7 strategies to plan for the unexpected | The Efficient/Creative

by Kate Hutcheson | Mar 9, 2022 | Planning

7 Strategies to Help Your Business Weather “Uncertain Times”

If there is one lesson every entrepreneur eventually learns, it is that you can’t control everything. Even as humans, we know that nothing is certain, and that applies even more in our businesses. What we’re not taught as business owners is how to plan for the unexpected.

We’ve all faced the COVID-19 pandemic, a recession, an attempted coup in the U.S., police brutality, and war in multiple parts of the world. These events come up and take us by surprise — and often derail our energy, our resources, and our plans.

Since early 2020, entrepreneurs have learned how crucial it is to embrace uncertainty. But embracing uncertainty in an ever-changing world isn’t always easy. So what can you do to keep your business running, even when it feels like everything is up in the air? Here are seven strategies to keep your business on track during uncertain times.

7 ways to plan for the unexpected

Remember, nothing is certain.

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, you know that you run on a dash of faith and a whole lot of caffeine. Every time you start a new project or invest a little more in your business, you’re taking another leap of faith – sometimes without a parachute.

Even with the best planning and intentions, you aren’t always guaranteed to succeed because we can’t control the world around us. You have to be willing to embrace that uncertainty and recognize that we don’t have control over all of the outcomes.

How to plan for the unexpected in your business

Choose what’s important and then prioritize it.

What is the most important thing to you and your business? Is building a consistent client base the most important? Do you need to create a new offer to serve more people at a different price point? Are you serving the customers you already have? Or, do you need to take a step back and spend more time with your family?

Don’t be afraid to figure out what your most important goal is, and then be willing to prioritize that goal, or say “No” to projects that don’t get you closer to that goal. Notice how I said the most important goal? Not the most important 11 goals? I know that, for the “doers” among us, prioritizing one thing might feel like saying no to the other 47 ideas you have percolating in the back of your mind or project management system. When it comes to prioritizing, saying “No” doesn’t mean “Never.” It can just mean “Not right now.”

What’s more? When you start to prioritize what really matters to you and your business now, you’re free to permanently let go of goals that aren’t really connected to your needs.

Plan to be flexible.

You can’t control what is going on in the world, but you can control how you react. There may be times when you need to be more flexible with your business plans. For example, the killing of George Floyd in 2020 sparked protests and demonstrations worldwide. Many businesses and entrepreneurs recognized that this was a crucial moment when they needed to reflect and listen.

As a result, companies paused launches, took down content, and amplified the important voices of people who deserved the spotlight most in that moment. A wise entrepreneur needs to recognize the times when it’s essential to pause and let more important events unfold. When we focus on being flexible with our plans and goals, we can participate in meaningful conversations and help amplify the voices of others.

Giving yourself the flexibility to pause plans or take a step back can also help reduce your stress if things aren’t proceeding the way you planned (no world events required).

Build up your tolerance for uncertainty.

As an entrepreneur, you may always feel like you’re sprinting to the ‘better times’ — when things won’t be quite so busy or quite so hard. Running your own business isn’t a sprint, though. It’s a marathon. You have to train a lot of different systems to work efficiently for that kind of endurance. In your business, one of those essential systems is its tolerance for uncertainty, because the truth is… We don’t always control the outcomes in our life or business.

Instead of assuming you have to hustle harder to make things happen, why not try a different training approach and build up your tolerance for uncertainty instead? To do this, you can ask yourself questions like:

What do I do when my plans fall apart?
What can I do to stabilize my business right now?
What are my goals?
Are my systems working?
Does my whole business fall apart if I take a few days off?
Are my offers the best way to serve my customers?

If taking this type of business inventory stresses you out, it’s time to build up your uncertainty muscle. You can only do this by asking these questions, making your plans, doing the work, and learning to adapt to changes!

Create smaller milestones.

Remember before the ‘unprecedented times’ hit and you could plan big goals for your business a year—or more—in advance? (Those were the days.) But as we are learning, when things are uncertain, you can’t rely on overly complicated plans. To plan for the unexpected means you have to adapt, which may mean you need to go smaller.

So when you are planning a new task or project, do a mental walkthrough from your perspective or from your clients’ perspective. Then, simplify things. Instead of taking your client from point A to Z, focus on how you can take them from point A to B and then B to C. These smaller milestones are easier to manage when things are uncertain for you — and your clients — when bandwidth is already stretched thin.

