sjsmith.com.au - blog

What Works for You

In the past, businesses ran Monday to Friday, from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm or thereabouts.  The business owner had the final word on everything and if they asked you to jump the normal response was “How high?”.

Things have changed.  Today businesses work on all sorts of schedules.  Some work around the kids school hours, some work around an existing job, or other demands. If there are staff in the business, they normally have some input to how they manage their position and work in a more collegiate than dictatorial atmosphere.  There are clear boundaries about wage rates and minimum employment standards.

The best thing that I have found is to establish the business to suit yourself and your own set of circumstances.  In my own businesses I check the email and social media around 8.00 - 8.30 and I like to get into the office around 9.00 am. I work hard till lunch time.  This is when I'm most alert and clear headed.  After lunch I may finish off anything I was working on that I don't want hanging around till tomorrow or spend an hour or so on more mundane tasks like bill paying or data input.  I then take a couple of hours break.  Around 4.00 I like to do a little writing or photo editing.  I may do some future blogs or scheduling of social media.  I occasionally use some of this time for planning and I always try to at least plan how I'm going to kick off tomorrow morning.  I try to leave at least a half day free during the week in case there's any emergency or I  fall behind with something.  If I'm lucky, I try not to schedule much on Fridays. I no longer work weekends (I did in the past) but I might do some personal planning.

Since I'm the only office staff, most of my communication with staff is via email though I'm more than happy if they want to phone me.

As a general rule I try to hit the ground running on a Monday and work like crazy.  I'll do this Tuesday as well if it's a busy week.  I'd rather have a few busy days early in the week because as the week wears on my tank sometimes runs a little low.

This is what works for me but, the great news is, that in your business the best model is whatever works for you.  Want to sleep late and then work through the night then set that up.  Want to spend you days surfing during the week and work solidly three days a week - do that.  Today's business is whatever gives you the flexibility and productivity you need to achieve your goals!

Till next time,

Sarah-Jane X