You always hear about ways to prepare children for back to school, but what about adults, specifically entrepreneurs?
For the first time in my daughter’s young life, I was able to really experience summer vacation with her. A modified work schedule during her school break has given me the irreplaceable opportunity to spend hot days swimming and slipping down water slides at Sesame Place in Bucks County, cosmic bowling, jumping side-by-side at Bounce U and a trampoline park, miniature golfing, enjoying $1 movies at our Regal theater in Warrington, heading to the park for picnic lunches, swings and more.
The thought of her heading back to school saddens me.
I have treasured our days together.
I have a feeling that our back to school routine will be just as difficult, if not more so, on me.
As summer begins to fade away, there are a few things I will need to do to get us both back on track.
- Get back to routines
With my daughter home with me two days each week, my summer routine has revolved largely around her. Once those school bells ring my hard and fast routine of working during school hours, picking her up, helping her with homework, taking her to Girl Scouts and dance class will resume. For your business, returning to normalcy might mean implementing new marketing strategies to drive new customers or devising new ways to connect with existing customers.
- Stick to a schedule
It’s easy to spend too much time obsessing about one aspect of your business or wasting the day away looking at friends’ beach vacation photos on social media. I confess, I’m guilty of these things too. To make better use of your time, try chunking tasks into blocks, allotting time to read and respond to emails, return phone calls and meet with colleagues and clients, for instance. Setting time limits for each of your daily functions will make them seem less tedious and will allow you to accomplish more.
- Prioritize
Sometimes it can be overwhelming looking at all you must do in any given day or week. For me, getting back to a five-days-a-week work schedule means being honest with myself about the tasks I’ve put off all summer long (including regular blog posts and email communications). Bear in mind that you don’t have to accomplish everything in one day, or even in a week. Make a list of what needs to be done and give yourself a realistic deadline. Cut yourself some slack if your priorities shift and deadlines need to be adjusted accordingly.
As for me, I’ll be soaking up the sun, having fun with my family and procrastinating on these routine-making guidelines until I wave good-bye to my daughter as she heads out to begin first-grade.
Please share: What helps you and your business prepare for back to school?
