By Breanna Banford, Social Marketing Specialist, Enterprise Business Group
I’ll be one of the lone rangers working the next couple weeks as the rest of you take vacation and spend time with family for the holidays. While many take this time to relax, I consider it the best time to get organized for the upcoming year. My calendar is free of meetings so I’ll be at my desk with my head down preparing to enter 2012 with a running start.
Here are some of the ways I plan to gear up for 2012:
- Make a list, check it twice – I have a page (or pages…) full of to-dos for 2012 that need organizing. I plan to set up excel sheets to help me stay organized. I’ll categorize activities and fit tasks into my schedule according to my 2012 timeline. It can also help to color-code tasks that need immediate attention.
- Clean house – Everyone always has a few things that are major time-wasters at work. Determine what they are, find a way to drop them or do the task more efficiently. For me, the end-of-month metrics reports take up a lot of time because there’s a lot of manual effort involved. I’ll be looking to streamline that process… I’ll let you know how it turns out.
- Set New Year’s resolutions – I plan to spend quality time reflecting on 2011 to understand what were the pros and cons of our marketing activities so we can do better in 2012. This will help me prioritize our social media marketing strategy for next year, chose the best metrics to track and organize our tactics accordingly.
- Treat yourself – Getting organized should be gratifying, not tedious. Reward yourself as you complete tasks with a sweet treat like the Christmas cookies you made last night or a cup of hot cocoa (extra marshmallows, please!).
No matter what your plans are for the next couple of weeks, spend a few hours getting organized so you enter the new year prepared for what’s to come at the office. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy the holidays with family and friends with no worries in the back of your mind.
What are you doing to prepare your marketing and other business activities for 2012?
