits and miscellaneous errands, to prevent your brain from having to constantly switch gears and waste time. The best way to do this is to ensure you’ve scheduled time blocks in your work schedule for these batched tasks. If you’re like most people and feel compelled to check your email all the time, having a specific time planned in your schedule to do this will help you to focus on the task at hand instead of being tempted into distraction.
So how efficient and effective are you in your day-to-day work schedule? What other challenges and obstacles are preventing you from moving your business forward? Being a solopreneur can often feel lonely, but please know I am always available to be a sounding board and help you further refine your work structure. Happy scheduling!
