Inside look in how I run my business day to day
Having a weekly routine is what keeps me sane ;)
Ok, if I don’t have a planning , I’ll survive but I like to start my week knowing what to expect, how much work there is going to be from my clients and what else I could spend some time on. It somehow gives me peace and like the whole planning out my week
So, I wanted to give a bit of insight (for a whole week) in how I run my business.
Sunday
I probably need to start with the part I am not so consistent in. And that is preparing for the week on Sunday. I have periods I do this and there are periods I don’t do this. But if I don’t do it on Sunday, I will take some extra time on Monday morning.
Ideally, what I would be doing in a Sunday is update my planning for the rest of the week. I will look back on the previous week on any big wins, evaluating the big 3 tasks, lessons learned and decide my big 3 tasks of the week. Which are all related to the goals that I have for the quarter. And then I split these big 3 goals up in smaller tasks that I spread out across the week.
If the big 3 are part of a larger project I will already have split everything up in smaller tasks and then take these tasks and move them to the coming week.
Then I will plan out my client work.
This can be a bit of a tricky one because, as a designer, you are quite dependent on getting feedback from your clients. So I check who I have the feedback from and not, and for the projects, I have not received feedback about what I could already do to work ahead (which is not always possible).
Lastly, I check how much time I still have on which day of the week and add in other tasks
Most of this I have learned from Ashlyn Carter and her productivity course with some adjustments here and there over time.
Monday
Wind up
In the morning I start with a quick look at my goals. I go to my planning board in Asana and look over my goals. Even though I know what my goals for the quarter are I like to have this quick reminder of what I am working on and where I am at with these goals. The goals that I have here are related to my income goal. And every other goal that I have I geared towards achieving that goal like newsletter subscribers, website traffic, social media engagements or audience building. And I generally have 1 project that I am working on like a new product.
Then I open up the spreadsheet that I use as a data tracker and update it with the latest figures. Here I go a bit more in-depth in all the metrics related to the goals I mentioned above. This always takes a bit more time on Monday because I include the weekend data but also look back at things like how well my newsletter performed.
I check my Google Calendar for appointments for the week. And go on to review my big 3 of the week/day as I mentioned above.
Next, I go to my content planning by day board and check which post was supposed to be published today. Then I go into Planoly and check if this is actually what is planned and if all settings are correct. As I plan everything in advance, I generally don’t have to do anything, but I like to be sure.
Content creation
Then the rest of my Monday I all related to content creation. It took me some time to find a way to create all my content without it stretching over days. Or having to do something every day and (also very important) without it taking up too much of my time while still proving value.
I like to batch my tasks as much as possible and feel like I get more done in a day this way. Especially when it comes to content creation. As I am using parts of my blog in the newsletter and using both the blog and newsletter to craft part of my social media content it saves time when you do it all at once.
And who does not want to save time?
And not only that, when you have all the content done on Monday it just gives an amazing start to the week knowing you’re all set. And you will not get distracted while doing something else because you remembered you still have not posted on social for that day.
So what do I actually create? I will write and schedule my blog post, create pins for the blog, write and schedule the newsletter, create Instagram content for the whole week for both stories and posts and record my weekly video, edit and schedule it.
For all these tasks I have created workflows, so I know exactly what to do and in which order.
And for my blog, I have some extra guidelines I like to prepare before writing the post. This is about the goal of the posts, if there will be a freebie or not, what problem is the post related to, what the solution is. And an outline of the introduction, message, mini sections etc.
Screenshot of my Asana Batch Content planning
Screenshot of my Asana Blog planning
I like to prepare this ahead of time (generally on Friday) so I can dive right in with the writing because I know what I want to write and why.
At the end of each day, I update my planning based on what I was able to do. Sometimes this means I need to move something to another day because I was not able to finish everything. And other times that I can move something up. But like with my week planning this makes sure I know exactly what to do the next day.
Tuesday
Wind up
Again I start with the morning wind-up. But this is a much shorter version than on Monday as I don’t check as much data. But I will still go into Google Analytics and have a quick look at the traffic of the previous day. And if this was in line with what I am supposed to have in traffic on a daily base.
I guess this might seem a bit much too many of you. I might not be managing a portfolio worth 60 million anymore but with my background in Business Analytics and Strategy checking numbers on a daily base is so engrained in me that this is something I kept doing for my own business. I feel it keeps me on track more with my goals. And I spot it quickly when something is off (and can act on it) or when a blog or pin is driving more traffic than on a ‘normal’ day.
Even though our business might be small it is so important to make decisions based on data, instead of our feelings, just like any other CEO would do. Otherwise you will never be able to scale your business as there is a large chance you will be making the wrong decisions.
