It looks like winter is about to hit, so what can you do to keep on top of things when the snow falls – and the trains, roads and buses grind to a halt? Thanks to social media and mobile technology, there’s no reason why you can’t keep on keeping on! Here’s my take on what you can do if you are stuck at home when the inclement weather arrives.
Be a good citizen
Use Facebook, Twitter and IM’s to let local friends and colleagues know the state of play in your area. It amazes me how the weather can be so different in the next village. Last year, our street was knee deep in snow, but the town center was hardly affected! You might be able to get to the office after all….
Don’t cancel meetings – do them online
If you’re stuck at home on a day when you’ve scheduled back to back meetings, why not grab that hot chocolate and do them online? Sure, it’s not the same as being face to face, but I find that most people who have access to Skype or similar are more than happy to have an online meeting. This year, I’ve been working internationally with clients and partners, and video calls have been absolutely essential to this work.
Launch a winter-themed competition
Why not run a ‘snow-themed’ competition to drive traffic to your website or blog? Let your imagination run wild, and make the competition prize worth winning too! Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr are great resources for this kind of activity.
Do ‘the thing’ that you’ve been putting off!
For me ‘the thing’ I usually put off is updating my contact lists, which seems to grow every day because I’m an avid fan of networking. So that’s one of the activities I’ll be sorting out if the snow falls. It always feels great when you finally get round to doing something you’ve been putting off, and it’s never quite as bad as you imagined!
Look to the future -it’s only just begun!
Now 2013 is here, take time to plan for the coming months. Use your enforced time at home to plan where you’re going to focus your efforts and resources. Do you want to more of the same, or something different? You may not come to any firm conclusions today, but once you get started, who knows where your thoughts might take you.
And of course, if the snow does fall where you are, go throw some snowballs!
What are your hot tips for keeping business moving when you’re stuck at home? Please share in the comments section.
