I love the start of a new month, it’s a time to reset and get into good productivity habits that can bring focus and organisation to your business.
I liken it to starting a new notebook or journal, that idea of turning onto a fresh page where you can let your ideas flow.
However, lets get realistic we don’t always have the time to indulge in this so I thought I’d share some tips that will help you set up for the month ahead, improve your productivity and stay focused.
1. Plan in 1 hour to reflect back on the previous month’s activities
This is something we’re all guilty of not doing, however much of our learning and improvements come from looking back and seeing what we could do better.
Start with building a list of the activities that you did and then draw up some key learning points underneath.
- What went well?
- What did you struggle with?
- What elements did you enjoy doing?
- What feedback did you get?
- How did your stats perform? – sales, profit, social media, email list growth, blog followers. All of these will depend on what your objectives were, which we will cover later.
- What did you learn and what would you do differently next time?
Don’t forget to pat yourself on the back and celebrate the wins, no matter how small they were.
2. Set up your Marketing Goals for the month ahead
You will have heard me talk about SMART goals many times, but they are a great starting point so make sure that the goals you are setting are:
S = Specific
M=Measurable
A=Actionable
R=Realistic
T=Timed
Don’t overburden yourself with lots of goals, maybe pick one big one and then two smaller goals, ones that you can achieve within the month.
Here’s an example
- Grow my Email list each month
- Specific = By 20 per month
- Measurable = Email new subscribers and track their open and click through rate to see response
- Actionable = Create an incentive to get sign ups
- Realistic = I have 3 events this month that I can focus on
- Timed = With 3 events in the month I should be able to achieve an extra 20 sign ups by the end of the month.
Once you have your goals set up for the month, this will help you get your focus on the priorities for your Marketing activity.
3. Brain Dump your ideas for the month onto a “mind-map”
This is my favourite tool for getting ideas out of my head, linking, and grouping ideas together and then streamlining the actions into a priority list.
I start with a central focus point or activity and then draw lines from this with ideas, springing out of each of these, will be further ideas, till your page starts looking like a spider’s web.
If you’re a visual learner and actioner, then this process really works enabling you to lay your plans down and see links and pathways for tasks.
4. Give your finances a health check
We all know that the next few months are going to be tough with uncertainty on sales, consumer confidence low, and prices rising.
A good habit at the beginning of each month is to do a health check on your finances.
- Check your previous months statements and note down all your outgoings, have there been any significant increases, if so, can you do something to reverse the rise.
- Are there any savings you can make – sharing lifts, indulge in a takeaway rather than eating out. I’m not advocating that you stop those treats, but have they been creeping in more recently.
- Are there any memberships or monthly programmes that you have signed up for and are not really getting anything out of. It’s amazing how many £30 monthly spends you build up.
These are just a few budgeting tips but there are lots more out forums and TV programmes with ideas on how to help with the cost-of-living crisis.
5. Clear out your in-tray and sort your in-box
Having a messy desk lends itself to a messy mind.
Now I’m certainly guilty of having different piles on my desk but a good habit at the beginning of the month is to go through your workspace offline and online and give it a spring clean.
- Go through your in-tray or “pile” if you don’t have an actual filing system. File, bin or shred your papers as regularly as you can to stay on top of things.
- Grab the polish or “Mr Muscle” and give everything a good clean.
- When did you last do a back up of your PC or laptop? The start of the month is a good time to begin this habit and even weekly is recommended.
- Have a look at your email in-box, the aim is to reduce the amount of “disturbance” that comes into our daily life which is not actually adding any value.
- Unsubscribe from distracting emails that you signed up for (especially if it was for a one-off discount or you’re unlikely to use again)
- Manage your folders better so that emails are allocated out of your in-box to the appropriate folder. Keep your in-box for things that are IMPORTANT AND ACTIONABLE for this month.
Hope you found this blog useful? It would be great to hear of any changes or habits that you are going to try this month, so please do leave a comment below the blog.
Need a fresh pair of eyes on your business?
If you like the idea and see the benefit but struggle to organise your thoughts into a solid Marketing plan, then drop me a line and we can book in a FREE discovery call for 30 minutes.
You may just need a couple of hours mentoring and guidance or you may want to seize the opportunity for more of a deep dive where I create your Marketing plan for you. I run flexible programmes to suit different needs and budgets.
Simply fill in the contact form and I will get back to you.
For more Marketing tips and advice join my Facebook Group where I share the golden nuggets to help you feel more confident and organised with your Marketing
Download our FREE GUIDE for tips to optimise your Marketing plan for Christmas
I’ve created a new FREE GUIDE giving lots of tips and ideas to help you get a structure in place to reduce overwhelm and to start to plan out your Marketing.
Here’s the link to my FREE DOWNLOAD with tips and ideas to consider as part of your planning for Christmas.
