How To Improve Your Business in 2019
SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
The summer holidays is a great time to kick off your shoes, have time away from your desk and catch up on some reading. I usually have books and articles that I have set aside that I want to read and I even put out a post on Social Media asking for recommendations from others. It is always a good conversation starter to ask others what they would recommend and we can learn alot from sharing our knowledge and experience
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
I have always enjoyed reading and as a child, I recall weekly trips to the mobile or branch library with my parents. Fiction and non-fiction books stretched my imagination and thinking. Authors lit up new horizons and inspired me. Stories painted pictures in my head and enriched my view of the world and all it has to offer.
Books are always a window, and sometimes a portal, into the knowledge and experience we need. They are definitely a lifelong learning tool. Books bring purpose, focus and fulfilment to our learning and life. Both fiction and non-fiction books develop our understanding of the world as it is and as it could be.
Now, of course, we have access to so much information and so many stories through blogs, ebooks, videos and podcasts which further expand our knowledge. We are connected to a multiplicity of ideas and philosophies which bring us together to share the joy of learning.
At this time of year, I am drawn to books, blogs and conversations that expand my thinking , or confirm that I am handling all there is to manage in my life, both personally and professionally, in the best possible way.
OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE
Just today, I read a blog that you might find useful, as you start back into the new year. Here are the key points. I have bolded the ones that really resonate with me and I’d be keen to hear your comments below-
“ 5 tips to try this week
Time is our biggest resource, our biggest luxury – and the thing it’s easiest to take for granted. Finding ways to manage your working time can make your jobs easier – and your time off more rewarding too.
1. Know what your goals are
First things first – what do you want? The first stage to getting things done is to set some goals.
We tend to have 3 kinds of things to put on a to-do list:
Ambitions – ‘I want to become Boston’s favourite wedding photographer’
Daily habits – ‘get at least 30mins exercise every day’
To-do tasks – ‘Send cost estimate to my new client’
So first up, you need to know which kind of goal you’re talking about – it’s going to be hard to put your ambition down on Monday and cross it off Tuesday. But breaking that down into smaller tasks – posting on your blog, sharing your portfolio, preparing for events – can all help get you there. That’ll give you a more manageable list to start with.
Once you’ve got your goals, whether they’re just for today or for your whole year, write them down. It can be as simple as having a good, reliable diary and setting yourself some deadlines…
2. Break up the day
A huge step towards increasing your productivity is to stop looking at your day as one long block, or even two half-day-long pretty-long-blocks. Psychologists tend to agree that the longest anyone can really concentrate on one thing is about 45 minutes.
This means that if your goals for the day are too big, or too broad, it’ll be really hard to make them unattainable. Take a tip from school-age you – take that to-do list and put it into a timetable, switching up the kind of task you’re doing every ‘period’. This is also a great way to keep regular jobs like email or admin to a set amount of time, rather than letting them spill over into your whole day.
Or, to keep it simpler, make like a tomato. The Pomodoro technique, invented by Italian developer Francesco Cirillo in the 80s, recommends working in 25minute chunks with a 5-minute break in between each, then taking a longer break after 4 chunks….
3. Make your distractions constructive
Reframe your distractions as research time! If, during your productive hours, you can’t resist the pull of your phone, or you long to pick up your book instead of focusing on the task at hand, make that love work for you. If Instagram or Reddit is your focus-puller of choice, give yourself time to explore – but set a time limit on it.
4. Get ranking
We all know (whisper it) that really, we never quite get to the bottom of our to-do lists. There’s always another thing we could do, another job to finish. So another crucial trick is to get ranking – always have a sense of what your priorities are and tackle those jobs too.There are a lot of people who also swear by picking off the most loathed tasks too. Need to do that filing, or dreading finishing your tax return? Getting that out of the way first will save you any further procrastination time – and also make for happier free time at the end of it too when that dreaded job is in the past.
5. Rethink your work-life balance
Everyone has a natural rhythm with peaks and troughs throughout the day. Thankfully, many modern workplaces are recognizing this and giving their staff more flexibility about when and how they work. If you work for yourself or you can set your own schedule, commit to determining when your best hours are. Prefer to take your lunchbreak at 11.15? Want to work all day Sunday and take Wednesdays off? Give it a try and see what works. “
You may like to read the entire blog from Moo Print Limited HERE and I thank them for giving me a few fresh approaches to consider. Having been a classroom teacher I do like the idea of scheduling in some specific periods, and last year did set aside Wednesday afternoons to be my “creative time” where I made social media posts, wrote bloges etc.
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHERS
To help you get your year off to the best possible start we have two events planned . Our “Connect With Confidence” event on 22nd January has a bonus insight “Gain : Clarity and Focus” also with our group conversations using the YTM cards to kick start your connections .
We know, the start of a new year can be both daunting and exciting. There are and will be many challenges to face into in the coming months. You may find yourself worrying about your finances, processes and where the next opportunity will come from.
The good news is that it does not have to be that way. Getting clear on the steps you need to take and who you should be talking to will help towards establishing your roadmap for the year. After all, without a plan you can get lost.
CREATE A DOEABLE PLAN
We are also running a full day workshop to “Create YOUR OWN 2019 LEAN and DOABLE "REAL" PLAN of ACTION” on Monday 11th February. There was so much positive feedback after the half day last year, we have extended it so you will go away having taken steps…not just theory….
The FULL day workshop will include assistance to :-
Build your own specific 2019 Plan with your own Goals: Use the YTM Business Builder model to suit you and align with the YTM Goals and Accountability framework ensuring you achieve your set goals
Understand your value: You bring extraordinary Value to the table …so learn how to identify, recognise, and unlock this value to fertilise your proposition (and pricing)
Curate Your Irresistible Proposition: Why your exisiting clients and new clients will climb over hot coals to Pick You and shout out to others about you.
Make Informed Decisions: Love your numbers, decipher and understand your numbers so you constantly widen the gap between your revenue and expenses so your margin rewards your effort and risk. How much do you need to invest in your business?
Have some fun along the way through real exercises that will give you deeper insight into running a successful and sustainable business
You can read more and register HERE-
So as you enjoy the remainder of your break, take a few moments to plan your next steps and the processes you will put in place to improve your business in 2019, and if we can be of any further help, please do not hesitate to reach out to Leigh or myself, to bounce some ideas around.
