Friends. I have to admit it: I’m exhausted.
One of the events that I was working on took place while I was in Vancouver; the other event was just a couple days ago. Now that those are over, I have to play catch-up on other work! …and I have to play catch-up on SaganMorrow.com and my business, not just my client work.
It’s so much easier to do work for clients when you run your own business. It makes sense to make clients a priority, but it’s also very important not to neglect your own business!
When you don’t make your business a priority, it’s just like not taking care of yourself. Other people you take care of in your life—and your clients—won’t get the best possible treatment or attention if you aren’t taking care of you (or in this case, your business).
So how do you do it? How does one go about juggling client work and your own business?
Here are a few of the strategies I’ve picked up and have been implementing along the way:
1) Sit back for a moment and look at the next few days or week.
Sometimes this can be really challenging when you feel like you’re just putting out fires or scrambling to keep on top of things as they come up. But I definitely think it’s worth it to tell yourself you’re going to step away from the minute details and spend 30 minutes or an hour taking a good look at what you have to do in the comings days.
This can be a nice opportunity to look at your calendar and your to-do lists, and take a moment to reflect on what you could be doing differently.
2) Just do it.
Feeling overwhelmed? Nip that in the bud by diving right in! Taking action and doing work is one of the most effective strategies I’ve discovered to dealing with feelings of being overwhelmed.
This is also right up there with reminding yourself that this is something you get to do, not something you have to do.
3) Identify your priorities.
What do you absolutely have to do? If there are things that can wait until next week, then it’s okay to leave them until next week. Just make sure that you make a note of it in your agenda or on your to-do list so you don’t forget about it!
4) Make room for it.
You have to make room for your business (or for you!) if you want to get anywhere at all with it! Remember that we all have the same amount of hours in the day. What can you move around to make a little extra room for the things that matter? Even if you can only squeeze in 15 or 20 minutes each day, that will still make a difference in the long run.