- 1. Working Behind the Scenes
- Making the Most of Downtime
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com 2. What do you do
when you dont have billable work?
- Work seems to come in waves.
- How can you build your business when you dont have work in
hand?
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com 3. 1. Take Time
Off
- Recharge your batteries, enjoy your life, and take some time
for yourself. This is important for staving off burnout. A little
R&R can be just the mental and physical refresher you need to
come back with renewed energy and vigor. Its not a crime to spend a
day goofing off, especially if you have the time in your
schedule.
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com 4. 2. Clean and
Organize
- Did your work space get cluttered up? Left the filing until you
had a moment? Clean and organize your office space and come back to
work with a fresh slate! Purge your email inbox, clean up your hard
drive, catch up on the filing. Hang that artwork, vacuum, dust,
take out the trash and recycling, create a supportive space for
your work
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com Bonus Tip:Dont
just clean up, implement that new filing, contacts, accounting, or
databasesystemyouve been thinking about. 5. 3. Paperwork
- Get caught up or even ahead of yourself. Need to update files?
Transfer handwritten notes to disk? Catch up accounting? Update log
files? Its never too late to get caught up or get a jump-start on
the year-end paperwork you might need.Especially important : Start
inputting everything you need to generate some current financial
information. Getting your paperwork up to datenowsaves you time and
frustration when taxes are due.
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com Bonus Tip:Get an
accurate picture of your business finances and spot where you can
make more money, cut expenses, and grow. 6. 4. Set Some Goals
- If you have updated your paperwork (especially finances), you
probably have a good picture of what the last year, quarter, or
month in your business looked like. Now is a good time to set more
yearly, quarterly, and monthly goals for you and your business.
Stretch a little! Write the new goals down, so you can track how
well you do. Dont wait until the end of the calendar year to set
goalsdo it now!
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com 7. 5. Learn
Something
- Downtime is a terrific time to break out CDs or MP3s, find some
books and online training, or read that pile of magazines. Its
important to stay current in your field. Youll have the timeso open
up your mind, and get ready to learn some fabulous new techniques
and ideas! Load up your e-reader or your iPod, or go to the
library. If you dont have a pile of stuff waiting for you, go
online to professional associations related to your business.
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com Bonus Tip:Keep a
notebook handy when reading so you can jot down hot ideas to
implement. 8. 6. Update Your Online Presence
- Downtime is a great opportunity to make major updates and
changes in your social media presence (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn,
etc.). Write those new pages for your website like you have been
thinking about, update your profiles on other sites, add more
content and features where you can.
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com Bonus Tip:A tool
like Hootsuite allows you to schedule status updates in advance,
across many kinds of social media. 9. 7. Get Writing
- Downtime is a great opportunity to let your creative juices
flow. Write some blog posts, newsletters, articles, speeches, even
books. When you make your expertise available, you establish
yourself as an authority in your subject and offer valuable content
to potential customers and clients.
- Tip:Many blogging platforms allow you to schedule the release
of your blog posts in advance.
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com Bonus Tip:Many
social media platforms will link to your blog for automatic updates
without having to copy and paste entries by hand. 10. 8. Renew
Connections and Make New Ones
- Reestablish your professional connections and make new ones.
Have lunch or coffee with colleagues and strategic partners. Go
through that pile of business cards and connect online and in
person. Follow up by calling or sending a hand-written card. Find
some networking groups to visit and meet new folks.
2010, Archer Coaching. www.archercoaching.com Bonus Tip:When you
receive a business card, always write a note on the back: how you
met, key conversation, when to follow up.