M for Managing your Time

M for Managing your time

Never enough time to do everything?  

I have recently been thinking about having a better system in place to stop worrying about client work as I get more and more busy.

Nipping into client books each day was manageable when I had fewer clients but as I grow it is not a good use of my time or brain power!  Especially when having to use Xero and Quick Books which work slightly differenly.

I went back to what I was used to in all the years I was employed - the good old Outlook Calendar.

I scheduled in weekly and monthly timeslots for every client and as I love colour - used all that I could! Very pretty to look at first thing in the morning.  

This has enabled me to plan my work around my schedule and the most relevant time to get hold of my clients if I have any questions. 

This has been working very well and shows me where I can fit in new client appointments or networking. I can even see gaps which allow time for myself to take stock and refresh for the next task.

Of course - I can be flexible too! I received an unexpected letter from HMRC regarding a return that needed more work before they would accept the submission. I was able to move client work to another day and concentrate on getting this sorted instead. It was hard work but so satifying that it was all sorted and submitted by the end of the day.

How do you cope with your scheduling when the unexpected happens?

How do you cover for this?