Your Standard Work Week

In every business there’s a whole range of jobs that must be completed on a weekly basis. When you first start out the likelihood is that you’ll be juggling a lot of these jobs yourself. As your business expands, it’s important that you’re able to manage your time in an effective and sustainable way. 

Delegation is key

For your business to thrive and grow, it’s important to learn the art of delegation. 

Combining your ideal week with your standard week will likely mean that, time wise, some things just won’t fit anymore. If this is the case and these things definitely still need to be done, you’ll need to delegate them.

For example, can you pass your bookkeeping and credit control to someone? Do you personally need to do all of your social media content creation and scheduling or can that be delegated? 

Are your tools fit for purpose? 

There’s no point using tools for tools’ sake! They need to actually serve a purpose and support the job they’re being used for. 

When was the last time you reviewed your business tools? Are the ones you’re using helpful and time saving or outdated and time consuming?

When your time is precious and limited it’s important that all of your day-to-day tools and systems are supporting you to maximise your output. So, periodically review what you have in place and don’t be afraid to make adjustments when needed. 

Time blocking

Time blocking is a time management method where you divide up your day into specific time blocks and within each block you carry out specific tasks.

So, for example, it makes sense to block times in your week so you only have meetings on certain days when you are free to meet, or at certain times of the day when you’re naturally most productive.

The beauty of time blocking is that it’s designed to focus your mind and help you get more done in shorter time periods.

How long is your standard work week? 

When it’s your business it’s so easy to slip into the habit of working seven days a week. There always seems to be something that needs doing, but that doesn’t mean you always have to be the one to do it! 

So, let me ask you, how many days each week do you actually want to work? Are you planning to reduce the number of days you currently put in? What would need to happen in order for you to achieve this? These are really important questions to ask yourself when you’re creating or adjusting your standard weekly schedule.

Your working environment 

The environment you work in day in and day out, week in and week out, is just as important as your home environment. In fact, when it comes to productivity and focus it’s more important!

If you find yourself being distracted or constantly hunting for things, or you feel crowded or uncomfortable, then your environment is not supporting you. 

These experiences might be especially true right now, due to the ‘making do’ home office situation we find ourselves in. It’s therefore important for you to go through your week and periodically check in with yourself and how you’re feeling physically and mentally. Doing this regularly means you only have to make small adjustments when necessary, rather than big ones that take up your valuable time.

Remember to take time off! 

It’s easy to assume that when you run your own business, you’ll be merrily taking time off whenever you want to. The reality though is that, unless you forward plan your holidays, it’s actually really easy to allow months and months to roll by without having any time off at all. This really isn’t healthy for your mental and physical well-being and every one of us needs and deserves time to relax.

So, as standard practice, decide how much time you’re taking off over the year and when you’re taking it. Also decide if this is a time when you’ll be able to completely switch off or will be dealing with emails once a day and then turning your phone off.

Of course, taking time off doesn’t always have to include travel. Being able to switch off and do something different (even if it’s just painting your kitchen!) is going to make the world of difference to your productivity levels once you step back into work again.

If you need support with outsourcing your weekly accounting work or financial planning for your, get in touch and we’ll show you how.