How to simplify your day to day tasks
I was asked to give a talk a few weeks ago about how to simplify your day to day tasks and this is the speech I wrote up and didn't read, lol.
If you would have asked me 48 hours ago to give this talk, I would have said “Hell no, thoughts & prayers” and ran for the hills. I had a complete meltdown looking at my planner thinking my plate was overloaded. I talked to 2 of my good friends (who I wish were here) and they got my head straight so now I am confident to share with you all my tips and tricks.
Running an at home business and raising a family is hard as fuck. Heads up, I curse a lot but never in front of my kids. The first thing I realized I needed to do when I quit my corporate job was create a to do list. I list Out everything I need to do for the week every Sunday. I list out appointments happening that week, bills that are due, any events my kids have happening and events I have as well. I also Write out things I would like to have done for the business that week (IE any social media posts, purchasing of merchandise, follow up on emails) and it's all written down on a pad of paper. Then I stare at it because more than likely it's like 2 pages long and I’m having an anxiety attack. So how did I go from that to where I am today? That is a great question, that I have to shift and pivot sometimes but let me tell you what works thus far.
Want vs. Need:
So I still make a to-do list, but I list things that come to my mind throughout the week that I want to do. Note I said “Want” and not needed. Not everything on your to do list is a need. So when you make your to-do list, step back and revisit it in an hour. What on that list NEEDS to happen and what on that list do you WANT to happen. I need to to fulfill orders but if I am a late or two scheduling my social media posts, I doubt I’m going to lose any followers. Make sense? Not everything on your to do list needs to be done. Once you prioritize what is a “want to do” from a “need to do '', list in order from most to least importance on that need to do list and start there. If you can finish your need to do list and have time to start your want to do list, then great! But if you can’t, don’t sweat it…there is always another day, another week. Or if you have ADHD like me, another month because you forgot about it and clearly it wasn’t that important.
Get a planner:
I still use a physical planner (like I did in college, lol) and I’m glad I do. I have on the monthly calendar all of the activities the family is participating in including pop up shops and ballet classes. And when it breaks down to the weekly I go more in-depth with what is happening. I list out the time the event is happening, the address and who all is going to be there. This is great for when I do my pop up shops so I can also record the amount of sales I had for the day. I don't Use a daily breakdown cause sometimes I forget to write in it and I feel like I’m wasting paper. So I currently use the happy planner vertical layout because I like to use stickers to help me organize everything and I’m a sticker whore now. It is what it is.
Batch work:
I don't ever post on my business social media page the same day. I always schedule out my posts a month in advance. I use the Later app and FB pages to schedule out posts and I work On this very stressfully the last week of the month for the following month. I work On Newsletters on Monday, IG posts on Wednesday and FB posts on Friday. I try not to do it all in one day because it can take some time to create catchy and fun captions and I still want to be present for my children. I schedule FB posts every Monday, Wednesday & Friday and IG posts every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I only schedule social media posts on Sunday if it's a special occasion or if I’m launching a sale. I do send out newsletters every week because you want to be in your customers inbox. They may not open it all the time but when they need you, you will be there.
Shopify:
I have a product based business so I needed a web hosting site that had everything for me. Let me introduce you to Shopify. I can host all my products, send out my newsletters and create ads right in one spot. I also have my blog on Shopify as well though my shop and it makes everything so easy. Everything needs a password and my mind can’t remember all of it. And I hate having to switch from tab to tab to do something. I highly Recommend using Shopify if you are a product based business owner to host your items. It’s really inexpensive and they have Shopify POS that I use when I do pop up shops to help with managing inventory so no one buys the same thing online and in person.
Delegate:
It’s hard to delegate tasks for our business to anyone that isn’t you. This business is your baby and you can’t just trust anyone with your baby. I did an online master class with Rachel Hollis prior to her referring to herself as Harriet Tubman and she said something pretty smart that stuck with me “if someone else can do it, then give it to them”. So you have to figure out, what are some items on your to do list that you necessarily don't have to do that can be delegated out? I wrote down a sticky note of things that I do On a monthly basis and listed the things I don't personally need to do myself that I can delegate to my assistant. I won't lie, it is hard. She isn’t me. She did have the sweat, blood and tears I had when building this business but she is eager and willing to learn. Find someone that will love your baby like it is their own but remind yourself, it isn’t theirs so give them grace.