The fall season, for many solo PR Pros feels like running a marathon at a sprint pace. Conferences, surveys, forecasts, trend reports, budgeting, launches, and clients squeezing every drop of PR goodness you have to offer before the year closes can be exhausting. But don't despair, you can make it, with a few simple steps.

Plan your work. Take an hour or two and map out what needs to get done over the next week/month/quarter. If you are planning day to day, you can end up feeling more overwhelmed and stressed. When you take time to look at everything you can formulate a plan and eliminate anything that is not essential.

Reduce communications. Digital communications such as email, Skype and Slack can be a time-suck. Reduce the amount of times that you check email. It can be more efficient to check three times a day and actually deal with the messages rather than checking every few minutes and constantly interrupting your work day. Mute Slack, Skype and other messaging channels so that you have blocks of time to focus on a single task.

Get support.  If you've never used a VA or admin, this is a good time to seek support. It's easy to get so busy doing the work that you lose sight of what needs to be done by you and what can be delegated. Another benefit of planning your work is identifying where you could use help.

Take time off. As we approach the end of the year and a natural break, it may seem counterintuitive to take time off. However, burning the candle at both ends is not the solution. You need to be your best to do your best. So, go ahead and plan a few afternoons off or a long weekend in this long stretch before year-end.

By making a few small tweaks, this mountain is no match for you!

How do you manage the busy seasons? Share your tips in the comments below or on social media using #solopr.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

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