Example: If you typically sell custom website builds, you might consider shifting to a 1-day website VIP day where you build the shell of a site and give people directions to customize or build out the rest. This gives you dedicated time without a long runway.

Another example? If you have a launch planned, make sure you’re hitting on how your new offer can help save people time. You might even want to share exact timelines or calendars so they know exactly what they can get done and when.

Give yourself some extra buffer time.

I’ll just be honest: You’re just making things harder if you aren’t adding in some extra buffer time when planning around uncertainty. Adding in a little extra time is a great way to make sure you can adapt and be flexible if something changes.

For example, if you have a launch coming up, give yourself extra time to create the copy and graphics and start promoting. Something might change in the world that may require you to alter or change these deliverables, so a little extra time will be worth it.

Even planning for a little spare time on your launch windows or delivery times for client work can make a big difference. You never know what will come up, so having a little extra time banked in your calendar is always helpful!

Take care of yourself!

Remember, you can’t take care of everything on your own. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, take a step back, or take a break.

It’s easy as a business owner, when things get challenging or stressful, to forget yourself and throw everything you have into fixing the problem or issue. But, you can’t control everything going on in the world or how it will affect your business.

You’ll be better able to plan for the unexpected when you take care of your needs first and then focus on your business.

More resources for “unprecedented times”

As business owners, it would be great if our plans always worked out the way we imagined, but that’s not always the case. We don’t work in bubbles and what happens in the world affects even our best-laid plans.

So, during these “unprecedented times,” when it feels like everything is up in the air, follow these principles. They can help you stay in control while still embracing uncertainty when times are tough!

I also know that, when we feel a squeeze in our businesses, personal lives, or industries, it can put a lot of pressure on us to do more. I recently wrote about this pressure and how to handle it, in this blog:

Why I’m Giving Up on Time Blocking to Set Priorities at Work [+ Video]

by Kate Hutcheson | Feb 8, 2022 | Check this out, Productivity

I’m giving up on block scheduling to set priorities at work

I’m giving up on block scheduling—despite many years of effort!—when it comes to how I set priorities at work.

If you’re not familiar with block scheduling—or time blocking—it’s a method of calendar and task management where you literally “block” time on your schedule for certain types of work. It’s a method that I’ve even taught before!

Time-blocking: good in theory, difficult in reality

With time-blocking, you might say, “I need 2 hours a day for admin work, half an hour to respond to emails every day, and 3 hours of actual client work time.” And that may be true… at least, those numbers may be the correct averages for the time you need.

But what I’ve found is that life just never really goes the way that I think it’s going to go. Every day is just a little bit different.

There are sudden fires that need to be put out.

Or my energy is SUPER low.

Or my restlessness is really high and I can’t focus on the work I’m “supposed” to be doing.

Or I have an unexpected client meeting (or a new lead books a discovery call!)

So the time I thought I had set aside for certain work gets pushed aside for one reason or another. (And, yes, sometimes this can be related to boundary-maintenance issues, but that’s a nuanced discussion for another day).

The point is: life happens. It happens a LOT. And I’ve found that I was spending lots of time and energy every week just deciding how to use my time.

I didn’t even realize how much time and energy I was spending every day to set priorities at work until I stopped doing it.

Enter Motion, a task management/calendar/scheduling productivity app I had been seeing pop up in my social media ads for years.

I had some time over the holidays to use however I wanted, so I decided to finally download the app and give them a try (with their 5-day trial).

The basic idea is that it integrates with your calendar, you add your tasks, and it will schedule your tasks for you around the parameters that you set so that you can focus on the right tasks in the right priority without actually having to make any of those decisions.

So for me, it has freed my brain from spending energy worrying about “how should I use my time?” Or “do I have too much work and not enough time?” I didn’t realize how much energy I was spending on answering those questions every day.

