A small way to bring that focus back is by implementing what I call CEO time.
What is CEO Time?
CEO time is dedicated time each week that you focus on your business. No client work.
Depending on your workload right now, you might only be able to find an hour or two each week. And that’s fine. Every hour you can find will help.
So what are some things you can do during this time? Well, here are some suggestions:
- Clean out your email inbox and unsubscribe from unwanted newsletters
- Update your finances
- Document a process in your business you would like to delegate in the future
- Make sure your project management system is current
These suggestions are obviously directly related to your business. There is, however, something else I also want to suggest for that weekly CEO time.
Depending on what’s going on during any given week, your CEO time might just be an hour that you rest and do nothing. This is equally if not more important than the systems updates. Running on fumes is not good for your business. Give yourself permission to rest without guilt!
Oh, and please put your CEO time on your calendar as a non-negotiable meeting with yourself. Don’t think that you’ll just take your CEO time ‘when it fits’. It will never just happen.
Grow your CEO Time into a full CEO Day
Ideally, what I’d like you to try is to make it a whole CEO Day and not just an hour or two each week. Our brain is constantly switching between tasks and if you’re having a lot of clients, most of your week will be spent mentally jumping from one client to the next.
By dedicating one day per week as your CEO Day, you’ll ensure that on this day you’ll get to focus on just one ‘client’, your own business. You’ll be much more productive than trying to fit in an hour or so every few days.
Take a look at your current schedule. What day of your work week might be a good day for your CEO day? The most common ones I’ve seen (and tried myself) are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It’s powerful to either start or end your work week with a CEO day. If you’re currently getting overwhelmed and exhausted during the week and the weekend seems to be way too far away, consider taking a day in the middle of the week as your CEO Day. It will allow you to slow down and take a breath (or a nap) so you’re refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the week.
For me as a Highly Sensitive Person, I cannot sustainable work 5 days a week packed with client meetings. So I plan for my needed ‘recovery time’ by adding a CEO day.
Stepping it up with a seasonal CEO Week
When I implemented seasonal CEO weeks in my business, it was a game changer. Back in Fall of 2021, I decided that I’m always going to take a full week off of client work in the week of the solstices and equinoxes. Since I’m planning my business year seasonally, that only seemed fitting. That way, I get to concentrate on my own business for a full week, reflect and then plan for the upcoming season.
Picking that specific week every season makes it also really easy to block off these weeks in my calendar for the full year in advance, so that no client accidentally schedules a meeting with me during that time. It’s also something I can clearly communicate to my clients when we work together on an ongoing basis.
Now maybe you’re not into seasonal planning, or you don’t want to plan a full year out in advance. You can still plan your CEO weeks. I highly recommend having one every 3-6 months and then plan out when the next one happens as one of your tasks for the CEO week. Don’t wait and think you’ll just pick a week and do it. Chances are, you’ll not be doing it. Just like with CEO time, make sure it’s scheduled.
Which type would you like to try and implement? An hour every week? A whole day per week? Or maybe even the whole CEO week every 3 months? Whichever one you pick, it will help your business to get some much needed love.
