There’s nothing worse than a deadline hanging over your head, keeping you up at night, giving you heart palpitations and stealing your sanity. Small business owners are notorious for biting off more than they can chew and working themselves to the bone in order to deliver on their promises. If you’re one of those people pleasing, super star, “I can do it all” people, then you’re in the right place.
We’ve configured a FOOL PROOF 4 step formula to free you from the crushing weight of your oh so many deadlines. Get your life back and organize your work load so you can give your clients the quality attention they deserve.
STAY ORGANIZED
- Write it down somewhere you will see it on a daily basis. This can be in an online project management tool or on old-fashioned pen and paper. Whatever you use, just make sure you’re disciplined and have a system.
- Block out time on your calendar to work on your project for the lifetime of your project. For example, if the project is going to take 8 hours total, schedule 2 hours a day for 4 days.
PLAN, PLAN, PLAN…
- Planning a project is so important. Use an outline that will guide you; this will also help you understand how much time you will need to block out on your calendar
- Work in tiers: start with the most basic portions of your project and complete all those things FIRST. Get more detailed as you go. For example, if you’re building a website with 10 different pages, create the basics of each page and work on the details afterwards.
KEEP PERSPECTIVE
- The world probably won’t fall apart if you don’t finish it.
- Even though the world won’t fall apart, you should still take your deadlines seriously. There could be negative consequences if you let your clients down.
COMMUNICATE
- If it looks like you might miss your deadline or if you won’t put out quality work because you would have to rush, communicate with your client well in advance.
- Learn to say “no!” If you’re overloaded or a client is requesting an unrealistic deadline, professionally and politely give them the next best alternative. Standing your grand will keep you sane and make sure your clients don’t get disappointed.
There you have it! Follow these four steps to become a super organized, deadline meeting, project completing guru. Here’s to keeping your sanity AND a satisfied clientele!