Growing your Business by Simplifying Everything
Life as an entrepreneur can be crazy… As the owner of a thriving social media management company with new annual contracts being signed every single day, I love finding new ways to become more productive.
This means: bring on the auto-scheduler, marketing automation, digital calendars, photo editors, and more. With incredible tools, too many options to count for software platforms, and more digital stimuli than our brains can ever process, I realized that the “digital burnout” is a very real thing!
After taking a little bit of time to soul search, I quickly realized that the simplest solution was not another “time management platform”. I’ve going to share with you the 3 changes I made that simplified my life and made me more successful.
Paper calendar
Remember the old saying, “I’ll pencil you in”? This is where it originated! The power of writing plans in pencil or pen feels so good, as the selection of the writing utensil determines the fate of a coffee date. I absolutely LOVE my paper calendar. Literally every single event, call or deadline is in my paper calendar. Sometimes it feels as though I’d forget to shower if it weren’t in the calendar. While I still allow others to send me Outlook invites, I instantly add it in my paper calendar. Another reason I love it? If my phone goes down, there is an electrical outage, or any technological issue, I still know what the plans are for that week.
To do list
Jokingly referred to as the “rolling to do list”, since some days end with more on the list than the beginning of the day. My to do list keeps me on track. I love writing new tasks on the list, adding symbols to indicated priority, and the feel of a yellow legal pad under my writing hand.
The best part? You get to cross of the tasks you complete, seeing the daily achievements on your very list.
Handwritten “thank you” cards
These may not seem important, but a handwritten note is an AMAZING touch. Plus you can find a card that conveys your personality. Some of mine crack jokes about procrastination, other thank you cards have beautiful imagery. Sometimes I feel as though I should write more thank you letters, simply to justify purchasing more GORGEOUS cards. Add a heartfelt note, plop on a stamp, and the relationship with your client will become long-term. Yes, it’s that easy!
Take advantage of these tips by getting cute notepads, calendars, and thank you cards, so you feel glamorous every single time you whip them out!
Rachel Pedersen is the founder of www.rachelpedersen.com, and specializes in social media management for small business. She creates customized solutions for businesses in many different industries, and loves building strong, family-like bonds with her clients.