Getting Back In The Routine After Summer Vacation

4 Steps To Ready You and Your Business for Fall

Summer has been fun, but it’s almost over now and it’s time to start getting back into the routine. Before you jump into fall, this is always a great moment in the year to stop and reflect a bit on how the year is going, to figure out what you have learned and to set a course for the coming months.

Let’s break down some areas for you to consider:

1. If you’re trying to make changes in your business, this is a great time to look at what worked, what didn’t work, and figure out how you can do things better in the future. For example, you might realize that something in the business, didn’t happen all summer (like a report didn’t get generated, or maybe you only ordered supplies every ten days rather than every five days, etc.) because you were short of staff. Question whether it really had an impact on the business or in running the business and ask yourself whether it is really value added anyway. Any time a company gets under the gun, the least important things fall to the bottom and sometimes, it would be better if they just stayed on the floor.
2. If there was something that was especially hard for you this summer, changing it now will be much easier than waiting until September or October when everything is back. Don’t wait until the last minute to change things and don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. For example, maybe you found working in an old system cumbersome and you know there is a great solution out there to fix this. Don’t wait. Now is the time to get on the phone and make plans to get going on it. Waiting until everyone is back will likely push the implementation to the next holiday period and it just repeats the cycle. Summer is the time to lay the ground work for fall.
3. Re-prioritize your efforts and establish you goals for the fall. This one really falls on two fronts. Get clear about what is important to you? Your Family?, Your job?, Your health? Figure out what you would like to accomplish in those areas over the next couple of months. Let go of the need for perfection and identify the things that really make sense to you. Answer the question, “why is this important to me” to rev up your motivation and then start mapping out your plan to achieve them. Routine is the essence of goal setting, so figure out and implement new routines in support of those goals and do it now!
4. Enjoy the end of the season. It is way too easy to forget there are a couple of weeks left before the end of summer, so whatever you do, don’t miss out. While you are planning out your fall, don’t forget to have a little fun, now. In this blog, we discussed the things you can do with your team throughout the summer to have some fun and to build a more cohesive team. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to make the summer meaningful.

Who doesn’t love a great summer, but these last couple of weeks need to be focused on two things; getting the best out of the last days and positioning yourself to glide right in the fall, ready to make your mark. Taking a bit of time to get your head back into the game, will make a huge difference in the weeks ahead.