PR AGENCY DIARIES: TOP TIPS TO GET THE JOB DONE
Anyone in the PR game knows that agency life is not for the faint-hearted. With multiple clients to represent and projects on the go, it’s long to-do lists over long lunches and more grind than glamour.
“How does she do it?” you ask…
Here are a few of our top tricks and tips to getting through your work day with more flying colours than red overdue flags.
Check mate
You’ll be familiar with the advice to avoid checking emails first thing in the morning before it leads you down the rabbit hole and gobbles up precious time. But this isn’t one size fits all.
If we weren’t across our emails, we’d miss important messages from our global clients saying to hold an announcement, or messages from media calling for comment due by 9am.
The trick is to scan your inbox first thing and identify what needs to be dealt with immediately and what can wait until a decent mid-morning check. Make sure to do a second thorough check before you leave for the day and you’ll ensure nothing is missed.
First thing’s first
So you’ve read Eat That Frog!: Get More of the Important Things Done Today and you’re wondering why you still feel behind the 8-ball? Eat That Frog (which we love, btw) says to do your most dreaded task (eat your ugliest frog) first thing in the morning so you don’t waste time procrastinating. Sounds legit, right? Yep! But we’ve found there are a few more tricks to froggery than eating the ugliest one first and again, it doesn’t work for everyone all of the time.
Find out when you are best with each task. If your creative juices get flowing from 4pm, schedule the evening for writing or brainstorming and if you’re best with numbers after lunch, block out that time for analytics and budgets.
Everyone will be different. The trick is to get to know your own working style, allocate the time and stick to the schedule.
Hold up (or don’t)
Rather than tackling your ugliest task first thing in the morning, it’s far better to get busy on what’s holding up the project or your team.
If you’re the one slowing down other people because you’re “ostriching” or you haven’t reviewed or approved their work, then that should be your top priority. Get that ticked off first and everyone will be more productive for it.
Tidy desk, tidy mind
If your workspace is in a state, it’s unlikely you’ll have the mental wherewithal to prioritise and smash your goals. Each day as you finish up, give an extra 40 seconds to tidying your desk so you can start fresh the next day. A place for everything and everything in its place.
The sharpest tool in the shed
There are SO MANY tools available to help keep you on track. From software like Trello or Asana to the humble pen and notebook, trial and error will help you find what works best for you.
Some of our team swear by Trello. There’s a mobile app and a free online version that when set as a tab to open each time you’re on your comp can work wonders for getting through your to-do list. It also works with heaps of other tools including Dropbox, Microsoft Outlook & Google Hangouts so you can be a techy, integrated, productive machine!
Another option is your inbox which can be a handy checklist and saves relying on a different platform. BCC yourself on important emails to remind you to follow up if you don’t hear back (we ALWAYS follow up) and when the action relating to the email is complete, tidily file it away in a folder.
Others in our squad can’t fault a handwritten to-do list. The satisfaction of crossing off a task is second to none. A handy tip for smart players: always do your to-do list the evening before so you can hit the ground running in the morning.
Find out the system that works for you and ensure you don’t miss a beat.
Ears to the ground
Operating in the media space means good PR professionals should know what’s happening every day and across a range of topics, but it’s not only useful for our industry. Problem is, we don’t all have half a morning to read the paper front to back, watch the breakfast telly and listen to the news.
A hack for the busy? Sign up to news briefings from the major news networks (and across industry specific titles related to your clients) and scan the first couple of lines of each to get the 411 as you start your day. DISCLAIMER: the skim read doesn’t apply if the story is important to your clients or industry. In that case, make sure you read the whole article!
Con-cen-tra-tion, concentration now begins…
While we’re social butterflies through and through (check out our social media management service here) you won’t find us practicing our TikTok moves for the boardroom or hovering around the water cooler.
Don’t get us wrong, we love to have a laugh, but we know that time is precious and our clients and media count on us to get the job done.
Eliminate distractions (Nellie our chief wellness pupper doesn’t count) and tell your mates you’ll check out the funny meme or enter the prize draw once you’ve downed tools for the day.
