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What’s the simplest and most effective way to stay focused and productive? Time blocks on your calendar. We’re pretty sure you’ve heard this advice before, but have you ever committed to doing it? Sometimes, you need a little reminder to start new routines and habits that make your life easier – this is your reminder about time blocking!
What Are Time Blocks?
Let’s start from the beginning. Time blocking is a time management strategy that breaks your day into chunks to get specific tasks done. So, instead of jumping back and forth between checking emails, working on client projects, meetings, and writing content for your business, you have dedicated time for each one throughout the day.
Why Time Blocks are Non-Negotiable
If it’s not scheduled, it’s not happening. As working moms, we’ve had to learn this! Meetings and time blocks aren’t just for ‘corporate’ businesses—they’re essential for entrepreneurs, too. We use meetings to stay aligned as business partners, plan ahead, and give ourselves space to think creatively and reflect.
The same idea applies to business work, especially for ourselves. If it isn’t in the calendar, it’s easy to put off for weeks or even months!
4 Key Meetings to Schedule for Q1
After leaving our agency jobs, we despised meetings but quickly realized this mindset was hurting our business. So, we’ve started scheduling regular and annual planning meetings, and they’ve been much better than corporate meetings! We have scheduled these meetings for Q1, and you should, too.
Goal Setting (it’s not too late)
If you haven’t already set goals, now is the time. It’s never too late to set new goals! Even if you have your goals for the year, this is a chance to refine and align them with the year ahead.
In your agenda (always have an agenda, even if you’re a solopreneur!), review your wins. Reflect on what worked well in the previous year to set the tone for this year. We like to break annual goals into bite-sized, achievable chunks in the form of quarterly milestones. This makes goals feel more attainable and realistic! For example, instead of “grow revenue by X amount for the year,” aim for “sign three new clients this quarter.” Or hit a monthly revenue goal that tracks toward that end-of-year goal.
Have this meeting every quarter to review last quarter’s goals and align on Q2.
Financial Planning
Are you avoiding spreadsheets at all costs? 😅 A financial planning meeting helps you focus on what’s important. Instead of getting lost in the numbers, focus on a few things that will give you an idea of where you’re at financially to make good financial decisions this year.
This is the data we review at the beginning of the year:
- Pricing for Offerings
- Monthly Financial Snapshot (forecasts revenue vs. expenses each month)
- Profit and Loss
- Overhead Expense Breakdown (bucketing out how much we spend into categories and building budgets for each)
- Forecast: discuss big investments, expenses, or income this quarter
Content Batching Meetings
Content creation can feel like a never-ending task, but batching helps you stay ahead and prevent burnout. We’re trying to be better this year! During a social batching meeting, we go over our strategy and ideas and schedule recording days for Reels. We try to have a Reels day once a month.
We schedule a podcast recording day every six weeks or so. We’re trying to batch record more often instead of as needed so we don’t feel behind all the time!
Team Meetings
Now that we’re building out our team, we’ve started scheduling check-in meetings with our team. We have full team meetings bi-weekly where we can all get together and get on the same page about projects across Duo.
Then we have a weekly meeting that goes over admin tasks, project management, and marketing activities. We have breakout team meetings for the SEO and branding sides of our business.
The two of us try to get together once a week at a coffee shop to co-work together and hang out.
To All Solopreneurs:
We totally understand how these meetings and time blocks can feel unnecessary. You are the go-to gal and know everything that’s going on in your business, right? We still think it’s important to check in with yourself and strategize how you want your business to look going forward.
Use this time for self-reflection. Write down what’s going well, what’s feeling off, and what needs adjustment. Spend this time somewhere outside of your home so you get out of your routine. Keep an agenda or notes to look back on during your next meeting with yourself.
Every business and team is different, but don’t avoid the meetings. Trust us—we learned the hard way that skipping meetings will stunt your growth!
Oh, and don’t forget to grab our free business planning meeting agenda template to help you get started!
If you liked today’s episode on The Duo On Air Marketing Podcast, don’t forget to leave us a review & subscribe!
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Abbey Oslin and Courtney Petersen are Minnesota-based marketing experts, educators, and co-founders of boutique marketing agency Duo Collective, which specializes in SEO, social media strategy, and branding for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. To learn more about Duo Collective, or to inquire about working with our team, head over to www.duocollective.com.
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