We’re all living in a crazy world right now. As things start to open up across the country, we will need to continue being flexible as we adapt to our changing world.
As a small business owner, you’ve likely been impacted by the global pandemic. You have probably had to adapt how you’re doing business and may have changed your business model entirely during the pandemic.
The 5 Things to Do Today:
1. Take inventory
Take stock of what you have and what you’re currently doing. What do you own? What do you have in terms of resources? How are your employees? What’s working for you now? What is a liability? How are customers interacting with you now? Are there additional customer needs that you can meet? Is there an additional business opportunity? What regulations are there that are relevant around opening back up? How are your finances?
These are just a few of the questions you can ask yourself as you contemplate opening back up. It’s important to understand exactly where you stand and what your opportunities are.
2. Brain Dump
I’m sure taking inventory has your head spinning with a long list of things to do. I like do to what I call a brain dump where I write down everything that comes to mind. There are no right or wrong answers in a brain dump.
I also like to keep a pad and pen next to my bed so I can jot down any additional thoughts during that time when my brain is spinning while I try and fall asleep. You can also use the Notes app on your phone so you always have a running list.
3. Triage
Take a look at your list of tasks and assign a priority to each one. Limit yourself to only 3 top priorities. If everything is urgent, then nothing is urgent.
Cross everything off your list that you possibly can. Question whether the tasks truly need to be completed at all. If they do need to be completed, question if you’re the one who needs to complete them (or if you can delegate them). Question when they truly need to be completed.
The question you can ask yourself for each task is: does this make me money or improve my customer’s experience? If the answer to the question is no, then you should question if you need to do it.
4. schedule
Add each of your tasks to your calendar. Block out time as needed. Figure out when you’re going to accomplish each task and create a schedule for yourself.
Set yourself up for success by creating an environment that is set up for success. Remove distractions and ensure you can really focus on the task at hand. Take breaks if you need to and give yourself a bit of a reward once you’ve accomplished your tasks for each day.
5. Hindsight
What have you learned during this pandemic period? Is there something you wish you had done differently? WRITE IT DOWN. Take emotion out of the equation (as much as possible). What is past has passed so there is not much you can do about it now. Focus on learning from your past and developing solutions for the current problems at hand.