Video Walkthrough of Using Motion App to Automatically Schedule Tasks & Set Priorities

Click to See Video Timestamps

00:32: My problem with block scheduling

01:41: How Motion App is different & why it works better for my brain than block scheduling

03:05: Integrate Motion App with your selected calendars

04:21: Add your work hours (or multiple types of schedules)

05:40: How to add a task to Motion App & have it prioritize your work automatically

09:17: How Motion App automatically adjusts your schedule when things change

10:54: How to set a recurring task in Motion App

12:52: Other prioritization options when creating tasks

13:49: The Focus Time option in Motion App (& the alternative method I prefer)

15:18: Meeting Scheduler

16:08: Using meeting scheduler options in Motion App for less energy drain

16:49: Limitations of the meeting scheduler

18:19: Cons of using Motion App

22:27: The overall benefits of Motion App (& Why the pros outweighed the cons for me)

23:58: Get a referral code for a 2-week free trial (no credit card required) & $100 off if you purchase

Motion App answers the question: What are my task priorities?

After you choose which calendars you want integrated into the app, you set your basic work schedule (or you can have multiple types of schedules for different types of work).

Then, as you add each task, you set the parameters of when it needs to be done, how long it’s going to take, etc.

What sets this apart from other tools that I’ve seen, though, is how it works like my own brain—it asks many of the same questions I would ask when choosing priorities for work—to set priorities for me based on how I prefer to work.

It’s like an app that knows our best intentions to manage tasks don’t always line up with reality.

Hard deadlines vs Soft Deadlines

For example, deadlines. I love that Motion lets you distinguish between hard deadlines and “soft” deadlines. In a way, this is kind of an Eisenhower Matrix that will differentiate urgent tasks from important-but-not-urgent ones. (Aside: since I haven’t used this with a team, I’d be curious to know whether you can re-assign those non-important but urgent tasks within the app. Comment if you know!)

Being able to choose in advance whether the deadline has any flexibility means that the app can re-prioritize for me when my schedule gets changed for any reason (without me having to think about it!) I don’t have to look at my lists of tasks every time my “ideal schedule” gets interrupted and decide how to fit everything into my available time.

“No deadline” is another nice option for those “someday” tasks you want to work on but don’t really have a set deadline. Motion App lets you choose a general timeline for the task (like, “within a few weeks” or “within 1-2 months”).

Split long tasks into chunks—or not

This is one of my favorite features.

In the past year or two, I’ve experienced how important it is for me to have BIG OL’ chunks of time available for certain kinds of work. But how much time I need really depends on the type of work I’m doing.

Here’s an example. If I need to spend 8 hours adding client assets to Dubsado, I can add that as a single 8-hour task, but tell Motion, “It’s fine to break that up into chunks, as long as each chunk of time is at least 45 minutes.” It’s not necessarily a task that requires a ton of focus, I can knock out a good bit of work in 45 minutes.

But writing is a different beast entirely. I probably need that same 8 hours to develop and write a good blog post (I’m thorough, y’all), but 45 minutes barely is enough time for me to make sense of the commotion in my brain when I sit down. I can’t get anything of worth done on a blog in 45 minutes.

So if I’m setting up an 8-hour task to write a blog post, I can still break it into chunks (but I don’t want any chunk to be less than 2 hours). Boom.

Motion will develop my schedule around all of these types of details—broken record alert—but I don’t have to think about it.

Recurring task options in Motion

Similarly, with recurring tasks, Motion gives you intuitive options. You have the same duration options as one-time tasks. You have similar priority options of either “Must finish” or “Try to finish”. And like one-time tasks, you can select which work schedule the task applies to.

But there are also frequency options. Is this a task you do multiple times per week? Or is it a task you do once a week (but when you do it is flexible?)

Recurring tasks also have a nice “ideal start time” feature, which Motion will use when it’s not overridden by higher priorities.

Motion App answers the question: Do I have too much work and not enough time?

As you add your tasks to Motion, it schedules them for you on your calendar. And if there’s simply too much work to do within you parameters, it will let you know (and give you options for how you want to handle it).

Once I’ve added my tasks for the next few weeks, I love being able to scan forward in the calendar and see what my days look like. When I used it during the trial, I was shocked to see how much time I actually had left over after everything was scheduled. I knew some more work was coming that was going to take up a lot of that time, but since I could see exactly how much I had available, I didn’t stress about how it was all going to fit.

Visualization is key when it comes to managing tasks and priorities—we tend to forget what we don’t see

view of my motion app calendar with tasks and meetings scheduled

Motion App does more than schedule tasks (see details in my video)

While I am primarily using Motion to manage tasks and visualize my work priorities, it does have more functionality.

