I have built 3 businesses over the last 12 years, and schedule and routines are the only way I have survived and allowed my businesses to be successful.
And you know what the crazy thing is — schedule and routine don’t have to be super complicated or super fancy. Honestly, a pen and notepad will suffice! It’s what I use every day!
Don’t get me wrong, I do have some amazing digital systems in place (hello, Dubsado and Trello!) but I wanted to chat specifically about how I block schedule each of my days to make sure that the hours I have available are being fully maximized.
If I’m being honest, I only work about 25-30 hours a week total (for all of my businesses!).
But that is the “job” I have built for myself and what I have chosen for my work/life balance. Now, of course, there are ebbs and flows and I will work more leading up to launches or peak wedding season. But for the most part, I work 3-4 days a week while the kids are in school.
So every morning, when I sit down at 8:30, I grab my pen and notepad and block schedule my day.
Block scheduling is essentially taking your “to do” list for the day and sectioning it out into time chunks so you know what you have to be working on and when/how long. So my typical day will look something like this.
8:30 – 9:00 – emails/follow ups
9:00 – 10:00 – client edits/proof
10:00 – 11:30 – newsletter/blog writing
11:30 – 12:00 – lunch (yes, I even schedule lunch!)
12:00 – 1:00 – client project to print/production
1:00 – 1:30 – social media/group monitoring
1:30 – 2:30 – schedule blog posts/web updates
This really does vary day to day based on what I have going on that week. I do try to batch items together for an easier flow (client proofs all in one day, production all in one day, writing in one day, etc). This allows for smoother transitions.
Having this loose schedule written out helps me keep track of what I need to do and holds me accountable to get it done and in a timely manner. I find that I am SO much more productive when I have this written out, as opposed to me just letting my “to do” list guide me.
There will always be times when a task takes longer than expected, and that’s ok! If that’s the case, I just adjust and move a task to the next day or make sure I wrap my other stuff a little quicker.
As I mentioned, this block scheduling doesn’t have to be anything fancy. I just use a little pad of paper and pen and keep it at my desk and cross items out as I finish them.
I will say though that my main “to do” list for the week/month does reside in Trello so that way I can keep track of the bigger picture of what I am working on for the month and break it down into days. The block scheduling on paper is my micro details.
Are you interested in seeing how I use Trello for my stationery business? I have a fun (and free!) video and template for you if you want to snag it below! Or you can view my full Trello template Library for Stationers!
PLEASE COMMENT BELOW
share this post on