Summertime is here, and with it comes shifts in how businesses operate. It’s remarkable how much productivity can go down when the temperature goes up.
Business owners may find it difficult to keep their staff members motivated and interested, while they daydream of cocktails by the beach. Here are a few ways to deal with the summertime slowdown.
Get re-energized.
Since you’ll probably have to listen to everyone else gush about summer vacation plans, you might as well plan your own. Even the boss needs some time away from the office hustle and bustle, and it can give your life an overall boost. As financial-planning guru Dave Ramsey writes on his website, “The best way to get re-energized is actually to use no energy at all. Taking a vacation revitalizes your brain, allowing creativity and passion to flow. Here’s even a better reason: Taking time off can save your life. Research shows that men who miss annual breaks are 32 percent more likely to die of heart attacks, while women who take a vacation less than once every six years are eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease.”
Have fun with marketing.
Get with your most creative team members and brainstorm some sunny themes for marketing and advertising efforts. Nellie Akalp writes about this for smallbiztrends.com.
“Think of creative ways to incorporate summer themes into your marketing, such as blog posts, Facebook updates, newsletters, events, and more,” writes Akalp. “Give your readers good summer content like grilling recipes, your summer reading list, or summer pet care tips. If applicable, you could even treat your top clients to a summer activity like golf, a baseball game, summer wine tasting, lunchtime barbecue, etc.”
Avoid lazy temptations.
The warm weather and the desire to be out and about can be hard to ignore. But business leaders need to stay focused. Ramsey likens the temptation to chilling out in front of the television when you really should be accomplishing something.
“Have you ever been at home with a long list of errands when you hear the siren song of your TV,” writes Ramsey. “Your remote is calling, and before you know it, you’re sucked in. You have to see that last episode of Pawn Stars. The same holds true at work. You walk through the door and are faced with hundreds of distractions. Soon, the day is gone, and you feel like you’ve accomplished nothing.”
Ramsey’s solution? Make a priority list every morning, and stick to it as much as possible. Avoid getting lost in your email, and turn your phone off when you need to be free of distractions.
Dust off the business goals.
Remember the list of achievements you made after the New Year’s holiday ended? Maybe it was too lofty, maybe it wasn’t ambitious enough. Whatever the case, pull out that list again.
“The summer is the perfect midway point to re-evaluate your business’ goals for the year,” writes Akalp. “If you made goals at the beginning of the year, pull them out and see how well you’re sticking to them. Are there any less important tasks that are distracting you from your top-line goals? Do you need to realign your day-to-day tasks with your top business goals?”