I go into some of these in some more detail in my walkthrough video, so check out the video (start at 15:18 to start with the meeting scheduler). I’ll just pop some quick highlights below from my limited experience.

Seamless external meeting scheduler

I have used the meeting scheduler for rescheduling some of my client meetings and it’s got some great features that, again, stay with the theme of the making it easy to prioritize your schedule around your preferred methods of staying focused.

Features I like in the Motion meeting scheduler:

Generate a canned meeting request that will automatically include scheduling options for the recipient. They can even book the time just by clicking on the link that appears in their email.
You can choose whether you’d prefer to group meetings together or spread them apart, depending on how they impact your time and energy
“Preferred” time slots: based on your preference above, you can have “preferred” time slots labelled so the recipient knows your preference. OR you can even opt to only display your preferred times to recipients.

Automatic flexible internal meeting scheduler

With Flexible Meetings, each person on your team adds their calendar or schedule (though you can keep the information private) and Motion will automatically book your internal meetings around everyone’s schedule. No more sending out Doodle polls or long email chains to choose a team meeting time!

Folks, do I ever wish I had started using Motion about 4 months earlier when I was trying to coordinate the single best meeting time for 6 independent business owners over 3 times zones.

I would love to try this feature out but I haven’t needed it since I started using Motion. If you try it out, please report back to me with your thoughts!

Pros and Cons of Using Motion App to Set Priorities at Work

There’s a lot to love about Motion, but it’s certainly not perfect. If you know me then you know that–while I love a good app and I love reviewing them so you can find useful ways to make your work feel easier—I’m not going to sugarcoat the downsides. There’s no perfect tool and not every tool is ideal for every person or situation.

Here is a quick rundown of both the limitations I’ve noticed and the benefits of using Motion.

Cons: Downsides of using Motion app to manage tasks and meetings

Not a robust task manager. I can’t replace my current task/project management software—ClickUp—for this. But if you don’t need a lot of features in a task manager, you might be able to. For instance, you can add tasks to “projects” and add notes to a task, but you can’t add attachments or subtasks. From what I can tell, collaboration is limited.
Doesn’t integrate with existing task managers. So I can’t enter a new task in ClickUp and have it automatically populate in Motion. I haven’t looked into integrations through third-party options like Zapier. Honestly, this is the reason I didn’t try this app out sooner.
Only schedules your tasks two weeks in the future. This is a pretty big one for me. Having the ability to see everything for the month would be HUGE. I’ve already requested this feature.
Doesn’t keep track of the “chunks” you’ve completed. If you have a big task broken up into chunks and you complete a chunk, it doesn’t update the task to show how many chunks you’ve completed or what percentage of the work you have remaining.
Meeting scheduler is limited to a 2-hour timeframe (for example, I couldn’t use it to schedule a VIP Day, which is 4 hours)

Pros: Benefits of using Motion app to manage tasks and meetings

Visualize how your upcoming work fits into your schedule
Know at a glance if you have too much work and not enough time. Knowing this in advance can help you delegate earlier (and help keep you from the “I can’t delegate because I don’t have enough time to tell someone else how to do this” conundrum).
Automatically prioritize your tasks for the day & week. This saves me significant time and energy every day.
When your schedule changes, you have new work, or “life happens”, automatically adjust your schedule and tasks with the push of a button (very little thinking and energy required).
Flexible settings to accommodate a variety of working styles and preferences. Works like my own brain when it comes to setting priorities for work.

Final thoughts on Motion + how you can get an extended free trial and save $100

While I haven’t actually totally given up on time-blocking for my schedule, I’ve found a way to integrate it into my calendar in a way that actually makes sense for real life.

After using the 5-day trial, I decided that I saved enough time and energy from using Motion that it was worth the expense. Even with the downsides! Motion app has definitely become my go-to tool for my daily schedule (some days I even forget to open ClickUp).

To get a more in-depth walkthrough and see how Motion works, watch my walkthrough video at the top of this blog post.

Then, if you want to try out Motion for yourself, you can actually get an extended 2-week trial (no credit card required) and save $100 (if you decide you love it and want to keep it).

If you’re interested in the extended trial or saving $100, just send me a message at support(at)theefficientcreative(dot)com and let me know you want a Motion referral code.