Just take my Canva Workbook Tool kit landing page as an example. I have 10 different landing pages for my free resources and for all of them I keep track of the conversion. To test what is working best not all landing pages look the same. Some had very little text and some have a lot of text. Therefore my conversion ranges from 7% to 56%. Each landing page should have at least 20% conversion but the aim is between 50-70%%. If a landing page does not convert well, like the one with 7%, something will be changed and I will check back later if the conversion has changed.
Screenshot of my Data tracker - Instagram Metrics
Screenshot of my Data tracker - Landing page metrics
Screenshot of my Data tracker - Website metrics
I check my Google Calendar for appointments and go on to review my big 3 of the day. I check if I am still happy with the planning I made the day before. As I always finish my day by updating my planning based on what I got done. If not, then I drag and drop the tasks and change the order based on the order I will do them that day.
Lastly, I check my social media post of the day.
Client work
Then the rest of Tuesday is all about client work. How much this is, of course, depends on how many projects I have running alongside each other. But it generally takes up the full day.
If I am working on a brand this is what I will start with in the morning because I feel fresh and most creative. This can be anything from sketching logo’s, to creating them in Illustrator or making adjustments based on the feedback I have received.
Then I go on to work on the projects that include website design. This can be creating a mock-up in Adobe XD, building out the mock-up in Squarespace or adjusting the design based on feedback.
But this also includes consultation calls with potential new clients, calls with current clients to walk through updates or ordering gifts when a project is about to finish.
If I have any work left or get feedback later in the week I will off course also work on client work on other days.
Wednesday
Again I will start with the morning wind-up followed by any client work that is left. Or if I have already received feedback on updates I did yesterday I will do these in the morning. As I don’t want them to have to wait for it to Tuesday next week.
Accountability Partner
Next to that, I have my call with my accountability partner in the afternoon. This is something I do because I am part of the Female Entrepreneur Organisation membership.
How this work is that, when you are a member, you sign yourself up to the accountability program. And then FEA will match you with another female business owner. Once you are matched you will have regular calls to check in, talk about what is going on and keep each other accountable.
With my accountability partner, I have a shared Asana board where we also keep track of our goals, big wins of the previous week, lessons learned and goals for the coming week. So in the morning, I will update our board. The call is supposed to take about an hour. But we tent to go over as it is really nice to be able to talk to someone about your business and what you are running into.
As most of us work from home and clients can be anywhere in the world it is easy to feel isolated, or alone. And having someone who is in the same situation can do wonders. And I would encourage everyone to to set something like this u, even if you are not part of a membership. Because we can all use some support and an occasional kick in the butt!
Prepare coaching call
On Thursday I have a coaching client (a 3-month program to focus on getting clarity around your business and setting up goals and strategies). And I like to prepare the calls for this on Wednesday afternoon.
I look back at what we discussed the previous week and what the homework was that I have given her. Then I will check in on our shared folder to go through the homework and will make notes if we need to discuss anything from this. I list what we are going to talk about this week and what the homework will be. And I like listing the topics for the week after so that I can clearly communicate what we will discuss next.
We generally have contact during the week so if anything else came up what we need to discuss I will also include this in the planning.
Screenshot of my coaching planner
Thursday
In the afternoon I will have the coaching call that I already prepared for on Wednesday.
Till that time I always try to spend time on the business itself. What this will look like really depends on if I have a project going to launch a new service or not. If I am launching something new most of the time will go to this.
Otherwise, this can be anything from creating new freebies, working on improving my SEO, updating workflows based on past projects, creating portfolio posts or updating the website with new testimonials. Just as long as it will help with building my business.
Friday
On Fridays, it is always a bit of a mix of tasks. If there is any client work left, I might do this, or continue some of the tasks I was working on the previous day.
One thing I always do is prepare for the content creation on Monday. I do this by doing research on the topic and outlining the blog post and newsletter. I used to do this all on Monday but found there can go quite a bit of time into the research as I like to make sure I cover everything. And besides sharing what I know I also want to get the opinions of experts in the field that I can link to.
Final thoughts
I hope this post will give you some inspiration (be sure to watch the video for more details on my daily tasks) on how you could be structuring your week to get the most out of it. Let me know what your top tips are for having the best week or if you think of implementing some of the things I mentioned.
Are you struggling with the back end processes of your business? Then let's chat.
I help you to go from overwhelm to clarity and take action in my 3-month mentor program. The program includes weekly calls and email support in between the calls. There is also some 'homework' involved so that you can directly practice what you have learned and feel empowered.
LOOKING FOR ANYTHING?
popular in the shop
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM
favourite
resources
*Below links are affiliate links and I get a small kickback if you use these links to sign up
If you thought this post you might also like:
