The busy season is almost here—are you prepared? Have you thought about what you need to do to get ready for Spring? By following these tips, you can reap the benefits of the busy season while still maintaining a work-life balance.

Tips to Prepare Yourself for the Busy Season

Busy seasons can be challenging to get through in seasonal businesses. You’ll be required to put in long hours with the sense that it’s now or never during peak times. This stress can take a physical and mental toll. The key is being prepared and ready to handle the influx of work that comes with a fruitful and much-needed busy season. 

• Prepare during the slow period. What things could you do during the slow periods to get ready for the upcoming busy season? Did you think about cross-training your employees or adding more staff? Would alleviating some duties on the personal side help? You could explore a babysitter to help with the kids, a meal service to help with dinner planning or hire a house cleaner to take on chores at home.  

• Protect your mental health.  Preparing in advance and doing the work to protect your mental health is an important exercise year-round, but especially during the busy season. Just like flossing your teeth prevents gum disease, taking some simple steps to protect yourself can prevent bigger issues from popping up. 
• Taking time for yourself – Don’t skimp out on eating well, drinking water, getting enough sleep and taking a break. These things may take you away from the task at hand but will be necessary to ensure you don’t get fatigued or run-down.
• Ask for help – If you have too much on your plate, raise your hand and ask for help. Delegate, eliminate unnecessary, non-urgent things from your schedule, and find ways to take some of the pressure off of yourself.
• Press pause – Meditation, yoga and breathing exercises can all help to support your state of mental health. Free, short-guided meditations are readily available. You can find 5 minutes at the start of the day to tune in and seek out some inner peace to help you cope with the busy day that lies ahead.

• Take care of your team too. Just like you, your team can take strain during the busy season. It’s extremely important to keep them motivated and performing at optimal levels during your busiest time. As you take some steps to prepare and protect your own wellbeing, be sure to proactively support your team too.
• Bond and commiserate – Your team appreciates it when the boss rolls up their sleeves and jumps into the trenches with them. A pizza lunch or a motivational chat can make a huge difference in keeping spirits high while the team is working extra hard.
• A shared mission – Communication is the key to keeping your team in sync. Starting the busy season with a reiteration of the company’s mission, vision and expectations is important. Regularly reminding your team during the busy season is a good practice to reinforce that message. During this time, you can also provide a forum for input and obstacles that need to be addressed.
• Empower the team – By empowering your team, you will not only allow some of the leadership tasks to fall off of your plate, but you will also find that your team will be happier, more challenged and more motivated as a result.
• Reflect and reward – Taking the time to reflect on how your busy season went, what you could have done better and outline tips for next year is a helpful and often overlooked step. Don’t forget to reward top players for their hard work at this pivotal time.

By following these tips, you can proactively prepare for the busy season. As a Spring Green business owner, you will not only tap into a tried and proven business model that helps you succeed, you will also find a wealth of support to help you optimize your busy and non-busy times. Learn more about the resources we offer.