So, here is my favourite list of things to do for a small business owners, when:
....you are waiting for builders
....or putting of all the other important jobs that you need to be doing
....have a short period of time and don't want to waste a moment
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1.
Check your website (if you have one) - what can you do in few minutes? Check new links to see whether they are working fine and linking to where they should. Time to add another product to the shop? Or swap an old photo for some new.
2.
Briefly update status on Facebook, schedule your Tweets or be inspired by Pinterest. This is usually five minutes job, which needs to be done regularly.
3.
With the festive season ahead of us, gather all your old Christmas Magazines (can't believe you have not got any...really? are you sure?). They are always useful to have at hand and get some last minute inspiration for making decorations or great festive recipes. I'm always amazed, how something I didn't needed at the time, comes handy few years later.
4.
Pay bills or do something, that you have been putting off for a while and doesn't take that long. It's amazing how quickly you work when you know, you are going to be interrupted.
5.
Research your competition. When was the last time you check what is your competition up to? I would not advise to get to hang up on it to much, but you should know, what are the current trends, what prices your competition is charging or the state of their website.
6.
Sort out your e-mails - possibly a longer task, but after a few years of getting all my e-mails in to one address, I decided, that all newsletters and useful weekly updates will go to one address and business e-mails will stay where they are. I didn't think it would be a problem first of all as I was used to getting up to 60 e-mails a day in my previous job, but then I started to miss the important e-mails amongst weekly updates on SEO. Now, I only open my other e-mail when I want to and have time to dip in and read something interesting with my lunch.
7.
Write a blog post - Do you normally have a writter's block? Yes, me too...but again it's amazing how your brain can focus when it has to. (My builders are now officially 40 minutes late and this blog is nearly finished, so that's not too bad, is it?).
8.
Plan your week. Is there anything looming ahead that you could work on now and save yourself the time later (even if it doesn't need to be done until later). This weekend is going to be extremely busy for me with chocolate parties, so I'm going to sort out all the packaging ahead and cut up all the greaseproof paper that I need for my chocolate trays. These are quite silly jobs, but it will it will save me time later.
9.
Do something just for yourself! Have a fresh cup of tea and don't let it to go cold before you drink it. Simple....but so often it happens that I find my tea already cold by the time I get to it, so this time I won't let it happen!
10.
Do a 10 minutes tidy up! Am I pushing my luck here? Probably, but short burst of activity - e.g. tidying are actually quite effective (in getting the room tidy and getting your body moving a bit!)
Have a missed something? I'm sure I have and I love to know what you come up with!
I'm posting this blog and going to explore what everyone else is up to at Handmade Harbour. Have a great week everyone!
....still no sign of my builders...
Hope they arrived in the end - it's hard to settle to anything when you're waiting for someone or something to arrive - the internet has made it easier though!
ReplyDeleteThey are here now...but you are absolutely right - if I knew they would be more then 3 hrs late I would just start a bigger job and got it done - this way I have sort of fretted away a morning.
DeleteHope your builders have arrived now! This is a great idea for a list, except... "be inspired by Pinterest" - a five minute job?! That one could go on for days if you let it!! For me, anyway!
ReplyDeleteYes, I know what you mean - I could spend ages on Pinterest! I always loved scrapbooking and this is taking it to the next level. But from business point of view that 5 minutes is probably as effective as spending a whole afternoon...
DeleteHope the builders eventually turned up. So annoying !!! I hope you didn't make them any tea as punishment for being late, or at least forget to give them any biscuits... xx
ReplyDeletePS love your courses by the way. Shame I live so far away otherwise one or two would have been making their way onto Santa's list.
Waiting for anyone to turn up can be so dull - you can't start doing anything useful in what you hope will be a short time - now I have a list of little things I can try next time I'm waiting!
ReplyDeletesome great ideas here, i completely agree that there's nothing worse than feeling that there's loads you want to be doing but for whatever reason you can't, i try and catch up with the little jobs too - there are so many of them! x
ReplyDeleteIn the end I got actually quite a lot done and then had still the afternoon for baking my gingerbreads (kitchen back functioning !). So, not bad at all!
DeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who keeps christmas magazines! I love getting my christmas boxes out of the loft and having a few magazines to flick through. Always gets me in the mood! Having eventually turned up, I hope the builders were worth the wait x
ReplyDeleteI never chuck anything away and keep all magazines - they are like books to me and I always find something new in them - even when they are old.
DeleteI'm a magazine hoarder too. They're great for inspiration when you have designer's block. I'm going to take note of your list of time filling ideas. I also find that having a small notebook always at hand to jot down ideas or things you need to remember to do useful too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for compiling a great list. I will be making notes. We recently had a new boiler fitter and I couldn't hide away in my crafty place. So I set to work will small crafts at the dining room table. I hope your builders are there soon and finish quickly. Some of them seem to have a habit of disappearing to do other jobs. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteAli x
Lots of good suggestions - except the ten minute tidy up. My tidying up would take so much longer, so will knock that off the list. Hopoe your builders did eventually arrive and hope you have a good week.
ReplyDeleteGreat list, but I'm afraid that if I head owards the computer I can definitely get sucked in for more than just a few minutes (look I'm here again!)
ReplyDeleteChecking your own website is a great reminder - looking at it from a customers point of view is really useful and can be done quite quickly ,as it's then you spot those spelling mistakes and other inconsistencies
Glad the builders turned up in the end, on the day they were expected is quite good!!
Argh! I hate champing at the bit but being stuck behind the starting gates! Nightmare! Still, sounds like a very successful morning's work! ;) Glad they turned up eventually, and it'll all be worth it in the end! Have a gpood week :)
ReplyDelete