Juggling the demands

There are times that we all look at the list of things that need our attention and wonder how we are going to find the time to get everything done. Having a list of all the different things is always a good idea because then at least you can figure out what needs to get done and how urgent each of the items are.

Running a consulting business means that things on the list can change their urgency very quickly and you need to be flexible most of the time. It can be a challenge some days when you have your schedule figured out and something happens that impacts how you are going to be accomplishing things. The changes can be based on a client needing some assistance or it can be something like a power outage that can effect your schedule. The client is something that you can deal with quickly because those you know will happen at various times and that is part of being in business. The juggling the issue of the power outage can have a bigger impact at different points. The power outage means that the stuff that you were planning on working on won’t be done especially if you are needing to either connect to a client site or use the internet.

During the power outage you have a couple of decisions that you are going to have to make and they are look at your list and see what else you can be doing while waiting for the power to come back on or you can leave your office area and find a location where there is power so that you can continue to work. In a lost of cases if you are using a laptop you can continue to work if you have the battery charged. For us, we try and ensure that our computer has a charged battery so that we can work during a power outage. In a lot of ways if you can continue to work in your office and deal with the power outage it is probably a better idea. Sure, you aren’t going to be doing the work that you had planned on doing but other things can still get done. Even if you don’t have things that you can do on the computer there will be other things that you can probably do such as that filing that you haven’t done for a while.

Juggling the demands of work can be a challenge but being flexible and able to handle the different issues is very important. Sure the list of things that need to be done may not get done as quickly as you had hoped but knowing that you can change what you were working on is very important. Next time you are dealing with some sort of outage be it a power outage or internet outage look at that list and see what else can be done and you might be surprised at what you can get done.

Schedules - are they flexible or not?

How many times have you received a phone call and someone has said are you free at a specific time? We all get these calls and especially when you are working that is something that you can get quite often.

What people have to understand is that not everyone has the same schedule. I know that there are times when we will work Monday through Friday and try and keep some normal hours and then there are the times that we may have Wednesday to ourselves but work one or both of the weekend days. For us, our schedule is based on the needs of the clients and when some of the various tasks can be done. There are times when a task can only be done in the evening or on a weekend so we will work around that.

Now schedules do fall into a lot of different categories and you need to understand some of them.

• Hard schedule – These are things that must be done at a given time on a specific day.
• Flexible schedule – When something needs to get done but not at a given time or on a specific day but needs to be accomplished.

• Semi-flexible schedule – This is when things need to get done on a specific day but not at a specific time

Schedules can mean some different to different people and that is what you need to understand. There are times when a specific day will work for a meeting and then another time that same day won’t work. Schedules are sometimes that you need to understand and be willing to be flexible especially when you are trying to plan something involving others. When it comes to schedules you have to remember that you don’t know the other demands on someone else or their schedule. Also don’t demand that others fit into your schedule but try and work together to see how things can work out.

Schedules are always something that can change depending on the other demands on your life. Understanding that others have demands on their time will help in being flexible when someone else may have to reschedule a specific meeting or if they need to be a little more demanding of your time at a specific time.

For me, I have a more semi-flexible to flexible schedule and that is because there are demands that can come up and they need to be done immediately. When there are client issues that mean a business is greatly impacted that will mean that my schedule will change to assist them. There are times when I look at my calendar and laugh because there are a lot of things scheduled for a specific time during a specific day but I know that what I am telling myself is that a specific task needs to be done during that day. Making sure that you identify on your schedule the items that can be moved during a specific day or moved to another day if needed is important.

Schedules will change from time to time and that is something that needs to be realized by others. A schedule in a lot of ways is just an outline of what needs to be done and when. I have learned that being flexible and understanding other individuals and their schedules has made it a lot easier to accept changes to my own schedule.

Schedules

A schedule can mean so many different things to working individuals. A schedule can mean that at a certain time you always do something. For other people a schedule can mean that at some point during a day you will attempt to get something done.

For people that are self employed a schedule can actually just be a guideline of things that should be done. Knowing that things should be done on a given day is great in a lot of ways as it can ensure that it is at least done when it is needed to be done.

The calendar that I have been using is very helpful as a reminder of when things should be done. Of course, there will always been things that are required to be done at a certain time like client meetings or visits but those are only some of the things that we have been adding to our calendar. The calendar that we have been using makes it easy to see when things are due and when meetings and such are. The calendar is also great as a means of tracking all of those other little things that need to be completed.

For us, a calendar is a great way to remind ourselves of the little things that also need to be done without having to do it at a specific time. The calendar that we have been using is the Google calendar and it means that we can set appointments for ourselves for all the various tasks and meetings that we have. The other nice thing about the calendar is if you set a reminder notification to appear it will appear and until you acknowledge the notification it doesn’t go away. I like this notification because what I do is if something need to be done on a specific day I will not acknowledge the notification until I have completed the item. This means that if I get busy and don’t get to the item until late afternoon or evening it will still be showing as an appointment.

Schedules really do vary based on the person and their job. There are always going to be the items that must be done at a specific time as they involve others. Being able to set up the appointments are reminders of the other tasks is also good because it means then the tasks are not forgotten when you get busy.

Recently we were at an event and we were talking to someone else but a possible demo and I was able to pull out our calendar and see when we would have the time to see the demo. Sure some of the items on the calendar where just the five or 10 minute tasks but at least it helped us focus on the days when we currently didn’t have a bunch of those reminders already scheduled.

Schedules will vary for each person and if it is for work or personal. Knowing what words best for you is important. The method that we use I know works well for us because it is a blend of both personal and business as being self-employed that is our life. Making sure that we have time for ourselves is also important and that is some of the times that are actual scheduled on the calendar that we use. Our schedule works well for us and that is great and it might not work for someone else. Your schedule or calendar has to work for you and don’t like others tell you that your method is wrong.

Schedules

It is always interesting when people figure that you will always be available to help them when they need your help.

Everyone has a schedule that is their own and what is important is that people realize that there are things that will mean you are not available to assist them immediately. There are times I have had calls from people that figure that I should be able to help them with an issue right away. Of course, I always try and take the call if I can and let them know that I am in the middle of something if that is the cause and will look into the their issue as soon as I can. When I receive email requests I always try to acknowledge them and let people know if there is going to be a delay in getting an answer from me. Issues that are emergencies will get dealt with quickly even if something that is also important has to be delayed for a little bit.

Schedules do change and when you are juggling a number of projects your schedule can really get messed up quickly. Projects that have been sitting quietly can all of a sudden become something that has to be done immediately or a project that has been going full speed can be put on hold.

Having a schedule of what you are going to be working on is important but you have to realize that a simple email or phone call can change your plans. Schedules do help keep me on track when there are multiple projects that are needing my attention. There have been times when I have put a schedule together for working on things one day only to discover that something that wasn't needed has to be completed immediately.

Schedules are very important but everyone has to realize that a schedule has to be flexible otherwise you will go crazy trying to get everything done. There were times when if I had something on a schedule for a given day that I felt it had to be completed that day no matter what I have now come to the conclusion that there will be days when the schedule of things will not get done and i will just have to accept that and deal with it.

When you are working with someone else remember that they also have a schedule. The ability to understand someone's schedule and their demands will help you in understanding your own schedule and how flexible you may have to be.