In addition to vacations and patriotic celebrations, July is one of the best business months. Sales may slump – but don’t let that interrupt my recipe for a successful July debrief. There are four easy steps to make the most of this mid-year oasis, and they are:
Step 1: Review Annual Goals.
Often we set massive goals for the year, and make incremental progress towards them each month. Use this time to review the goals, determine which are on track, and which need a little extra energy in the second half of the year.
Step 2: Read.
If you are not taking a vacation, it’s likely your clients are generally taking one. Use the slower time to read the trade newsletters, magazines, and other materials that have been piling up. It’s amazing what new ideas, some intellectual stimulation, or a new perspective will do to change your outlook. See my list below for some of my favorites from this months reading.
Step 3: Get bored.
This is a new addition to my recipe – inspired from an article below. Often the important work is also the hardest. I’ve put off writing this client note for weeks because there were urgent/more fun things to do. When we are bored – truly nothing else on the to do list – we tackle the important and hard work. Schedule solo time for yourself so you can start to whittle away at the important work.
Step 3: Get bored.
It’s also a time to realign our schedules, priorities and commitments to match what we value. I’m shuffling around my client schedule to create more “boredom” time, making sure I map out time in my calendar for family and my close friends, and generally set the second half of the year up in an ideal state.
Shoot me a note and let me know how your July reset is going. And if you haven’t started it yet, there’s still 10 days left in the month.
We’d also like to belatedly welcome Petar Petkovski to the team. He’s been around for some time, helping advise many clients on their digital strategy as well as heading up our own internal marketing. Please feel free to say hello.
