The Business of Running a Business : The Importance of Schedules + Routines
The beginning of a new school year gets me excited every time because it means our routines and schedules will once again be restored. Let's face it! We are all creatures of habit and summer brings (besides the chance to vacation and memory making) the end of any sort of routine.
Having had to deal with this problem every year of owning LPS, I've learned to let go of expectations (or rather, set new expectations for myself) and hope for the best. After all, our summers with our children are numbered, right? We might as well enjoy them:)
That said, I still have to run a business, lead a team of four and make sure our boys continue to stay busy throughout the summer. Setting a work schedule around my family's schedule has been very important to me since the beginning and is something I am very proud of. Even so, it is very important for me to plan for things ahead of time.
Having a planner I can write down my to-do list is a must not only for the day to day tasks but also getting all the business planning down for the months ahead. This year I took my planner along on our vacation (I know what you're thinking "You worked on your vacation?!" - don't worry! I made sure to rest a lot!) so that I could do some thinking for the months ahead and get the ball rolling on planning the holiday season.
This week the boys started school and I finally got back to the old work routine. Taking a little time to get started on planning the holidays during my vacation helped me feel less overwhelmed and ready to tackle work. Speaking of planners, I have been using a mix of them on the last 11 years of running LPS but I always come back to the Simplified planners because of ...well, their simple layout (I don't need too many bells and whistles) Currently I am using their August - July version which is perfect since I tend to want to have a new start in my business that corresponds with the kids returning to school.
Are you a "have to write it all down" kind of a planner? Or do you use your phone for keeping track of life/schedules in general?
