Winter has a habit of creeping up on us.
If you’ve managed to avoid the seasonal aisle in the shops, you’re doing far better than I am!
One minute, you’re thinking, “There’s loads of time before Christmas.” The next, your diary is full of school plays, Christmas parties, client deadlines, family commitments and approximately 47 things you forgot you agreed to do.
Add running a business into the mix, and it can feel like you’re juggling everything while wearing a Christmas jumper that just itches.
Seriously, how does Santa do it?
But winter doesn’t have to mean admin chaos.
A little preparation now can make the next few months feel considerably easier, giving future you one less thing to worry about. Seriously you will be thanking yourself come January.
So, grab a coffee (or something stronger if the Christmas planning has already started) and let’s get organised.
1. Start with your calendar
Before you tackle anything else, take a good look at your diary.
And I mean your whole diary, not just your business commitments.
Add in school holidays, INSET days, Christmas events, appointments, family commitments, networking, time off and anything else already taking up space in your life.
Then fit your business commitments around them.
This is particularly important if you’re a parent and a business owner. School dates aren’t separate from your business life. They’re part of it, its taken me a while but those pesky teacher training days, I don’t aim to get a lot done work wise just focus on home.
Once everything is in one place, you can see where you have capacity, where you need to plan ahead and, perhaps more importantly, where you simply don’t have room for anything else.
This might be the point where you need another coffee (no judgement here). Seeing everything written down can feel a little overwhelming but knowing what you’re working with is far better than trying to remember it all.
2. Get those year-end deadlines sorted
Now your calendar is taking shape, let’s work out what actually needs to be done before the end of the year.
Think about:
- Client projects and outstanding work
- Invoices, payments and bookkeeping
- Contracts and membership renewals
- Reports, paperwork and website updates
- Social media content and marketing campaigns
- Christmas opening hours and supplier orders
- Anything you’ve been quietly putting off
Make a list. Ask your other half if there’s anything you’ve forgotten. Get it all out of your head and on paper.
Then prioritise.
Not everything needs doing immediately, and not everything needs doing at all.
If something can wait until January, move it to your 2027 list and let yourself off the hook. You don’t need to squeeze every unfinished task into the final weeks of the year.
If something genuinely needs completing before December is out, decide whether you have the time to do it yourself or whether you need a helping hand.
Yes, this is where I step in as your admin elf, Christmas jumper and all!
Just remember that a little notice goes a long way. Delegating works best when there’s enough time to get the job done properly.
And those tasks that aren’t important, aren’t worth the effort or simply aren’t going to happen? Cross them off. You can always reconsider in 2027.
3. Give your inbox a little attention
Your inbox probably doesn’t need to become a perfectly organised masterpiece. It’s a working system, and as soon as you clear it, more emails will appear.
Seriously, it’s like the laundry.
We’re not aiming for an empty inbox with colour-coded folders worthy of a stationery catalogue. We’re aiming for manageable.
Start by:
- Dealing with anything urgent
- Responding to outstanding messages
- Archiving emails you no longer need
- Filing important information
- Unsubscribing from newsletters you never read
- Flagging anything that needs action later
- Creating templates for emails you send regularly
Imagine returning to work after Christmas without being greeted by 386 unread emails and a mild sense of dread.
That’s a gift you can give yourself now.
And you’ll feel rather smug when you sit back down at your desk in January.
4. Plan what happens while you’re off
One of the biggest mistakes business owners make is planning their holiday without planning what happens to the business while they’re away.
Ask yourself two simple questions:
What needs to keep happening while I’m not working?
And what can stop?
Your business doesn’t necessarily need to run at 100% while you’re drinking hot chocolate and watching Christmas films. But your clients do need to know what to expect.
A little communication helps maintain those all-important boundaries.
Think about your out-of-office message, client communication, scheduled social media, incoming enquiries, payments, customer support and any deadlines that fall during your break.
Make sure people know who to contact if you’re unavailable, where appropriate, and be clear about when you’ll be back.
You don’t need to spend your Christmas break constantly checking your phone from the sofa. That rather defeats the point of taking time off!
I have a separate work phone, and it stays in my office. Nobody is ruining my Christmas movie time.
Your business can have a break too, so here’s your chance to plan for it.
5. Get ahead with your social media
If social media is one of those jobs that regularly gets pushed to the bottom of your to-do list, winter is a great time to get ahead.
But don’t panic. You don’t need to create three months of content in one sitting. That’s one way to make you run for the hills.
Start small.
Set a timer for 10–15 minutes and jot down some ideas, themes or topics you’d like to cover. Think about useful tips, frequently asked questions, seasonal content and reminders your audience might need.
Then work through those ideas in manageable chunks, creating evergreen content you can schedule in advance.
Even getting a week or two ahead can make a difference. Just remember to answer comments once you schedule. As a client would say don’t post and ghost!
6. Sort out your digital filing
When was the last time you properly looked at your digital filing system?
If the answer is “I’d rather not say”, this might be your sign.
Spend a little time making your files and folders easier to navigate.
Delete duplicates, rename documents, archive old projects and make sure important files are stored somewhere you can actually find them.
It’s also worth checking that your backups are working and that you can access what you need when you need it.
You don’t have to reorganise every file you’ve ever created. Start with the folders you use most often and build from there. I recommend putting a film on and doing this, as long as I have seen the film before I can get this sorted before the credits start.
7. Give your finances a quick check-in
Before you close the laptop for Christmas, take a look at the financial side of your business.
Have you sent all your invoices? Are there outstanding payments? Do you know what needs paying? Are there subscriptions you no longer use or expenses you still need to record?
You don’t need to become a financial wizard overnight, but knowing where things stand can make a real difference to how you feel going into the new year. You don’t want to head into Christmas like Scrooge counting money!
A little time spent getting things up to date now could save you a headache later.
8. Ask yourself: what can I stop doing?
Preparing your business for winter isn’t about adding even more jobs to an already-too-long to-do list.
It’s also about working out what you don’t need to do yourself.
Could someone else organise your inbox, schedule your social media, tidy your files, research something, create templates, manage your calendar or prepare documents?
Sometimes, the best way to get your business ready for winter isn’t to work harder.
It’s to take a few things off your plate.
And that’s where a Virtual Assistant can help.
You don’t need to wait until you’re drowning in admin to ask for support. Getting a little help before things become overwhelming can give you more breathing room when you need it most.
Reach out now. Thank yourself later.
You don’t need to do it all.
You just need to do the bits only you can do.
The rest?
Hand it over.
Get in contact if you would like to know more; let’s make the run-up to Christmas a little less chaotic.
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