Organize: The All Important Friday Brain Dump

I’m all for a good challenge and this week the ladies behind The Southern C Summit decided to do a 30 day instagram challenge. From a day 1 “selfie” (taking me out of the comfort zone on that one) to day 29 “can’t live without,” there are all sorts of gems in between. Day 5 “organize” falls on today – Friday – and couldn’t be more appropriate. In my world of small business ownership, multiple clients, looming media deadlines and small children with schedules more complicated than my own, Friday is all about planning for the upcoming week.

All hail the Friday Brain Dump!

It’s not the prettiest of terms, but it’s exactly what it is. I read an article on efficiency probably on Inc.com (can’t live without it), and it had the most amazing graph on how to assign your time and prioritize. I tweaked the graph into a printable page and viola! It’s an action plan for the upcoming week.

Getting a good nights sleep and actually enjoying some downtime sometimes takes a lot of effort if you’re a small business owner. One step is clearing your head before the weekend, getting it on paper, and staying ahead of what’s next. This simple one-sheeter is the key to getting you to a better place before you leave the office.

How to use it:

1) Go ahead and move anything from your current list that didn’t get done…yep, that happens. After all, we are human.

2) Start with broad concepts/goals for the upcoming week

3) Fill in more specifics

4) Take it home – you may want to add to it over the weekend

5) On Monday, let it guide you through the beginning of your week

Time will tell – you’ll start to realize that you never delegate or that sometimes you assign added urgency to projects that just don’t need it.

I think you’ll like it! I’ve already had a few clients show up to meetings with it in hand. To the talented minds behind The Southern C – thanks for the blog inspiration!

– Libba from the leapblog

Leapfrog is a boutique public relations and marketing firm specializing in “lifestyle” related businesses – from specialty food products, dining and fashion to textiles and design. Based in Charleston, SC, leapfrog’s small and savvy team offers a unique mix of national brand experience and extensive media network with accessible and high-touch customer service. A graduate of the University of the South – Sewanee and The French Culinary Institute, Libba has been promoting culinary businesses for over a decade with boutique firms in Atlanta, New York and Charleston. An Atlanta native, she now resides in Charleston with her husband and two young sons.