So many business owners are looking for that magic bullet that will help them be more productive – so they can get more done in less time.
The same is true of service providers but we often have the added difficulty of fitting client calls and execution of services in on top of all the other items that go into running and growing a successful business. All of this can lead to feeling like there are too many things to do in any given day.
One of the first things to do in these circumstances is to work on your scheduling boundaries. Start by identifying your ideal work week. Nail down a specific schedule for yourself when it comes to business hours, call availability, and any other boundaries you want to establish.
I talk more about the three steps I use with clients to accomplish this here.
As you are building your ideal work week, an important strategy to utilize is time blocking.
Here’s how time blocking works: basically, you work on the same types of activities in larger chunks of time rather than skipping around your to-do list. This allows you to remove the impact context switching has on your day. Every time you switch activities, it takes a bit of time to dig in and get started. So every time you go from your inbox to a client project, you’re losing productivity.
If you want to read more about context switching, you can do that here.
What I urge my clients to do is to extend time blocking to their entire day whenever possible so rather than taking calls everyday, restrict them to only specific days of the week. Then, decide on focuses for your non-call days to maximize productivity.
For instance, I reserve Wednesdays for client work and content development. I typically spend the morning working on any business building content work, then I move on to larger client projects in the afternoon.
I also try to reserve Fridays for client work so I can finish the week strong and make my weekends more enjoyable. When I finish the week by wrapping up as much outstanding work as I can, I am able to go into the weekend feeling accomplished and on top of things.
I will be the first to admit though that these ideals are a work in progress. I don’t always succeed in following my scheduling rules. Can you relate?
However, as I always urge my clients, this isn’t something to beat yourself up over. Instead, it’s an opportunity to examine the cause and effect of breaking your boundaries.
Nine times out of ten, I’m the one who breaks my boundaries by being overly accommodating and not recognizing that it’s ok to make people wait an extra day or two for their work so that they get me at my best rather than when I’m stretched thin.
There are of course exceptions but for the most part, it’s more than ok to have a client wait two days for a call.
This brings me to my final point – use an online scheduler or have an assistant coordinate your schedule to improve boundaries.
This is one of my four favorite reasons to use an online scheduler — I talk about the other four here. The same can be true of removing yourself from the scheduling process entirely if you have an assistant do your scheduling. These two methods protect your boundaries and help prevent 6.5 hours of back to back calls – cause who wants that?
By taking the time to identify your ideal work week and utilizing time blocking for your days, you’ll boost your productivity and ultimately your energy. Adding in a method to enforce those boundaries, like an online scheduler or assistant, merely boosts the impact and frequency of following your boundaries.