3 Ways to Stop Procrastinating at Work and Get More Done

by Kate Hutcheson | Feb 1, 2022 | Goal-Setting & Habit-Building, Productivity

Learning how to prioritize tasks is as valuable of a skillset as any other business-building skill — right up there with the Copy & Paste command on a keyboard. And I don’t know about you, but learning to stop procrastinating at work isn’t something I was taught in school—like many people, I had to learn the hard way. Trial and error, my friends.

Organizing your work and implementing systems so that you get more done with less effort is a skill that can take years to learn and usually involves a lot of bumps in the road and mistakes, too.

In my experience and expertise as someone who has a passion for prioritizing, a knack for organization, and a real-life job as a project manager for creative women business owners, I’ve identified the three biggest players in the Prioritization & Execution Business Game, and I’m going to share them with you.

The key to help stop procrastinating at work is in identifying your biggest motivators, calling out your potential roadblocks, and addressing those sneaky avoidance tasks.

Once you can clearly establish these three components you can start to get strategic about your work! Learning your motivators will effectively pad you with positive launch ammo, like passion, drive, and energy.

Having a leg up on your roadblocks ensures smooth troubleshooting and effective execution, and getting clear on your time-sucks gives you the opportunity to power through tricky tasks that threaten to sabotage your big-picture plan. And not doing this pre-work planning? Well, in that case, you’d better work really well under pressure because your work will take longer, require extra work, and load you up with extra stress.

I encourage you to pour yourself a cup of your favorite coffee, set up by a nice big window with your favorite pen and notepad, and give the following a go:

Step 1 to Stop Procrastinating at Work: What Is Really Motivating You?

Begin by reflecting on what pieces of your project are the most exciting to you. These are your motivators.

These tasks will most likely be the pieces of your job that made you start this business in the first place. For a lot of creatives, it might be the end-goal, the final deliverable, or the “big picture.” If this is the case for you, write it down somewhere meaningful and visible so you can use it as a reminder when the going gets tough.

If you feel bogged down with the technicalities of a job or project, refer to this shiny motivator — let it energize your drive and boost your momentum! You can also sprinkle small pieces of your motivator throughout your work week to operate as a small dose of drive when you need it. (For example, if you love the feeling of a happy client, work in time to review previous happy testimonials and see how you can apply the feedback to your new or upcoming launch!)

Step 2 to Stop Procrastinating at Work: Write Down Potential Obstacles

Next, acknowledge the pieces of your project or launch you’re worried about. These are your potential roadblocks. These items require nurturing, attention, time and space. Do not jam pack the tasks that you know are going to trip you up at the end of your schedule when you will be crunched for time no matter what. Set up a game plan in advance to methodically address these buggers with the care and thought they (and you!) need. The sooner these are addressed, the smoother the launch-waters will be!

***Note: It might not be possible to address/tackle all roadblocks at the top of the launch, simply because they may not appear until other pieces of your project have been completed! That’s OK! Just knowing they’re on the horizon will give you the chance to plan for them when they inevitably arrive.

Step 3 to Stop Procrastinating at Work: What Keeps Going to the Back Burner? (aka What Are You Avoiding?)

Lastly, identify which specific tasks keep getting knocked down to the bottom of your To-Do list or keep being moved to the next day/week/month. These are your avoidance tasks.

On the surface, these tasks can seem small and simple, yet you keep pushing them to the bottom of your to-do list. With avoidance tasks, you need to identify what’s holding you back from just checking that task off the list. Usually it’s one of these:

The 3 Main Reasons for Task Avoidance:

You have a decision to make before you can move forward
You’re lacking clarity about some detail steps within your larger tasks
Your goals or internal motivations have changed (sometimes before you’re even conscious of it)

Often, the simple act of identifying the reason you keep avoiding certain work makes it easier to address it and move forward!

Approaching your business in this thoughtful and careful way will help set you up for major success without the major paint points of confusion and burn out.

There is no shame in saying “Hey, this piece is going to be hard for me,” just like you should not shy away from the parts that make you go, “I am so good at this!” Organizing your business admin in a way that capitalizes on the good and works with (not against) the “bad” makes you one hell of a smart business-woman, and I hope this system gives you major peace of mind.

Also, also – there’s more relief where this comes from.

