Let’s make January easier. Today, it’s no longer just about the art of finding your happiness. It’s also the art of making your days at work as productive as possible. Take these ten tips to heart and start working smarter, in preparation for the year ahead.
GET PREPPED FOR YOUR TAX RETURN NOW
Yes, I know it’s the last thing we want to think about, but it’s worth getting this all done now. It might just be getting a simple spreadsheet created of your outgoings and income over the last year. Or marking out what you can claim as expenses, or even learning what it is you need to do if it's your first tax return.
Tax returns are always best tackled as a ‘little and often’ task - not one big hit in a day. It’s less stressful that way. The Gov website will be helpful HERE
HAVE YOUR NEW COSTS/FEE READY
“NEW YEAR, NEW RATE” and over the last few years, inflation seems to be creeping up and up. The cost of materials and an increase in general living expenses means your rate and product/ service costs need to reflect that. Also, don’t forget you’ve just spent a whole year developing your skills and gaining experience, so you deserve to give yourself a pay raise. A general guideline would be to up your business fees by 5-10% each year.
UPDATE THE SMALL ADMIN THINGS
Small things like updating your website footer copyright year, your email signature, mailing list updates and invoice templates. Add any new dates, hyperlinks and contact details you might have. Even your instagram bio might need a little update. It’s the small things we tend to forget first when things get busy again, but they make a huge difference when communicating wiith our customers and clients.
UPDATE YOUR E-COMMERCE SHOP
Update any items that are ready for your January sale or need to be removed. It’s also a great time to look at what sold well and what didn’t over the past year. Are there some products you’re keeping just because you love them, even if they don’t sell? Take a realistic reflection on your year, so you can make better decisions moving forward.
CLEAN OUT YOUR WORKSPACE
Out with the old and in with the new. Or at least try and get to see the top of your workspace again! Get rid of old paperwork and materials and things you don’t need in the coming year, for a fresh and clear start.
PREP YOUR SOCIAL
Decide what channels you want to focus on, think about what messages you want to share and start building a bunch of assets you can easily share when it starts to get busy again. Remember you can always re-use your content in different ways!
TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK AHEAD
Make a list of your top 3 goals you want to achieve for 2022 - put them up somewhere, perhaps near your computer screen - then each day you should be working towards small wins that can achieve those big goals.
HAVE A CHECK-IN EMAIL PREPPED FOR ALL EXISTING CLIENTS
This can either be a thank you/happy holidays email to all clients who you worked with this year or an email you want to send in the New Year to existing clients about the work you completed last year. Whatever message you want to send, and whenever you wish to send it, always think about staying on your clients radar, pre or post holiday season.
This goes for customers too! Say thanks and maybe give a discount treat for the New Year?
ANTICIPATE IT BEING A SLOW MONTH
It is always good to review what months were busy and which ones were slow moving over the course of a year. For a lot of people, generally January and August are the slowest months, but his down time can be great to use as planning time, for when it all ramps up again. You can use the time to do research on new clients or collaborations or networking you may want to do in the coming year. It might not be a slow month for you, so remember to plan instead of panic.
TAKE A BREAK
This is something that we all need to remember to do more and I am sure you are guilty of this too! A break means a break, not a quick half hour nap and back to it. Literally step away from emails, planning and maybe even get outside for a walk, speak to a friend or go out for a glass of wine. Your body and your mind need rest. So let’s start January revived and refreshed, not burnt out and bloated from last year's workload.
LASTLY...
PLAY! EXPERIMENT! Leave room to get creative again. Use this time to assess how your business has been doing over the last 12 months and think about ways you can transform areas of your business that aren't doing as well. Brainstorm, mind-map, ask your client's for feedback - there is always time to improve and develop, if you keep an open mind.
If you need any support please get in touch to discuss your business's marketing needs. We are here to help and ready to get you on track for 2022! Book your FREE discovery call with us today!