Do you struggle to juggle during the school holidays? Do you wish you could handover to someone else? There's probably no need! There are more school holidays than parents can take annual leave for. I have been working around school holidays for 16 years now and as my youngest child is 10, life is set to revolve around the school calendar for another eight years! That probably does sound daunting if you are in the early primary school days. There are times as a business owner where you will need to work through a school holiday and others where you will want to be completely off. Then there are the in-between times where you need to have a lower input: Business-light holidays. It’s okay to do that! You can make low-input time work for you with Planning , Prioritisation and Follow-up . Holiday cover does not need to look like parachuting a replacement in for a week. Indeed, that sounds more like fire-fighting mode.

Configure behind-the-scenes automation to enhance your workflows 

January is here but are you facing or embracing the new year? 

Your time is precious, guard it by adopting a “Master Diary” mindset.

There have been many exciting advances in AI in recent years. We hear stories all the time that AI can or will almost entirely replace administrative workers or “entry-level,” jobs. Whilst businesses may feel inspired that AI is a huge opportunity to save on overheads yet simultaneously boost and streamline productivity, this isn’t the reality. AI is another tool for you to master – do you have time to keep up with changes in functionality? Can you be aware of all the up-to-date risks and limitations surrounding it? Are you overly optimistic about what it can and cannot do? Misunderstanding the capabilities of AI, yet not investing in administrative or entry-level support, can prove costly when you end up spending far too much time working far too below your own pay grade. AI tools and automated systems, used with sensitivity, can be valuable in making your processes run smoothly. They can also be of real disservice to your business when they cause frustration. The old adage that people will do business with people remains true. If people are paying for a service, they like to know they can access that service. Situations that could result in a complaint can sometimes be avoided entirely by a reply from a human being. Maintaining the personal touch could be what makes you stand out from the crowd. AI is a tool for humanity, not a replacement.