It could be very overwhelming to serve clients in public
relations industry. Managers who are
never satisfied, and without the skills to triage, an unending workload can
lead to disengagement.
In his book, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck” Mark
Manson writes that there is only so much bandwidth and attention you have in a
day, both personally and professionally. It’s essential to focus on what is
truly important and forget the rest. It takes deep professional thought to
identify and focus on important matters daily.
From experience, managing your time is easy in theory, but
difficult in practice. Emergencies happen, whether it’s an urgent client
crisis, breaking news or unplanned negative news to salvage.
From my experience in the
industry, here are five tips for discerning or staying with what demands your
immediate attention.
1. Sales Increase, Brand positioning.
As a brand manager or public relations expert, your daily major
concerns including having your brand positively reported. In this age of social
media, you cannot allow bad news trend. You must as well leverage on good news
for your brand. To prioritize, you need
to know what is important. While consulting management is a good first step,
it’s common to hear “it’s all important” or “work on everything.” What would really help increase sales, build a
brand, and exceed stated goals? Focus your energy on projects that solve
problems instead of creating more work.
2. Reasonable expectations & Goals.
Brand managers and clients should be able to provide
expectations for each project. Expectations for each project may differ but
must be made clear. If they cannot
provide this framework, be sure that you’re suggesting deliverables to keep
everyone on the same page. Don’t over promise.
If everyone agrees what success looks like, projects will have
concrete goals and less unnecessary worry or stress. Make sure that the finish
line is clearly marked, so when you reach it, you have a cue to move on to the
next project. Goals are good for you as a brand manager.
3. Generate to do list.
Some people love lists; others don’t. However, lists are the
best way to structure work to ensure daily activities align with your weekly
project goals, not to mention monthly benchmarks and quarterly reviews. It’s
easy for the day to get away from you if you aren’t driving to a specific
business goal. Successful people wake up drawing to do list. It helps align
your thoughts and action for the day.
4. Breaks.
From reading advertising copies, drafting press releases etc,
work can be very cumbersome. Don’t be
afraid to take time off for a project. Are you having ideas blockage? Take some
time off your seat. Step away from your desk and work from a coffee shop or
other undisclosed location. It’s easy for projects to fall by the wayside
unless you make time for them.
5. Connect or Network with Industry experts.
Chances are a PR veteran has been there before. In PR industry,
there living experts for you to connect with. Find out what processes work for
your colleagues and layer in anything that would make sense for your work
style. Be open to switching things up. What works today might not work six
months from now. This is where constant trainings are needed.
To build your personal PR network, attend conferences. Join local
PR groups and participate in PR mentorship and other opportunities.
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