How often do you find yourself wishing for more hours in the day? One or two more days in the week. Setting your goal for a four-day week and cramming five, or even six days’ work into the four. That’s before we look at time for the family or dealing with unexpected curveballs.
We know that busy women in business often face unique challenges, juggling professional responsibilities with personal and self-care needs. So, leading up to International Women’s Day on Friday March 8, we share some of Pink Link’s lifestyle hacks that we think could help Lancashire women in business.
Use time blocking techniques to allocate specific blocks of time to different tasks. Allocate specific sections of the day to tasks e.g. mornings for admin tasks and afternoons for meetings or have specific days for themed tasks e.g. Monday for Marketing, Tuesday for collaborations and networking etc.
Use systems such as the Pomodoro Technique where you use short, focused intervals of 25 mins to work on a task followed by a short 5 min break.
Prioritise time sensitive tasks, regular meetings and make sure you build in time for yourself. There’s lots of tools and apps available to help you manage your time including ToDoList, Trello and Asana.
Often if you’re working for yourself or in a small business, you need to wear many different hats but it’s important to remember you can’t do everything. Delegate tasks that can be handled by others, both at work and at home. There’s lots of experts who can do the job in a fraction of the time it would take you.
The cost can be worth it, especially when it’s causing you stress. Ask your network and get a referral – word of mouth is invaluable when it comes to finding the right person for the job who will charge a fair and reasonable fee.
One of the few positive things to come out of our experience of the pandemic is that you can quickly and easily jump on a Zoom or Teams meeting to explore collaborations.
Face-to-face meetings are great but time is precious. If both parties can discuss their needs online, you’re both saving time and money reducing travelling and parking.
There’s lots of tools to help you manage your tasks efficiently. They don’t replace expert services but they can help you get the job done. An example of this is Canva – it’s a quick and easy way to create graphic images and videos for your social media posts and can resize them for different platforms.
Explore platforms that combine your tasks. We’ve recently discovered CanConnect which combines database, e-newsletters, emails, social media scheduling and more. This saves saving us time and money, and making our team more efficient.
We believe that business networking is a time to focus on building authentic relationships that will help you grow personally and professionally. Use your time wisely and attend events strategically.
This is a chance to build a network of mentors and advisers who can provide guidance and support with people who have successfully navigated similar challenges. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help, you will be surprised at how many other people have experienced the challenges you’re facing and want to help.
Set clear boundaries between work and personal life and communicate these boundaries to colleagues, clients, and family members. When you are focussing on each area separately, you will be able to give quality time without distraction.
Be selective about the commitments you take on. It’s okay to say no and politely decline projects or tasks that do not align with your priorities. Explain that you don’t have the capacity at this moment – and if it’s something you’d like to get involved in the future, suggest discussing this later.
It’s time to master the art of quick decision-making. Hone your decision-making skills to avoid unnecessary delays and reduce time dithering. Trust your instincts and make decisions swiftly when needed.
Oh for the days of the school uniform where you didn’t need to think about what you were wearing the next day! Adopting a capsule wardrobe for work can save you time and make your mornings less stressful.
Simplify your outfit choices and invest in versatile items that can easily mix and match. Plan what you’re wearing for the week on the Sunday and it will save you time every morning.
Incorporate short but meaningful self-care rituals into your daily routine. It’s all too easy to sit at your computer all day. It’s the work equivalent of the binge-watching TV couch potato. Schedule regular breaks to recharge and avoid burnout.
If necessary, set your alarm every hour to get up from your chair and walk around, drink water, look away from the computer screen and move.
Stop for lunch and close the computer at a designated close of business. Integrate mindfulness practices, such as meditation or deep breathing, exercise to manage stress. You’re no use to yourself, your business or your family if you burn out.
If you have children or care for elderly or vulnerable relatives, having a support squad around you is priceless. Not everyone has this though and there are lots of single parents who don’t have family that they can call on in an unexpected emergency. It could be an idea to find friends in similar situations or see what is available in your local community.
Motivational speaker Wayne Dyer said: “Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed."
This year we’ll be putting these lifestyle hacks into practice ourselves. If you have any that you’d like to share with us, we’d love to hear from you.
About the contributor
Pink Link, is a company dedicated to promoting female enterprise through their website community, local networks, events, social media and awards. It is a member of Boost & Co – Boost's private sector business support partners.
Pink Link is celebrating International Women's Day by holding a dynamic women in business event filled with activities, insights and opportunities for women in business, at Leighton Hall, Carnforth, Lancashire.
If you’re looking to grow, scale or start your business, use Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub. We offer a range of funded business support services. Call our Business Support Helpdesk on 0800 488 0057 to find out more or complete our enquiry form.
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