It’s the one thing they don’t tell you about running your own wedding business – sometimes you are going to be bored. Yup, it’s not all fun, creativity and excitement.
As the business owner you also have to deal with the dull stuff. The finances, contracts, contacting people who don’t return your calls and my own personal non-favourite from when I had premises – cleaning the toilets.
We’re all different so what may be a chore for you could be someone else’s favourite task. Social media for example – for every person who absolutely loves posting and sharing across Facebook and Instagram there’s someone else who sits in front of a screen in a panic and can’t think of anything to say.
So how do you manage the inevitable boring but important tasks in your business?
Basically you have 3 options – ditch it, pay someone else to do it or grit your teeth and get on with it.
Option 4 – ignoring it – is just asking for trouble. It won’t go away and the longer you leave it the bigger the task gets. And, like a dirty bathroom, lingering, unpleasant tasks fester. They occupy your thoughts day and night and stop you enjoying the fun stuff.
So if your to-do list is full of things you’d really rather not do, here’s how to tackle each task:
Ditch It
Ask yourself “Does this really need to be done?”
Sadly for many tasks the answer is yes.
But for some there may be an alternative that you find more enjoyable. If you hate wedding fairs but love social media, think about how you can successfully market your business that way (or vice-versa).
Delegate It
Whether it’s something you are not good at or simply dislike, delegating the task to someone else is often the best approach.
If you hate figures, hiring a bookkeeper to keep your accounts in order will free you up to concentrate on the things you do best (and they’ll do a much better job of it).
If you have a team of staff, then look at ways of sharing out the dull tasks. You don’t want to simply dump all the things you dislike onto your team – especially if they don’t have the skills to do it – but equally, you shouldn’t take them all on yourself.
Get on with it
Whether it’s down to budget or it’s something that really only you should do, there will be some tasks you simply have to tackle yourself.
And like swallowing nasty medicine, it’s best done quickly so you can get it over with and enjoy the rest of your working day.
Try these to make it a little easier:
- Set aside chunks of time in your diary for the tasks you’d rather avoid. This could be small daily slots (I have an admin half hour every day) or less frequent – like a weekly blitz. Choose whatever works best for you.
- Break big tasks down into smaller stages, so you can see you are making progress.
- Allow yourself a treat when it’s done
Need more help? I really recommend reading Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy.
It’s packed with great advice for procrastinators!