Ah, the alarm. Another day, another dollar. Lots to look forward to.
If, like me, you wake up with the anticipation of a productive day ahead, then you’ll start your day sipping a cuppa while your mind whirrs over what you’ve got on and what you’ll achieve today. There’s a plan, I know what I’m going to do today. Go get ‘em, tiger.
We all have clients to juggle…
Agency or not, we all have ‘clients’ in our lives.
Your client could be your family, your work colleagues, a pet, a hobby you’re totally committed to – anyone or anything with a demand on your time. And we all know what a precious commodity time is.
How do we juggle our ‘clients’?
Every aspect of life can influence your day and your relationships with your clients.
So, when I start my day with good intentions to achieve something that day and my kids have lost a shoe, the puppy’s done a whoopsie (she is only 9 weeks old, I can forgive that one) and I get a message from a client saying they need to speak to me urgently – all before 9am – what do I do? Juggle, of course.
What I’ve learnt from being a working parent, who has crazily agreed to take on a puppy alongside two fantastic brand clients I enjoy working with, is that it’s all about balancing the things we can directly influence: priorities, time and managing expectations.
Build some flexibility into your day
Building some flexibility into your day allows for the odd interruption or unexpected crisis. Allocate some time to do the things you need or want to do, but know which items on your to-do list are a priority and which items will be fine until tomorrow.
Balance the prioritisation of those ‘clients’ is key, but so is managing expectations.
The best and most effective way to do that is to communicate – and be honest.
Drop a holding email, pick up the call you could do without, explain to your five-year old why he has to wait a minute as there’s someone on the line – all of these things help your ‘clients’ to understand what is affecting your ability to deal with them right now.
Take time to talk and listen to people
Often things can be dealt with more easily if timings and expectations are clearly understood on both side of the relationship. Create that balance early on and then you’ll have an idea of what kinds of things can be top priority and what kinds of things can wait on the to-do list for a little longer.
Remember that juggling the clients in your life is within your power.
Prepare what you can, but be flexible. Prioritise, but communicate those priorities. If you stick to these, you won’t go far wrong. That is, unless it’s a 9-week old puppy that doesn’t understand a word you’re saying, but you’d do anything for because, well, you know what they say about puppy eyes, right?