An august August business bucket list – or what to do about nothing

[summer fruit*]

Children love the month of August as it is by far the “funnest” month of the year, filled with enjoyable activities and no homework. Business people, by contrast, have entirely different sentiments. As normal people go off to “les vacances” in some sunny spot with water to play in, many entrepreneurs by choice or necessity try to ring up some business in August, especially the second half. The results are hit and miss, with a lucky few having more than an average month and others waiting for the phone to ring, door to open and/or email to “ping”. However, instead of regretting this down period, this relatively quiet month is the perfect opportunity to accomplish many important tasks, leading to a more successful remaining year. Here is a short bucket list of achievable goals for August:

[ketchup servings]

Catching up

a.       Examine your books and identify customers that owe you money.

b.      Get your account books up to date

c.       Compare your numbers

d.      Tie up any outstanding correspondence and resolve open issues

e.       Conduct an inventory and make decisions on items to reduce or remove

[rainbow in horizon]

Building for the future

a.       Check out a software program that you are considering

b.      Find a new marketing outlet

c.       Review your website

d.      Improve your CV

e.       Create marketing activities

f.        Talk to a key employee

g.       Work on online profiles

h.      Take a webinar

i.        Watch a YouTube video on a subject you like

j.        Work on an upcoming project

[pelican on pier]

Just for you

a.       Go see a movie in the middle of the day

b.      Go to a beach pool, or spa for a day

c.       Have lunch with a friend

d.       Spend time with your family

e.       Spend a whole day on the sofa with a good book and air conditioning

f.        Go to the doctor/dentist you have been avoiding

g.       Get away for the weekend

h.       Cook the fancy dinner you have always wanted to try

i.        Go hiking or camping

I know that the month is already half over but better late than never. Clearly, it is impossible to achieve everything on the list but, still, achieving a few will shed a new light on the “season of pickled cucumbers” as Berliners used to say. It is possible to make something out of nothing, which is definitely an august August perspective.

* Picture captions help the blind fully access the Internet.

Pictures via Pixabay