Creative Productivity: 3 Things Entrepreneurs Need To Do Every Month
As an entrepreneur, you are constantly striving for success, trying to make the most of every hour of every day, using the time management techniques you’ve learned, and more.
But sometimes you need to step back and take a fresh look at your routine to find new ways to boost productivity and creativity.
I teach using “theme days” to group similar tasks together during your work week to eliminate distraction, context switching, and get more done in less time.
In this blog, I’m sharing 3 important “theme days” I schedule into my month (vs week) that I believe every entrepreneur should do to create better results with their to-do lists and goals.
01. Hooky Day
What is a Hooky Day?
A hooky day is just that - a day you take off from work beyond your normal time off. Not when you’re sick, or when you have family obligations — a day just for you.
Why is it important for entrepreneurs?
A hooky day lets you regroup and refresh, and do something for yourself.
As entrepreneurs, we tend to be “on” all the time — even if it’s just mentally.
By taking a whole day for a break, you’ll often come back to work with creative new solutions and ideas for your business.
I also find it helps me be more in tune and kind to my family when I’ve had time for myself.
How to plan and execute a successful Hooky Day
Ideally, a Hooky Day is during the week when you’d normally be working. I plan this day every month for something that I need to do for myself.
Here are some ideas for things you can do on your Hooky Day:
Spa Day (I don’t always have the budget, but this is my favorite kind of hooky day)
Long Drive/Outdoor Adventure (like hiking, going out on a beautiful drive, etc)
Shopping (I love to shop alone, and I will use this day to have a whole day to myself, complete with lunch. This is not to be confused with “running errands” or shopping for your family)
Movie Day (you can do this alone or with friends)
Nothing (sometimes what I really need is to do nothing. Like staying in my pajamas and reading or binging a show, complete with a long nap).
Tips for making the most of your Hooky Day
To make the most out of your Hooky Day, you have to do a few things:
Turn on your email autoresponder to let people know you’re out of the office
Make sure your family knows (or anyone else you live with) to coordinate schedules (like school pickups)
Commit to actually being out of the office — that means no (or minimal) checking email and NO social media.
Any of these ideas for your Hooky Day could be done with friends or your partner if that’s cup-filling for you. I’m giving examples of what I love to do as an introvert that needs alone time to recharge.
02. Back Office Day
What is a Back Office Day?
A back office day is for all the “stuff” that you need to do or organize on the admin (or back office) side of your business.
These are to-do’s like:
Organizing your google drive or dropbox
Organizing or tweaking your project management system
Regrouping on internal projects like your PR/Marketing plan or updating your website
Why is it important for entrepreneurs?
The problem with back office to-dos is they take up a lot of brain space in that unfinished open loop category.
They weigh us down and happen between the cracks in our daily or weekly schedule — leaving them half-finished and in a constant state of being a mental burden.
By scheduling a whole day, once per month, to tackle the next most important back office project, you’ll know you have time scheduled to do it (reducing your mental load), and you will actually finish the project or to-dos.
How to plan and execute a successful Back Office Day
The key to your monthly Back Office Day is that you actually have to schedule it and stick to it.
It’s easy to let these tasks take a back seat and get constantly bumped down the list — so schedule it and commit to blocking off that time.
Plan for either 1 big back office project or several small, similar tasks so you can stay out of context switching and get in the flow of whatever you need to accomplish.
Tips for making the most of your Back Office Day
Beyond making sure you schedule and commit to this theme day in your month, here are a few tips for getting the most out of it:
Turn off desktop notifications and put your phone in airplane mode for at least 2 hours at a time (check them during planned-for breaks).
Plan for more time than you think (back office projects inevitably take more time due to discovering other aspects of the project you didn’t realize needed to happen)
Truly consider the next right project to work on that will make the most impact on how your business functions (it’s more likely fixing broken links on your website than getting to Inbox Zero)
03. Review & Planning Day
What is a Review & Planning Day?
A Review & Planning Day is where you take time to review what you’ve accomplished during the month and make a plan for the next month.
This can be a wide topic and a little nebulous to figure out exactly what you should do, so I’ll go more into that below. But first…
Why is it important for entrepreneurs?
It’s so easy to get lost in the day-to-day of running a small business.
We react to emails and customer needs and social media, only to lose the thread of our goals and what’s working in our business (or what isn’t).
By taking a day to review and plan for your business, you take yourself out of the busy work and give yourself time to be in the CEO headspace you need to make important decisions.
How to plan and execute a successful Review & Planning Day
Block off half your day for review, and half your day for planning.
You might find one takes longer than the other, and you can adjust what you need for your particular business and workflow as you practice scheduling and executing on this particular theme day.
Examples of what you might do during your review time are:
Gather important metrics and stats for your business, like website traffic and sales numbers.
Review your planner/project management for any tasks that haven’t been completed.
Review your Ideal Work Week for needed adjustments.
Review your projects for next steps.
Review your short and long terms goals for where you’re at and what needs to be adjusted.
Bonus: sometimes I like to spend 30 minutes or so journaling about the month and what’s come up for me.
Examples of what you might do during your planning time are:
Schedule your monthly days (Hooky Day, Back Office Day, and Review & Planning Day) into your calendar.
Schedule important calls, meetings, and relationship-building time.
Schedule blocks of time to work on your most important projects and priorities.
Schedule time for working on specific goals (the next steps).
Tips for making the most of your Review & Planning Day
Using a schedule and checklist for your Review & Planning Day is super helpful. You can create one in a word doc or Notion to print out and use for every month.
This day uses a lot of brain power and energy. Don’t be surprised if you need more time, in the beginning, to really think about what stats are important to you and how to keep moving forward with your goals.
The more you practice and commit to executing on this monthly theme day, the easier it will be!
Conclusion
By incorporating a Hooky Day, Back Office Day, and Review & Planning Day into your monthly routine, you can break away from the busywork of your typical daily and weekly structure and approach your work in a more creative and productive way.
These activities will allow you to step back, reflect, and plan for success, ultimately helping you achieve your business goals while still taking care of yourself.
