The equinox is here and summer is officially over. The kids are back to school, the flip flops and sunglasses are off and business is back in full swing. This is the time to refocus on your goals and desires and be ready to bring in the fall harvest.
If you have children who just went back to school, you prepared for that—shopping for supplies and clothes or packing the car to send them off to college. Maybe you planned your summer vacation or fun activities. Just as you did that, you have to prepare yourself for getting back to business too. When summer was in full swing most people cut back so they can enjoy themselves and their family and routines and systems got tossed to the side. Now it’s time to pick it all back up and get the ball rolling again, which can be a lot easier said than done.
It can be hard to regroup after all of the summer fun or after any break for that matter, but it’s necessary if you’re going to bring in this year’s harvest. If you’re finding it hard to make that shift, here are 5 key points for you to use to get back into the swing of things and focus on your fall harvest:
- Get organized! Organize your office space in a way that allows you to find anything in no time flat. So many people waste time just looking for things and believe me that time adds up. When you lose time, you lose money. Get rid of things that you no longer need, archive files that you need to keep and mark them with a date that they can be destroyed. Once you get your office organized, maintain it.
- Develop systems that support you. Any business will have the usual systems—accounting, sales, filing, etc, but many forget that they need a time management system, which is one of the biggest mistakes I see solopreneurs making. Because of that gap, time flies by but nothing’s gets done. Find the tool that fits for you and create a system around that tool.
- Get back on track with your goals. It’s really easy to get off track even without summer vacation in play. Take a look at what you created, review your plan and the tasks that will get you to the end result and see what changes need to be made. If there’s something that hasn’t gotten done because of your summer excursion, recreate it and get it moving.
- Eliminate the time wasters. If you haven’t yet learned how to delegate, now is the perfect time. If you have someone that you can pass things to, then start handing them off so that you can focus on the more important, income generating things. If you don’t have a Virtual Assistant, get one. If that’s not in the budget, then find an intern who needs the college credits and hours. Don’t forget the #1 time waster—email. Control what hits your inbox and how you handle your email. First, set designated times to check your email and don’t make one of those times first thing in the morning. Check email for the first time 1.5-2 hours into your day. Use email filters and folders to direct email to designated folders labeled for particular people, projects and newsletters then check those folders as needed.
Those are four things that will get you back on track and help you make that shift to get back to business. The fifth key is to implement them all. Just don’t take in this information, make your notes, say you’re going to follow the steps and then do nothing. Be in action. Take the steps that will help you make that shift that you’re looking for. If you do they will help keep you on track.