Soar to Success December 2020

SOAR TO SUCCESS / Core Business Strategies get everything finished before you hit the road. During theholidays, there’s theaddedchallenge of shopping, wrapping, baking, visiting, and fa la la’ing. How are we supposed to do it all? With many of us preparing to be out and about this holiday season, here are some tips to help prevent being buried under a landslide of work when we’re backintheoffice.Ascounter- intuitive as it sounds to add more work to your plate right now, it could save you a lot of stress when you return. Tell your clients you’ll be out. It’s good to give your clients plenty of notice before you take a holiday so you can set everyone’s minds at ease while you’re enjoying your time off. Make sure they have enough time to get last minute projects done, and on your schedule so your vacation isn’t interrupted, and your clients are still looked after. Empty your inbox. When you go back to work after a break, the last thing you want to deal with is an overabundance of email. If you take time to empty your inbox BEFORE you go, you’ll be in a much calmer state of mind when you return. To-do your heart out. Make several detailed lists to keep yourself on track leading up to your vacation, to help you stay focused and get back on track when you return. Sometimes our return to work can be quite jarring, and we spend the first couple of days back trying to refocus our attention on what we should be doing. Make your return-to-work to do list before you leave so you can get right back into the swing of things. Anticipate client needs. Check with clients to see if there’s anything that might prompt them to contact you while you’re away. For instance, if you have a client with a book launch coming up, a seminar, or some sort of deadline, touchbase with them regarding priorities BEFORE you leave. Thiswill set everyone at ease and avoid having your vacation interrupted. Make sure everyone knows what’s up! Leave your vacation dates in your voicemail, set an email autoresponder, let your clients know the dates you’ll be gone. Resist the urge to tell them how to reach you in an emergency. Set up a contingency plan so they’ll be taken care of while you’re gone! Maybe even hire an online business manager or virtual marketing team to help while you’re away. Taking time now to plan for your return after your holiday should make your reentry into the real world, where there’s far less eggnog and far more work, a bit gentler. Taking time now to plan for your return after your holiday should make your reentry into the real world a bit gentler.