If all of this still feels overwhelming or you’re struggling with identifying which things are motivators, challenges, and how to move past avoidance, I have a dream solution for you: Let me help. UNSTUCK offers 1:1 support and accountability throughout the life of your project. I will pad you up with all the tools you need (including this strategy!) to help you plow through your business projects with grace and agility. Spots are super limited thanks to the specific attention to detail and care that goes into each offer. Click over here to get on my calendar!

4 Ways Your Project Plan Is Crying For Help (and How to Fix It)

by Kate Hutcheson | Jan 17, 2022 | Launching, Planning

The idea of creating a project plan is daunting—whether it’s for a product marketing launch or any other project. There are so many factors to consider, including the technology required, design, branding, content creation and more. This is enough to make most people want to just quit before they’ve even started! Don’t worry though. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to an project that’s actually successful—and doesn’t make you run for the hills.

Title Card: 4 Ways You're Making Your Launch Harder on Yourself (and how to make it easier)

1. You’re not thinking through the step-by-step details in your project plan

Make a Project plan that isn’t a just a quick to-do list

If your project plan is like more like a hasty to-do list, then you’re leaving out vital steps that will cost you time, energy, and even money in the long run.

You may have seen me tell this story before, but it’s the perfect example (and I see it happen all the time.)

How business owners typically set a project end date (a familiar story)

A business owner came to me for help planning her launch and when I asked her timeframe, she threw out a launch date that was a few weeks away. After we created the roadmap together, we saw she’d need at least 8 weeks to complete her project plan.

So why did she think her project could be done in 3 weeks when it really needed 8? Because she hadn’t really thought through the details. She had an idea of what needed to be done, but hadn’t considered every step of the process.

What would have happened if we hadn’t made a detailed project plan for her launch?

Could she have launched in 3 weeks? Maybe! But she would have added to her stress as she was forced to make some hard decisions:

Outsource the work to get it done on time? Is there room in the budget for that? How would that impact the launch ROI? Who should she hire? Is there time to research and interview contractors?
Cut back on the launch plans in order to focus her time on the bare minimum required?
Change her goal date to add another 3 weeks (surely doubling her time is enough, right?) And then doing that again when she realizes the launch still isn’t ready after 6 weeks?

I hear about project stress like this all the time. And all of it can have been avoided by making sure your project plan is sufficiently detailed from the beginning.

2. Your project plan timelines aren’t realistic

If you don’t leave enough time in your project plan for required tasks, then trying to follow it is a stressful exercise in futility (and a lack of sleep).

When you launch your program or project, the first thing to do is to plan it out. I’ll go into the detailed step-by-step of project planning another time, but you’re creating a roadmap of what needs to be done and when. After you see what the tasks are, you estimate how long it will take for each task and set deadlines accordingly.

Estimating time for a project can be difficult—and that’s okay

This can be really difficult if you are planning something new—there’s always uncertainty about how long tasks will take (and that’s okay). If you’re not sure what your time estimate should be, think about a worst-case scenario so that you have the time necessary in the event of delays or problems.

Think through a worst case scenario (include buffer time)

In other words, leave some buffer time when you’re unsure in case something comes up that was not planned for. Don’t put yourself under more pressure than what’s best for your well-being. A plan with a spacious timeline will always feel better than a rushed plan.

3. Your plan (or goals) are too focused on perfection

Think of this plan as “version 1.1” (or 1.2… or 3.1)

Say it with me: your first doesn’t need to be your best. If you feel like everything needs to be perfect from the get-go, you’ll develop an all-or-nothing mindset that’s sure to bring on a sense of dread and defeat. Consider this plan to be an iteration of your ultimate vision.

No one is watching every (virtual) thing you do

Help manage your inner critic by reminding yourself that no one is paying the same level of attention to your stuff as you are (as a perfectionist Enneagram 1, believe me: I am saying this to myself most of all.)

Get started: done is better than perfect

It’s not about making your goal fit some idea of what “the best” looks like to you, but actually getting it out there so that you can start collecting feedback and know what needs to be done next. Each time you repeat a launch, you can adjust, improve, and add a new idea or feature that excites you.

4. You are giving all your project goals equal importance

What parts of your project plan are critical? And which ones can you let go?

Setting priorities is essential to being able to adjust your plan as needed with minimal stress. If you know what your priorities are, then it’s easier to let go of the stuff that’s not supporting your most valued goals. It’s okay to let some tasks—and some goals!—be less important than others.

