{"id":1474,"date":"2024-11-14T09:52:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-14T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/?p=1474"},"modified":"2025-02-19T21:02:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T02:02:31","slug":"productive-pauses-fill-in-the-gaps-when-things-get-slow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/?p=1474","title":{"rendered":"Productive Pauses: Fill In The Gaps When Things Get Slow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/5-iStock-1411677230-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/5-iStock-1411677230-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/5-iStock-1411677230-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/5-iStock-1411677230-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/5-iStock-1411677230.jpg 1254w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As someone who\u2019s used to \u2013 and kind of enjoys \u2013 being at capacity most of the time, downtime can be a disorienting luxury.<br><br>For every successful business owner real downtime (not vacation time) is rare, and temporary. To make the most of this time, take deliberate steps to improve things behind the scenes. Making time to take care of your business, not just run it, helps set you up for long-term success.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Here\u2019s what I recommend:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Examine your business from the outside in. <\/strong>Listen to your outgoing voicemail message \u2013 is it friendly and clear? Look at your email signature \u2013 is it up to date and properly branded? When was the last time you read your website homepage? Or subscribed to your own newsletter to see what happens?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Check out (or make) your LinkedIn profile. <\/strong>Make sure your profile picture is a professional head shot and that it\u2019s up to date. You can get incredible <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lauraharstad.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">virtual head shots<\/a> done now! Ask for your well earned recommendations, and update your profile to engage potential new clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Post past content. <\/strong>If you\u2019ve got newsletters or videos that are not yet posted on all of your virtual spaces, take steps to add them. Create a social media roster and make sure to repurpose great content to get the most out of your message.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. Clean up \u201ctolerations.\u201d <\/strong>You know, those annoying little things that you keep putting up with. Are you always struggling to find client phone numbers? Do you keep needed supplies in the basement instead of near your desk? Is there a pile of papers in the corner that you\u2019ve ignored for months (years?!)? Take the time now to handle these little annoyances and gift yourself peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>5. Organize your desk. <\/strong>Take everything off (yes, everything) clean it thoroughly, and only add back what you need. You&#8217;ll be amazed how a clear space helps clear the mind. Plus, you&#8217;ll probably find &#8220;that thing&#8221; you&#8217;ve been looking everywhere for!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>6. Review your finances. <\/strong>Why wait until tax time to organize your expenses? Bring them up to date now and spare yourself the unwelcome, future stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>7. Plan your next big project. <\/strong>What are you waiting for? Jump in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So yes, while unanticipated downtime can be disorienting for people used to functioning at capacity, it can also bring a wonderfully different opportunity to keep moving forward. When it&#8217;s time to jump back in, you&#8217;ll be in a better place to take your business to the next level.<br><br>p.s. My <a href=\"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a> went live last month ~ check it out, I&#8217;d love the feedback! Small prize for the first person to mention the mistake!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As someone who\u2019s used to \u2013 and kind of enjoys \u2013 being at capacity most of the time, downtime can be a disorienting luxury. For every successful business owner real downtime (not vacation time) is rare, and temporary. To make the most of this time, take deliberate steps to improve things behind the scenes. Making&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/?p=1474\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Productive Pauses: Fill In The Gaps When Things Get Slow<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1474"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1479,"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions\/1479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.galfridaysolutions.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}