THE VIRTUALESQUE BLOG

Good afternoon everyone, I hope everyone had a wonderful week despite the current global situation.

This week is a short and snappy run down of my favourite online apps and resources, so let’s kick off the list:

Trello

Trello offers so many things it’s hard to get everything down.

Now, when it comes to everyday to-do’s I am an analogue kinda girlboss and use my trusty planner (no, you’re a stationery addict). However, Trello has been an invaluable resource for planning my future projects, getting ideas down, working out how I get there and ticking off tasks as I go. You can create team projects, so everyone has an awareness of how far along a project is, you can update each subtask with comments and upload documents – perfecto!

https://trello.com/en-GB

Notes (IOS) and Memo (Android) App

A quick shopping list, gift ideas, reminders, a blog post on the train these apps are perfect for jotting things down on the go. They’re simple and easy to use and are my go -to apps when running around.

G Suite

I love, love, love the G Suite products.

Email, chat, documents and storage all in one package – what more could you ask for? The documents are available offline too, so you can still work when you have no Wi-Fi and the next time you hook up to a connection it will automatically sync your changes – perfect for when you have a dodgy connection or need to get things done on the daily commute.

https://gsuite.google.co.uk/intl/en_uk/

Canva

Canva is great. I have the free account but if you can justify the expense, the paid options offer so much more, like branding, you can upload your own fonts and have access to premium templates and images. Canva offers you access to tonnes of beautiful social media templates along with standard marketing materials.

https://www.canva.com/

Buffer

Keeping on top of my social media schedule is exhausting and takes up so. much. time.

I’ve taken tips from other bloggers and dedicate one full day a week to getting my next week’s content done all in one day (check out my Instagram post about Constant Contact’s scheduling calendar) – all images, content and scheduling happens on one day. I then upload everything to Buffer, schedule the dates and times of release on all my platforms and Buffer does the rest, leaving me free to get on with my work throughout the rest of the week safe in the knowledge my posts are all taken care of.

https://buffer.com

Hubstaff

Hubstaff is great for small business owners, freelancers and solopreneurs. It allows you to time your tasks so you can ensure you are billing your clients correctly. I don’t use Hubstaff to the its full potential, but it is super handy for recording time, especially if you use the chrome extension. If you do want to check it out, it offers team tracking, reporting and timesheet creation!

https://hubstaff.com/

Short and sweet this week but I hope this post has been helpful and insightful and I wish you all a productive week!

Speak to you soon.

Naomi | VIRTUALESQUE

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Motivation is a precious commodity.

Keep hold of it and you feel like you’re flying, loose it and its super hard to get back. During these difficult times, I thought it would be handy to have a list of tips and tricks to help you keep hold of your motivation!

Take Regular Short Breaks

Take a (socially-distanced) walk, read a book, listen to a podcast, meditate, finish early on a Friday – Take a 10,15 or 20-minute break to do something for you that you enjoy. If you end up spending all your time on your business, you’ll just end up resenting it instead of enjoying it.

Listen To Others

You can’t be on you’re a-game all the time, there will be days when you need a little help to get going. On days like these, talk to your colleagues, find out what projects they are working on, if there’s anything you can do to help. Talking to people, seeing and feeling their motivation will likely put the spring back in your step.

There’s a plethora of virtual communication tools out there, find the one you like and get to talking.

Build on your goals

One reason your motivation is a bit sluggish is that your goals may not be quite as fleshed out as they could be, so you loose sight of how to get there. There are many processes out there for setting meaningful goals, here are a couple for you to Google:

- - Visualisation - Life Mapping

Spend some time with your customers

Spending time with your customers can give you a motivational kick when you need it most. It can remind you of your “why”, why you started your business in the first place. Hanging out* and speaking with your customers can help give you another perspective on your business and you will likely come away with a bit of a boost.

*see previous mention of virtual communication tools to ensure you’re following the current social-distancing rules.

Set a personal mission statement

If you run your own business, its likely you have a business mission statement.

For Virtualesque it’s:

“Virtualeque is an Administrative Consultancy supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs who need help with their business processes and administration, so they can spend more time doing what they really want. Virtualesque will endeavour to make a healthy profit so that it can contribute back to its community”.

But that’s business, and while your company is your baby, it’s not you. Having a personal mission statement will help remind you why you are putting in countless hours, blood, sweat and tears to build your dream. My personal mission statement is:

“To create a harmony between my home life and my business which will allow me to feel happy, balanced and successful, helping me toward my goal of supporting my community”.

Having this statement on show in my office helps me on days when I am feeling a bit sluggish and instantly gives me a double-espresso-style shot of motivational energy.

Remember your successes

The day to day can get on top of all of us sometimes and we can feel like we aren’t making any progress or making a difference. On days like these, I like to dip into my “YOU GOT THIS” folder in my inbox that holds lovely messages and testimonials from clients about me and my business. Comments like the below really help get me out of a slump:

“…you are efficient! - I almost forgot”.

“If you're ever looking at this and wondering whether to get in touch and enquire about Nai's service then do, don't even hesitate, you won't regret it I promise you!"

"Naomi is meticulously organised and without her the business could not have delivered its key services.

“…I would have been lost without Naomi".

Give a helping hand to your community

Does your business have skills that could benefit your community? Is there a local project you could get involved in or sponsor? Does a community charity need help fundraising?

You can keep this modest or go as big as you want but seeing the positive difference you can make to your community is not only motivating, it does wonders for your soul to know you got involved and helped a local cause.

I hope this post has been helpful and insightful and I wish you all a motivational week!

Speak to you soon

Naomi | VIRTUALESQUE

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