What is important to you?

Think about what’s truly important to you for this project—not what’s important to that famous business coach or what Big Man McCEO says your “key performance indicators” should be. You might decide that some of your priorities are numbers-based (hitting a financial target, for instance—especially if it’s based on your actual budget goals and not just a vanity number… but I digress).

Your priorities aren’t just about your business goals

But it’s just as vital to consider how you want to feel or ways that you want to grow through your launching/project cycle process. Maybe you want to maintain better boundaries around your work time or get more comfortable being in front of the camera.

Choose and rank these priorities early in your project planning process. Then, if you begin to feel overwhelmed or need to pivot, you’ll already have the decision-making criteria you need to move forward—with minimal hand-wringing.

If you have struggled in the past with any (or all!) of these, there is help! Project planning and consulting can give you the support you need all the way through your project, from digging into the details in planning to helping you stay prioritized and focused during implementation. Let me hear about your upcoming project by sending me an email at kate[at]theefficientcreative[dot]com.

Struggle to Manage Tasks? 5 Ways to Build a More Organized Business

by Kate Hutcheson | Jan 17, 2022 | Goal-Setting & Habit-Building, Planning, Productivity

5 Habits to Break for better task management

Most of us want a more organized business, but it can be tough to manage tasks (especially if you’re managing with limited resources). There are a lot of moving pieces in running the day-to-day of your business (and even more when it’s time to launch). It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the admin and feel like your creative business is running off the rails. But it truly is possible to feel confident managing the details of your daily business processes and projects (like launches!) Here are 5 reasons small business owners struggle to manage tasks (plus some simple ways to organize, plan, and prioritize your work.)

Task Habit #1: Consolidate Digital Storage Locations

Storing information in too many places makes it hard to manage tasks.

In the Age of the App, there’s no shortage of tech promising to be the “perfect tool” to help you manage your business. And those of us who know we need to be more organized can be huge suckers for the promise of an out-of-the-box tech fix. Spoiler alert: there’s no one perfect tool for organizing in business (but that doesn’t keep us from trying many of them out.)

Many of us online entrepreneurs wind up with information stored across multiple apps and services. When you’re trying to manage a lot of tasks, having multiple “storage locations” for information adds unnecessary mental load and can make you feel less in control in your business.

The obvious answer is to use fewer apps as storage locations. Consolidate or eliminate apps, software, and platforms so you have fewer places where details can wind up. Of course, the next obvious question is…

Which apps should I choose to manage tasks?

Start by looking at what you already use. Where are you currently storing information (ideas, plans, articles you intended to go back to, to-do items, business tasks, personal lists)? Do you use different tools on different devices (phone, computer, tablet)? For now, just keep it to what you actively have used in the last few months (this isn’t time to dig through the archives). Make a list so you can see them in front of you!

From this list, narrow down your apps by thinking through these questions:

Which ones already tend to be your go-to tools?
Which feel less limited in their application & can be used for a variety of purposes?
Which do you have the easiest access to (for instance, they have a phone app that’s pretty easy to navigate?)

For the storage places you choose to keep, make it as easy as possible to access them when you need them. Move that app to the first screen of your phone so you see it first. Add a shortcut of that site to your desktop.

And similarly, if there’s a storage spot you’ve decided to eliminate, make it harder to access so you’re less tempted to grab it in the moment. Move the app to a subfolder that you have to scroll to access.

Task Habit #2: Have Regular Check-In Meetings

Many business owners, especially when they have just one or two contractors, consider team meetings an “only when necessary” event. Unfortunately, this means too many solopreneurs only meet with their team when there’s a big project—or a problem.

However, if you’re not having regular conversations with your team, you’re missing out on one of the easiest ways to keep your finger on the pulse of your business.

Gif of awards show presenter asking Could this whole night have been an email?

I know it’s popular to hate on meetings. The idea of having a whole day of meetings but very little implementation time can remind many of us of our previous days “in corporate.” And if you’re a creative business owner who is also introverted, the freedom to have as few meetings as possible can be awfully tempting.

BUT.

Avoiding team meetings makes it hard to manage tasks.

You really don’t have to go back to a corporate model of “all hands” meetings every day if you don’t want to. But you should make them regular. Depending on the size & experience of your team, the status and complexity of any projects you’re working on, and the amount of work you’re outsourcing, you may decide to meet more or less frequently.

