How to Avoid Burnout Next Year during the Wedding Boom
Next year is going to be BUSY. We all have bookings already for 2022 and chances are you, like myself, will get even more bookings during engagement season ( starting soon! ) and even into 2022 for that same year. And the thing is, this year was stressful enough already! So, how are you going to prepare yourself and your biz for two back to back super-stressful years? Actually lets make that three super-stressful years because 2020 was no picnic!
Read below for my tips on keeping your sanity and not disappointing your couples during a year where wedding pros are already at their wits end.
Strategize and plan your year during your down time this year. Most wedding pros get a break or slow down at the end of the year when the typical ‘wedding season’ ends. Take this time to strategize and plan out your 2022. Identify your busiest weeks or months and create a plan for how to tackle them; does this mean that you need to hire more staffing for this time, do you need to have childcare options, do you need to outsource back end business like your bookkeeping, social or marketing, do you need to move projects or pause prior commitments during this time to give yourself some breathing room, do you need to hire domestic help or assistance with your personal tasks that would give you some time back to work on your biz or a chance to rest? There are SO many ways that you can tackle busy weeks, but identifying this upfront is going to save you the stress of trying to figure out immediate solutions when you are already overwhelmed.
Outsource and Delegate. You don’t need to do it all. Hire help. Even if you think you can’t afford help, you need to consider what not having help in extremely busy times is going to cost you in sacrificing personal or family time as well as mental health in trying to ‘do it all’. I always err on the side of hiring an additional pair of hands and not making quite as much money than running myself into the ground to make a bit more. Besides usually in biz, when you hire someone you usually end up making more because you increase your bandwidth, so it rarely is a net loss. Remember you don’t only have to hire in your biz to make a big difference in your mental and physical health, this can be a house-cleaner or babysitter or someone who can run personal errands or signing up for a meal service - not doing things that are additionally stressful for you (and this varies for everyone) during a particularly stressful time in your business can be the difference of reaching a point of burnout or making it through with your health and sanity in tact.
Create your SOP’s. Make sure you have your Standard Operating Procedures documented for any tasks that you could or will have help with or will be delegating. Creating this now and not on the fly while in the midst of a busy year is going to save you a huge headache and make it so much easier for you to have help in your business and meet your client’s expectations. You SOP’s can be anything; from your expectations and tasks onsite for your team to your social media schedule and posts, but the more you are prepared to delegate the less you are likely to drop the ball somewhere if you get sick or need help at the last minute.
Use automation and up your software game. There are so many tools out there that will make your life easier - use them! Do an audit of your biz and for all of the time-sucking tasks or things that you are doing manually or inefficiently see if you can find a tool to help you automate or streamline this process. Update the tools and processes you have to streamline your workflow and really dial it in as much as possible before the busy year begins. Remember, this can apply to your personal life too! So, if there are tools that can help you plan your family tasks or calendar more efficiently or help keep your personal life running smoothly and save you time - put those in place now.
Build in vacation and downtime now. We know you plan your weddings out, but do you plan your vacations and down times as much? Probably not. Most of us have a couple big things planned and then the rest are pretty spontaneous. Well, being spontaneous is certainly a great thing, but going into a really busy and potentially stressful year means that you might be too overwhelmed to plan much once you are in the midst of it. So, it is ideal to plan in your vacations, self care and breaks ahead of time. Blocking off weeks and specific out-of-office days in your calendar now will ensure that you have downtime in between busy periods. Having a plan for recuperating; like booking massages ahead of time, personal activities you love to do or a midweek mini staycations are great ways to keep your mental health strong and as we know, the better you feel - the better the work you are going to be doing for your couples will be.
Next year is going to be tough, but having a plan for your sanity and your business is the best way to avoid making mistakes that can affect your work or getting altogether burnt out. I would love to hear your thoughts on these tips or some of your own, so hop on over to Instagram and shoot me a message @morganmchilds!