Summertime is often met with a slower-paced schedule. While this may or may not be true depending on your client base, you will likely find an hour or two here and there surrounding holiday weekends and client vacations where you’re not on a tight deadline.
At lotus823, we like to take advantage of this extra time to prepare for the busy Q4 season, because let’s face it – it will be here before we know it! From our agency to yours, here are some ideas on how to make use of your summer schedule.
1. Learn something new.
Working at an integrated marketing communications agency, we have PR, SEO, Social Media and Graphic Design specialists eager to share their expertise with the team. We’ll hold training meetings that teach the PR pros the in’s and out’s of Google Analytics, and teach the Social Media gurus how to send a pitch letter to the press. Becoming a well-rounded marketer will only benefit your clients in the long run. Don’t have anyone to teach you? Seek out learning opportunities within your industry trade publications or try out an online education center like Lynda if you don’t have time to leave the office and want to make the most of your lunch break.
2. Brainstorm new ideas.
Beautiful summertime weather puts everyone in a good mood, especially here at the Jersey Shore. Inspiration can come from anywhere, so try holding your next team brainstorm meeting at an unconventional location. You can take your team out to lunch, go for a nice long walk in the sunshine, or even head over to the beach! Try to think of new strategies and tactics that will carry you through the remainder of the year, that way once the holiday season arrives you are ready to hit the ground running.
3. Get to know your colleagues.
We love teambuilding activities here at lotus823. Whether we’re doing something for the community, working on improving our physical health, or just straight-up eating (we LOVE food), finding commonalities outside of work help strengthen the bond we have with one another and enable us to work more efficiently. Put some time on the calendar this summer to have fun! You also might want to take the time now to schedule de-stressing activities in November and December during the holiday (and CES) craziness.
4. Cleanup.
Go through old files and e-mails to archive anything you no longer need to free up space. If you don’t have a program that automatically backs up your files, go ahead and do that manually too. After your digital cleanup, go through your paper files and toss anything that you might have collected over the last 12 months – I’m always surprised to find Post-it notes that I thought I threw away. This will all leave you refreshed and ready to tackle the busy season head-on!
How does your agency prepare for Q4 during the summer? Tell us in the comments below!