Start with one or two team meetings per month and see how it helps you stay on track with managing the moving pieces. You may decide that’s enough or that you need to meet more often. You may also choose to meet with different team members at different frequencies. For instance, I meet with my right-hand gal once a week, but the full team only once a month right now and that works for us. I don’t recommend meeting less than once a month, though.

Putting off your business admin makes it hard to manage tasks.

If thinking about your managing your business admin makes you just want to take a nap, then there’s no secret why managing those tasks feels like a huge drain on your energy. But, as you already know, it doesn’t matter what kind of business you run, there is always going to be admin. If your CEO personality is more of the, “Don’t bore me with the details,” variety, then you might want to consider outsourcing this aspect of your business.

Task Habit #3: Outsource Admin If You Can (But Be an Informed Hire-er)

Without getting into the details of the different types of online business administration job roles (that’s coming in another post), I want to mention some important rules-of-thumb when it comes to outsourcing business management.

The first hire many of us make in our online businesses is a Virtual Assistant contractor. You can find a great VA to take on pretty much any type of admin (or even some creative work) in your business. However, Virtual Assistants are not managers.

If you’re in early stages, look for a VA who can work somewhat independently. Be aware, you’ll still need to give them tasks, make sure they have specific requirements & procedures, and do some amount of follow-up and management. But if you can, give them the info they need and allow them to work and report back to you on progress so you don’t need to chase them for info.

In Simple terms, Virtual Assistants do the work you assign.

OBMs, DOOs, or Project Managers help Manage the Moving Pieces.

Online Business Managers do manage your team & keep track of all the details, but that training and experience comes at a cost. OBMs and DOOs generally start at around $3000 per month to manage the day-to-day business and team. Project manager costs vary based on the size and scope of the project, but the key difference there is that a Project Manager isn’t your day-to-day operations manager.

If you know that dealing with the daily details of running your business is a huge struggle for you, OBMs and DOOs are a fantastic resource. If your revenue won’t yet support this hire, then keeping that goal in mind can be a motivating addition to your vision board!

Task Habit #4: Get Tasks Out of Your Head

I am SO thankful for Visionaries. Y’all give us those dream destinations so clearly, it’s like we’re almost there. You really are in the driver’s seat—but every driver needs a good navigator to show them how to get where they’re going.

If you’ve ever driven in an unfamiliar town with no map and unreliable GPS, then you know that you can wind up where you meant to go… but you probably had to take some wrong turns to get there.

It’s the same with your business. Wherever the path to your goal is a little hazy, you’ll struggle more to manage moving the team forward. And just like driving in a new area without GPS, it’ll take longer to get there, you’ll use more gas, and you’ll get pretty stressed out about it.

It’s hard to manage tasks (or a project) without a clear roadmap guiding you to your destination.

If you feel like you’ve got a general path (i.e. a task list) but you’re dropping the ball, start by getting more specific on the “how”. Is there anything that you need to have, do, or know before you can get to that next task?

Don’t just answer that question in your head. Get it out of your head and into a method where you can see it. Make a task in your task management system (and assign it to yourself or your team.) Add it to your checklist, to-do list, what have you. Put that proverbial pin in the roadmap so you can track your incremental progress.

Task Habit #5: Keep an Outside Perspective Close By

When your natural tendency is to veer off into the weeds, one of the easiest ways to stay focused on the main path is having another person nearby who can help redirect you when needed.

Some of us truly perform better when we have a colleague, friend, or partner who can say, “Woman, you are amazing and I love your brain, but you need to set that distraction to the side and get back on track with me. Let’s go.”

If you know that you struggle to maintain the big picture, then reach out to someone who can help hold you accountable. Preferably, this would be someone who understands your business and goals: for example, a colleague in your co-working group would be more beneficial than your best gal pal or your significant other.

If you’re finding it difficult to organize, plan, and prioritize your work and your team, you’re not alone. Take a moment to appreciate the amount you’re already overseeing! Managing all of the operations of a business—plus a life—is hard work. Businesses are complex systems and we are not meant to run them all by ourselves.

I love helping business owners with accountability, planning, business systems, or team communication. To see how I can help you keep a more organized business and manage tasks, tell me about what’s feeling difficult, then book a free call.