Why it’s important to reflect

It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of running a business that we sometimes forget to take a step back and check that we’re still on the right path.

Setting time aside to reflect on the past week, fortnight or month keeps us focused on the end goal and the tasks needed to get us there. We can see where things are going well and what needs improvement and make any changes early to not waste time on work that takes us in the wrong direction.

How to reflect

There is no set method for reflecting so it’s up to you how you want to do this. My pointers would be to:

• Put it in your diary – schedule it like you would any meeting and set a time limit.
• Have an idea of what you want to reflect on – know what you want to get out of the session.
• Have an open mind and be kind – especially to yourself. Don’t beat yourself up if the past week didn’t go as planned. It’s all a learning experience.
• Write down your thoughts – no matter how trivial, getting it down on paper clears your mind and opens you up for new ideas.

What to reflect on

Again, this is completely up to you. You might decide to split each week of the month into separate sections of the business, or goals one month and processes the next. Whatever frequency and focus that keeps you moving forward are going to be the best method for you.

You could reflect on:

Goals – are they still your goals, how are you progressing, do you have new ones, what’s your priority?

Vision – is what you’re doing holding true to your vision, is it the same vision?

Values – have you set these out, are they still true or have they changed, does how you run your business reflect these?

Progress – how are you and your business growing, what other areas are you seeing progress in?

Development – are you taking time for personal and business development, where could you develop further, what courses or other training is available to you?

Lessons – what have you learned through interactions, what does this tell you about what you might need in the future?

Message – does your messaging match your vision and values, is it getting through to your clients?

Schedule/time management – are you making the best use of your time, do you find certain tasks being put off consistently, are your work hours eating into your home hours, where would it be more efficient to hand over to someone else?

Tools/processes – are there tools and other processes or systems that could help you, are there any getting in the way?

What to do next

Reflecting allows you to see what’s working, what’s not, and to make a plan.

After thinking about the different areas above, what do you need to change or do more of? What will help you get to where you want to go – why you built your business in the first place.

You might find that you need more time, once you’ve reflected, to fix something. For example, you might find that your message is completely at odds with your values. In that case, you’ll need the time to understand where it went wrong and how to fix it.

The good thing is, now you know and can do something about it.

Summary

Working on your business is just as important, if not more so, than in your business, so see this time as an opportunity for growth. 

Do it regularly and you’ll get further, faster.

If you need more time on your business, we’re experts in taking on those lower-value tasks that eat up your time. Contact us and see how we can help you manage your time more effectively.

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So, with that in mind here are 3 strategies for approaching business goals for your business in 2021:

Revisit your long-term goals and objectives

The first step is to review your progress in 2020. Spend some time taking a step back and re-assessing where you are heading, and why. It is important that you are realistic about the current status of your business and the future outlook.

That is not to say you need to change your long-term goals and objectives. The goals and objectives may not need to change, but the timescales might.

Review your outgoings

Are there ways you could reduce your outgoings for 2021, or perhaps there are places you really need to invest? It is important that you put your business in a position where you can be agile and adaptive to changes in the marketplace.

Establish short, medium and long term goals

Having looked at what you achieved in 2020, compared to your business goals at the start of the year, build the strategy and plan on how you will progress towards your long-term goals in 2021.

Break down the long-term goals into smaller, short term goals. Then, identify the work that will be needed to hit them.

What do your goals look like when broken down monthly, weekly, daily? What will you need to do to achieve your targets? What are the KPIs that will ensure you will be on track to hit short, medium and long term goals?

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Try these 10 ways to help you manage your time better so you can push through distractions and get things done:

Make a to-do list:

Lists keep us organised, keep us on track, and keep us on top of where we are and what still needs doing.

Prioritise

At first, you’ll find yourself assigning top priorities that really aren’t the most critical.  Like with everything else, learning to prioritise is a trial-and-error process.

Set SMART goals

By setting goals for what you need to get done before lunch, before quitting time, or by the end of the month, you know how fast you have to work and how much time should be spent on each project.

Track your time

Keep track of your time on each task for a couple days, you’ll get a feel for when you’re spending your time appropriately on goal-oriented activities and when you’re simply wasting it on non-productive things.  This will also allow you to think about, do you need to be doing this task or can it be someone else in the business.

Do not attempt to multitask

Stay focused on one thing and one thing only, and only move on to the next task when the first one is complete.

Minimise distractions

Shut the door, close the widow, put your headphones in and stay away from social media and other Internet distractions.

Delegate responsibilities

Having another responsible person take over some of your tasks is like getting twice as much done in the same amount of time.

Give yourself rest periods

You are simply not going to be able to perform at 100% all the time.  To prevent the inevitable burnout, you have to give yourself the freedom to rest and recoup.  Not only will you be able to perform more efficiently when you approach a problem fresh-faced, you may actually come up with solutions and better ways to approach a problem while you’re not actively working on it.

Plan for tomorrow today

Use the last 10 or 20 minutes of the day to plan at least the first part of tomorrow, this will let you start the new day with momentum.

Use the Pomodoro technique

The pomodoro technique is when you set yourself a task and set the timer for 25 minutes turning off phones, emails, anything that could distract you. After 25 minutes you take a 5 minute break and then do another task for 25 minutes. It’s a really productive way of working and its small chunks of time which work really well. If there’s a larger task which you know will take more than 25 mins then you set timer for 50 mins but you should never go longer than 50 mins without a break.

If you would like to find out more about this technique, you can find all of the amazing advice and tricks here https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Keep An Eye on Your Competitors 

A smart business owner will always keep a close eye on competitors. This is because what moves your competition make will have a direct impact on the success of your brand. Researching your competitors can help you to identify areas where you can improve your own business and utilise any gaps in the market. 

Seek Customer Feedback 

For businesses in all industries, it is important that you provide a quality product or service to your target customer. It can be hard to know what you are doing well and where you could make improvements without interacting with your target audience. It is for this reason why you should always seek customer feedback and then look for trends and changes that you could make to give you an edge over the competition. 

Meet With Your Team 

Similarly, you need to work closely with all members of your team at all times. When everyone can communicate effectively it can create a positive working environment and enable you to work together to bring about positive change to the business operation. You can do this through regular meetings, staff surveys and informal meetings. Make communication a priority in the workplace and it will help the entire operation to be more proactive in all areas of business. 

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

In case you aren’t aware, SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Therefore, a SMART goal incorporates all of these criteria to help focus your efforts and increase the chances of achieving your goal.

Often, individuals or businesses will set themselves up for failure by setting general and unrealistic goals such as “I want to be the best at X.” This goal is vague, with no sense of direction.

To make this a SMART goal you might say “I want to be at the top of the Google search when people use the keyword bookkeeping by December”.

The SMART method simply helps push you further, gives you a sense of direction, and helps you organise and reach your goals.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.