Hello ,

Friday is a popular day to have off when flexible working, so you can have a long weekend.

Not so great when everyone decides to have Friday off too but when you're working, Friday is also a good day to reflect, plan and ensure a productive end to the week.

I've always kept Friday’s free from client work. Yes, so I can finish early for the weekend if I need to but also for working on the business, for catching up, personal development and strategic thinking time.

Create a Friday routine to stay organised and productive to the end of the week.

Plan Ahead. Get ready for the following week by planning your actions and prioritising tasks for the next week, so you get a head start on Monday. Check in with your goals for the month to see where you need to focus and what you need to do to stay on track.

Review your progress each Friday to make sure you’ve completed all the tasks you wanted to get done. You'll also keep track of what you’ve achieved week by week, so you can acknowledge your successes as well as lessons learned. Is there a pattern developing you can change or work with?

Buffer Time. Set aside time on Friday to catch up on tasks. If you do your progress review in the morning, there's still time to finish off any outstanding tasks by the end of the week. As you go through the week, add any lower priority tasks to Friday, so more important tasks take priority during the week.

Admin Day.

Set aside time on Friday to get your admin done.

• Block out time to clear out your Inbox of any outstanding emails or add them to next week’s list.
• Check your finances. Put in any expense claims, chase outstanding invoices, update accounts.
• Follow-up tasks you’ve delegated to others.
• Update your project tracking system.

Clear the Decks - not only in your physical environment but your virtual workspace.

• File paperwork you’ve finished with for the week.
• Do the same for virtual files and email.
• Organise your desk, put things away.
• Tidy up your Inbox, Desktop, Folders etc.

Have a Day Off. If you don't work flexibly, or even if you do, book one Friday a month off. Take a full or half day so you can create that 'Yeah, it's the Weekend' feeling a few hours earlier. Book time to meet up with family, friends or just have time for yourself.

Keep your Fridays meeting-free, as much as possible, so you have time to catch up on tasks, create that built-in buffer that means you're not overloading your week and can be productive without getting overloaded or stressed out.

We've got a few long-weekends coming up with Easter and Bank Holidays, so planning ahead is even more important.

What's your usual Friday routine? Calmly finishing the week, ready for the weekend or rushing around, desperately trying to finish everything off and ending up taking work home to finish at the weekend?

Until next time,

        Clare