A big part of the business management category of business operations is your routine tasks.
Routine tasks can be anything you repeatedly do in your business but are usually categorized as daily, weekly, quarterly, and yearly.
Establishing routine tasks for your business operations keeps yourself and your systems organized. It provides structure to your work days and operations, which helps you better manage your time and priorities. And it prevents “piles” of clean-up work (looking at you inbox and digital files).
The frequency of your routine tasks really depends on you and your business structure. Doing things more frequently typically means shorter work periods to complete the task.
However, some people work best in batches and don’t like the feeling of SO many different tasks daily or weekly.
It is honestly up to you how you structure your routine business tasks.
Many bookkeepers recommend doing your books weekly, but I see no point in that I prefer to do it monthly (and sometimes slip into quarterly).
It’s about finding what works for you in terms of frequency. And sometimes, that frequency needs to change as your business operations or time commitments change.
I personally prefer working in larger batches for most tasks instead of working on daily tasks for a like 5 or 10 minutes. But tasks that find I find particularly daunting are sometimes better in small doses, where I commit to working on it for 10-20 minutes at a time, like 3 days a week.
I found focusing on inbox zero each day was too daunting and not a good use of time, but having the intent of inbox zero on Friday was much more mentally manageable.
The point is to find the frequency that works for you, so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
To get you thinking, examples of routine tasks in your business might include:
- Bookkeeping
- Inbox management
- Systems management (i.e. resetting or maintaining your project management tool)
- Replying to social media comments/DMs
- Content creation/management
- Clean-up of digital assets
Here is a snapshot of my Friday routine list:
This is the only “daily” checklist I have; otherwise, my routines are “weekly” and done throughout the week as I fit them in. Other than having a way to close out my week, I like to keep my schedule flexible day-to-day to accommodate my energy and client levels.
Remember, your routine tasks are there to support you, make you feel more grounded and organized, not to stress you out, and add more to your to-do list.
Another good use of routine tasks is to clean-up and start fresh, especially at the end of the year! Grab my End-of-Year Checklist to start your year (or anytime) in your business operations with a clean slate.
