Hello and happy Monday!
It’s almost the end of the month at the end of a very strange year.
It’s hard to know how things will look in 2021.
Hopefully calmer. :-)
Part of me wants to just wind down for the year, but I still need to keep working so I can take time to rest and be with my family over Christmas and new year.
I’ve printed out my planner for December with a focus on getting ready for January.
A little planning now makes a big difference to how things go at the start of the year.
One of the ways I do that is to batch some tasks ahead of time.
If you already use batching in your work, I’d love to hear what you do!
Please share in the comments below.
I promise to read and reply.
Practice reflections
Working smarter not harder
I think we naturally batch in many areas of our life without really thinking about it.
We might write all our Christmas cards in one go, for example.
In my practice, I’ve learned to apply batching in other ways to save my precious time.
I always want to find ways of working fewer hours.
This year I read a book called Work Clean by Dan Charnas, where I learned about the practices of professional cooks and how they approach their work.
They plan out their time methodically and work on one thing at a time.
The daily plan for a cook is called a Mise En Place, and is translated from the French, meaning ‘Putting in place’.
I aspire to have good Mise En Place, and one of the ways to approach this is through batching like tasks together.
Here are some ways I’ve found helpful to use batching in my work.
Planning prescriptions
I see clients two days a week. I try to do my case-work as I go along, making decisions about prescriptions and writing the remedy labels. I also write notes on a postcard for each of my clients as I go along.Parcel preparation
Once I’ve done my casework I write out all my address labels in one go and stick them on my posting bags. Then I put my case notes away. Once the posting bags have address labels and they are all in a pile, I add Neal’s Yard samples and mini-catalogues to each bag, depending on the person.Preparing remedies
I prepare remedies and double-check them against the postcards I’ve written before adding them to the posting bags and sticking down the flap.Going to the post
Once all the parcels are ready, I go to the post office.Newsletter links
I love writing newsletters! I subscribe to lots of other newsletters to help me find nice links to include in them BUT I only look at those newsletters once a week or I wouldn’t get anything else done! I set aside time to enjoy browsing them. I choose my links all in one go.Radiant Business Planners and Workbooks
I work with Eloise, my wonderful part-time assistant who helps me with designing the monthly planners and workbooks for Radiant Business School and Meaningful Marketing. We had a meeting last week to talk about what I want to share in 2021, and she will prepare everything all in one go along with a year’s worth of tiles for Instagram. I do enjoy social media (!) but find it very distracting and honestly wouldn’t have time for anything else if I created my own content.Book-keeping
I am not a fan of book-keeping but I make myself do it every few months. I just block out a few days and don’t allow myself to do anything else. Chocolate and cups of tea really help (!).Photography
Every few months I set aside time for a mini ‘photo-shoot’ for this newsletter, the blog and Instagram. I have a small box of props that I use. I wait for bright morning daylight, and then I spend a couple of hours taking photos. I take enough for 3 or 4 months in one go.Editing
I edit each batch of photos using an app. I don’t go heavy on the filters, but I find that a little light editing makes them look nicer. I take an hour or so to do this, and then transfer them to my computer and into a Dropbox folder so they are ready to use.
I hope this has given you some ideas for ways you could try out batching in your practice.
Maybe this will also give you some ideas for how to get ready for the new year which is only one month away!
Homeopathy calendar!
Newsletter reader Kirstin Bruges is a homeopath and a designer! She has created this beautiful homeopathy calendar with a different illustration for each month.
You can contact her directly to order your own calendar via email on kirstin.bruges@hotmail.com or through her website: www.kirstinbrugeshomeopathy.com
Brain food
Rethinking productivity
My best ideas come from those who work in other industries. This is a post by a weaver, Christabel Balfour.9 Key Elements of a Personal brand
A brilliant article on branding from my friend Lulu Kitololo, who co-founded Your Radiant Business with me.15 signs your boundaries need work
A very comprehensive list of things to read and reflect on.
Membership 2021
If you took part in Radiant Business School during 2020, you should have received a couple of emails from me with further details about the Meaningful Marketing course and membership.
I also have a webinar happening at 9.30 am this morning for you to find out more.
If you haven’t seen the emails and you don’t have a link for the webinar, or you want to watch the replay, please check your junk folders for emails from hello@yourradiantbusiness.com :-)
That’s all from me this week.
The last email for 2020 will arrive on Monday, December 14th, with news of a free mini-course for you to join in January plus all the homeopathy webinar topics/dates and news of when the 2021 Radiant Business School will happen.
Have a really good couple of weeks, and remember to let me know if you try any of the batching ideas, or share the things you successfully batch below.
As always, thank you for reading!
Stay warm,
Tracy