July is not only a great time to go on vacation but also to take a break from your daily work in the interest of your long-term workplan. We business owners refer to that as working ON your business rather than IN your business. Summer slowdowns can be ideal for this – a sleepy Friday afternoon perhaps? Here’s how I think about my planning and making the most of any downtime:
Revisit my annual goal setting
Each January, I create an annual plan for what I want to do with my business, including income goals, new clients I’d like to connect with, and even new content experiments. Before the “second new year” of September, I like to check in on those goals. Do they still fit my business? Which of those have I slacked off on? Which are no longer relevant? What has cropped up as a new area to investigate? For example, this year I started by looking into AI, but then went back to business as usual. Could this downtime be a moment to revisit and see how to incorporate it into my work process?
Create content in advance
Once I’ve indulged in my planning vacation (seriously, staring off into space is WORK) I also make time in my quarterly planning to batch some blog posts, and see what other work I can plan ahead on. Are there any pages on my website that need updating, or my social media bios? Have I checked in with my regular clients to see how their summer is going? Have I reached out to colleagues to catch up with them as well, and maybe arrange an IRL meetup while the weather is nice? Catchups aren’t only for work. All of this reduces the stress of needing to plan as you go, and I like to think that my future self will thank me.
Adding new initiatives because it’s fun
Doing quarterly planning check-ins means you can adjust from the start of the year, but also that you can add a new experiment or two to your work plan. Yes, communications is serious, but it’s also a fun freedom to be able to try something new because your work week is your own and nobody cares what possible pivots you are researching on a Friday afternoon. Especially one in the middle of July.
Can I help? I offer content audits to clients who want an outside eye from someone who has seen the communications plans in a variety of sectors. Message me and let’s chat.
