Christmas is but a month away, and we are entering the most wonderful (and busiest) time of the year in events. Whether finalising Christmas parties or planning your own festive celebration, it is more important than ever to take care of ourselves and our workload. So this month (as I practice what I preach, typing whilst sitting on a Spanish balcony listening to the waves lapping below), we bring you some tips to manage your way through the season, and ensure we all make it through to January in one piece!
- SCHEDULE THE NIGHT BEFORE – Spend some time either at the end of the day or evening, away from incoming calls and emails, to plan the next day. Being clear on your goals ahead of time clears the mind and gives you a step-by-step guide to tomorrow, which instantly takes the pressure off knowing what you set out to achieve.
- DEFINE THE MOST PRODUCTIVE TIME OF THE DAY – Are you a night owl or someone who’s up with the larks? However your body clock works, use it to your advantage to make the most of your working day (or night). While planning your schedule, make sure those tricky tasks are booked in when you’re firing on all cylinders, whilst you’re kinder to yourself with those easier jobs that can be done on autopilot.
- TACKLE YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE TASKS FIRST – Planning will avoid procrastinating. We’ve all got those jobs that we push to the back of the pile again and again, while the dread builds up… If you schedule those pesky tasks as your first order of business, then you can get them out of the way (and they’re never really as bad as you think they’re going to be), leaving you the rest of the day to enjoy more exciting undertakings!
- DIARISE DEADLINES BEFORE THE ACTUAL DEADLINE – There will always be out-of-the-blue urgent jobs that come in and throw your best-laid plans out the window. If you’re working to a deadline on a project, diarising a ‘pre-deadline’ deadline will prompt you into finishing a task by that time, and allow you a little leeway should you need it, without any last-minute panic stations to stress you out!
- MEASURE IN MINUTES NOT HOURS – Whether you use an online calendar (I’d be lost without Google), or prefer a good old fashioned pen and paper diary, measure your day in minutes for maximum productivity. A quick email can be five minutes, whilst a face-to-face meeting can be an hour. And include breaks away from your desk in that time as well!
- HAVE A LIST OF ‘QUICK FIXES’ – Popping something in the post, or filling in a new supplier form when you have a spare pocket of time – for me these are the things that I need to schedule in or it’ll get pushed to the back. Quick fixes on your to-do list mean more things ticked off in a day… And who doesn’t love that sense of achievement seeing a list of tasks checked off?!
- BOOK OUT ‘YOU’ TIME AS A MEETING – I’ve spoken to lots of clients about this and know I am not alone in not making time to do this. That lunchtime pilates class, a walk in the woods, even taking a break to catch up on a podcast. Unless we make time for ourselves to step away from the computer during the day, we can’t recharge the batteries. You and your clients deserve for you to be on the ball, so it is so important that you stand up, move, and rest your eyes and mind regularly throughout the day.
- ALLOW TIME FOR THE UNEXPECTED! – You can plan to perfection but there are ALWAYS going to be last minute tasks that land on your desk when you’re least expecting it. Plan in some time for ‘ad hoc’ each day to ensure you’re not thrown into chaos when it does happen. And if your day is plain sailing, then great, that gives you some bonus time to get ahead with tomorrow’s tasks!
- TURN OFF SOCIAL MEDIA NOTIFICATIONS – The average person spends two hours on social media every day. Can we can all relate? Just popping onto Facebook, Insta, LinkedIn or Twitter to read someone’s comment… And before you know it you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of other people’s musings and half the morning has passed! Block time in your diary to check online, then turn off your notifications.
- MEDITATE! – Thankfully, mindfulness is becoming more talked about in the workplace, and with the ever-increasing pace of life, this is vital for our entire wellbeing as well as productivity in our career. Quietening the mind or meditating, does not have to mean sitting crossed legged for hours on end chanting ‘om’. With smartphone apps such as ‘HeadSpace’ you can be guided through meditations as quick as two minutes, clearing the fog in your mind and giving you clarity when you open your eyes. If you haven’t already, try it, it’s brilliant!
- LEAVE YOUR DESK TIDY! – ‘A tidy desk is a tidy mind’ is one of those sayings ingrained in me… And I can’t remember where I first heard it! Schedule in some time at the end of each day to file documents away, and sort out your desk. You will thank your past self in the morning, and I find it always feels nice to start each day afresh!
Ellevate Entertainment is an exclusive agency with a big heart, passionate about working with clients who are looking for high quality, live acts with the wow factor. We only recommend acts we know and trust to be outstanding, and their diaries are being booked up fast so if you’re looking to add the entertainment ‘WOW’ to your event contact us now to check availability!