Does any of this sound familiar? You’re in the THICK of busy season. Your head is spinning. Your to-do list is multiplying each day. And you have this feeling of just desperately attempting to keep your head above water…

Well, you’re in the right place today, my friend. Today we’re talking ALL about busy season and how to know what to do and when.

We got a submission from Lauren with Springlane Event Planning asking us the question: “what do I cut from my to-do list during a busy season?”, and TODAY we are going to cover JUST THAT, in DEPTH!

Our goal is for you to walk away from this episode with clarity on what is the top priority for you in a busy season vs what is not. We’ll give you permission to CUT tasks from your to-do list so you can stay focused and peaceful even in the midst of your busiest work season.

 

Before we begin

We’ve had episodes in the past about preparing for busy season, and what to do during slow seasons. You can listen to those episodes on Episode 20: 4 Things To Do When Business is Slow and Episode 86: Feel Like You’re Barely Surviving Busy Season? Tune In.

But what if you’re in the thick of a busy season RIGHT NOW and feeling like you’re DROWNING in work each day. Every task seems to be an urgent and top priority. You can’t seem to get ahead. You’re jerking awake at night remembering things you need to do ASAP. You’re cutting out almost every form of rest or play in your life to just BUCKLE DOWN and survive this season.

Sound familiar?

We’ve been there too, TRUST us.

So how-to not just stay afloat & keep your head above water during busy season, but actually stay focused, continue to move the needle, and feel clarity and peace on setting certain tasks aside and knowing you’re not ruining your business or being lazy. 

 

To start off, let’s talk about what SHOULD be your priority:

• Your client’s experience
• Detailed communication 
• Response times
• Turnaround/delivery times
• Your personal health/family
• Eating healthy & regularly 
• Get as much sleep as you can
• Take a sabbath/weekend with your fam
• Establish office hours

 

If you have any capacity beyond that, focus on:

• Your marketing
  • Showing up on Instagram
  • Sharing BTS of your work & workflow
  • Showing final products (blogging, Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest)
  • Sharing reviews from clients

Beyond that, when you’re in the thick of busy season, there’s a 98% chance that EVERYTHING ELSE CAN WAIT!

 

So what specifically do we drop from our to-do lists during a busy season?

• Expanding marketing 
  • If we don’t already have a system in place for, say, Pinterest, we probably won’t try to tackle that in the heat of the busy season. That’s a task for when things slow down a bit more.
  • Submitting work to be published, etc
• Updating anything that’s not broken
  • Example: re-branding, updating a website, switching web hosting platforms, redesigning pricing guides, etc.
•  Building out any new products or offers
  • This varies from business to business (maybe your busy season is when you ARE creating something new!) but for a lot of entrepreneurs, our busy season comes when we’re marketing and then delivering on a good or service. (for example, photographers’ busy season is usually somewhere around spring-fall as we shoot, edit, and deliver tons of weddings, sessions, etc). If you’re in the middle of a season like that, DO NOT worry about starting to build out something new. Like DON’T. That’s what a slow season is for.
• Being the “Pinterest” mom or wife
  • This does NOT mean ignoring your family, not what we’re saying
  • It does mean you don’t have to be the picture-perfect mom or wife of the year if you’re drowning in the busy season
  • Do you need to volunteer for the kid’s bake sale or VBS? No.
  • Do you HAVE to make homemade cookies from scratch for your kid’s class on their birthday? Or could you just grab a batch from Costco? Permission to not be the perfect mom is granted, friend.

 

Final takeaway: if you’re in the thick of it, breathe. You’re gonna get through this. It’s gonna be okay. But let’s also come back to how you’re feeling when you’re finally out of busy season. What kinds of things can you do for your life and business to make sure this craziness doesn’t drown you next time?

• Implement systems and processes.
• Set up automation that can run without you manually doing it every time.
• Outsource and hire help to do the things you don’t absolutely have to do.
• Implement boundaries in your schedule and calendar so you are more careful how you book things moving forward.

 

Show notes

Lunya: www.lunya.co

Use code HEART20 for 20% off!

 

The Heart Shop: www.theheartuniversity.com/shop

 

Determine Your Why Freebie: www.theheartuniversity.com/why 

 

Episode 20: 4 Things To Do When Business is Slow

Episode 86: Feel Like You’re Barely Surviving Busy Season? Tune In.

 

If you want to connect with us and other listeners in the Heart and Hustle community join our Facebook group here.

 

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