I don’t know about you, but for me this January is feeling much more calm and intentional when compared to this time last year.
As it’s still the middle of Winter I’m taking things at a slower pace and really setting up my business, and my life, in a way that feels good to me. After all, that’s the most important thing right? Right!
Lots of people on Instagram are creating vision boards, goal-setting, and choosing words of the year (do you have one?) but I’ve got 3 underrated but brilliant things that I think every business should do at the beginning of the year – whether that’s Jan 1st, April 5th, or whenever you get back to work for the new biz year.
1. Put your breaks in your email footer
This sets instant expectations for both yourself and your clients to your availability well in advance. Firstly, think about how much time you’d like off this year and get them in your diary. Think about any holidays, events, birthdays you have this year.
Schedule them now, even if you don’t have anything specific planned. It’s easier to change a date than to add one last minute and by planning work around these dates in the first place, you’re more likely to take regular breaks and avoid burnout or overwork.
**Bonus: add them to your autoresponder or welcome pack**
2. Audit your brand to check everything is aligned
Everything evolves! Just like our lives, our businesses are not supposed to stay the same forever. It’s the perfect time to check that everything is serving you well for the stage you’re at now, or the stage you want to move into.
Do your visuals match across all touchpoints? What platforms are you on and do you want to be there? What is doing well, what needs a bit more work and is there anything you can take off your plate? Check that your social accounts, bios, content types, messaging, packaging, opt-ins etc all match each other, and your current business goals. If not, then you have the start of an action plan to realign things.
3. Set a business goal that relates to a personal goal
When you run your own business, it’s REALLY easy for your job to take over your life, especially if you enjoy it. Anyone else get in the zone and can work until it’s dark? It might genuinely be fun but it’s not healthy or sustainable. To combat this, think of a couple of business goals that directly support the lifestyle you want to have. Here are some examples:
- I want to make more time for a hobby, so I will not work Friday afternoons
- I want to move my body more, so I will take a full hour for lunch away from the office
- I want to have screen-free mornings, so I’ll only check my emails in the afternoon
By doing this even when you’re working hard, you are working on improving your personal life too! Remember, work should support your life, not dictate it.
Have you done any of these things to set your business off on a good foot this year? I’m especially curious to know what you think about setting business goals to support your desired lifestyle. Hit reply and let me know 🙂