Over and over again I hear the same tired excuse from people that they just don’t have enough time… “Oh I’d love to blog more but I just can’t find the time…”, “I can’t possibly reply to all my emails, I just get too many…”, “Yeah I’d love to take a holiday/work on a personal project/spend more time with my loved ones, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day…”
Now forgive me as this is probably going to irritate you but seriously? Let’s cut the crap. Yes when you run your own business free time can be a luxury, and finding extra time is difficult, but if you really really want to do something then you’ll find it. Be honest with yourself now – is it really lack of time or lack of effort that you’re suffering from?
No one is telling you that you have to blog/reply to all your emails/take a break/do a personal project/edit a wedding in two days/turn around design commissions in a week etc etc, and if you don’t want to then fine… so let it go and stop making excuses. But if you do want to make some changes then stop blaming the imaginary time stealing fairy, take some responsibility and prioritise!
OK so now I’ve beaten that out of you, how exactly does one regain control and get things done? Well, in a nutshell, to feel in control of your business you need to keep on top of your work as much as possible. That may sound totally obvious and easier said than done but honestly, it really doesn’t have to be that hard. It’s easy to be in control if you create a system and stick to it. Set up a process for anything and everything that needs constant attention. Emails, social media, editing, bookkeeping, blogging… basically anything that you have to tackle on a regular basis.
Oh the dreaded inbox. A source of such joy (Enquiries! New opportunities! Messages of love!) but also such stress (1057 unread emails, arrgh!) So how do you keep on top of it all?
I get between 200 and 300 emails a day. And yes, every one gets a reply, usually within 48 hours. So am I some kind of mutant fast-typing superwoman? Er no… but what I am is strict with myself and in lieu of superhuman speedy fingers I have a plethora of templates at my disposal.
I figured out pretty early on that a) I couldn’t possibly write custom replies for every email I receive and b) that the majority of the emails I get fall into similar categories – i.e. submissions, advertising enquires, press releases/crap from PR companies, and questions from my readers. So I wrote draft replies for each of these options (and the potential follow up emails) which I can send back to each email that comes in with seven mouse clicks or less (yep, I counted…) and BAM! Done!
Of course there are some messages that don’t fit into these drafts (namely when readers ask for advice) but honestly… that’s probably less than 10% of the emails I receive. If you don’t have any draft replies in place, do it. Do it now!
Do I wish I could send in depth replies who everyone to sends me an email? Of course. Is there anyway I could physically do that whist simultaneously completing every other task I have to do on a daily basis? Christ, no. But you know what? I just have to let that go. My feeling on the matter is that people (especially if they’re sending me a submission) would rather get a template reply which answers their query as soon as possible over waiting days or even weeks for an eloquently written and personalised retort.
Emails can be a massive time suck but they don’t have to be. I usually tackle my inbox first thing in the morning, for about an hour. Then, if I have the rest of my work completed, again for about an hour mid-afternoon. It’s not the most exciting part of my job but it is definitely one of the most important.
Blogging
Obviously this isn’t one of those tasks that I find that difficult… it’s my job after all! But what I did used to struggle with was making sure I had content ready to go at my predetermined times each day. I can imagine that this is much harder for wedding suppliers who have to, you know, actually run their businesses as well as blog about it!
My advice would be that firstly don’t feel you have to blog every day and don’t beat yourself up about it! What you should do however is make a pact with yourself to blog at a certain time each week/fortnight/month (whatever suits you). Then make a note in your diary stating which days you will publish something and for goodness sake stick to it! Seriously, if you don’t do it no one else is going to do it for you. If blogging is something you want to get better at then you have to work at it, it’s not going to just happen magically.
Pre-scheduling is your friend. I always work at least two to three days in advance, so on a Monday I’m writing my blog posts for Wednesday, on a Tuesday I’m writing my posts for Thursday, etc. This way I don’t have to stress the night before that I haven’t got my blog posts for the next day written and I can allow myself more time to mull over my ideas and improve the articles. If you’re struggling then set aside a block of time on a quiet day to put a blog post together. Maybe on a Saturday or Sunday morning – whatever suits you and your lifestyle. If you don’t do it, then fine… but don’t go blaming the fact that you have no time to do it. It’s all about being organised.
Social Media
Arrgh social media pressure! Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest… it can all be a little overwhelming at times. Do you ever feel like you have to be in every place, all the time? Yeah me too but I can’t. So what I do make sure of is that I have something to go up on each platform each day.
Social media is a hugely powerful tool and one that you should be leveraging in some capacity, but don’t allow it to suck the life out of you. I personally make sure I update my Twitter and Facebook at least a couple of times a day (as well as pushing my blog posts on them ONCE – seriously, any more than that is really annoying!) and spend maybe 1/2 hour a day replying to messages or comments on the various platforms (as well as blog comments). However if you’re struggling with time management my advice would be to a) make sure you’re being strict with yourself about how much time you’re spending procrastinating on there and b) use our friend the pre-schedule. Did you know you can pre-schedule tweets and Facebook updates? Let the technology do the hard work for you!
Keeping up to date with others & reading other blogs
Three letters – RSS.
Subscribe to the blogs you want to keep up to date with using an RSS reader (I use Google Reader) and resist the temptation to click every link that you see people posting on Twitter! If you want to see their blog updates, subscribe to them and you’ll never miss a thing. As with my email, I make sure I methodically go through my Google Reader every day – usually mid to late afternoon when my brain can’t cope with any more taxing tasks. There’s nothing worse than getting to your Reader and seeing the dreaded “Unread Items: 1000+” (arrgh!) so make sure you check in regularly.
So in conclusion my advice to you is this:
♥ Be strict with yourself
♥ Have a system in place for each menial task
♥ For goodness sake pre-schedule
…Honestly, it’s the only way I can function!
I’d like to know what is a massive time suck for you? After reading this do you think you could do with putting a slicker system in place for anything? Can we help with some ideas on how to streamline something? Hit me up!
All Photography Credit: ‘Sweet Pastel’ by Joanna Kustra for Tantalum Mag