| |
| |
|
Time Management Information |
|
|
|
Time Management For Home Business Owners
As each day passes, and more and more things need to get done with your business, you may find yourself alittle overwhelmed with how much is left to be done. This is nothing new, and a problem that almost every home business owner encounters. There are too many things to do, and such little time! So how does one get all of these things done without interfering with family and friends time? The answer is simple enough, but not very easy to do. It's called Time Management. Managing your time to make your time spent during "business hours" the most productive it can be. There are many distractions when running an online business that many people easily become victims of. Some at home examples are things that consist of your everyday. Things like the chores that need tending to, eager kids simply wanting your attention, the television blaring, dogs barking, errands that need to be ran, and on down the line. Some classic examples of distractions that occur online are not as easy to identify, but can consume many hours if you're not aware of this. A good example includes just "surfing" for something, and you get sidetracked and end up reading something that you weren't even looking for to begin with! Another classic example is how many times you check your email a day, or how much time has passed before you last checked it. How much time do you spend visiting discussion boards or online communities? What about the emails you respond to? How much of your time is consumed by that? These are all examples of distractions that can get in the way of your businesses productivity. It all boils down to time management. Listed below are some good things to consider when using your time online for business. 1) Make A List You've probably heard this before and with good reason! Write the things you need to do with your business down on a piece of paper. List in order the things by two factors. One is the importance, and the second is which of the things you least would like to do. Once you have your list, put them in order of the things most important and are you're least favorite at the very top of the list. This way, the more important things that need to be done will get done first, and you won't procrastinate because it's written down. As you progress with your list, you'll find that the last things you need to do will go by very quickly because you'll enjoy doing it. 2) Set a time Limit Let's say you spend on average 2 hours browsing forums and discussion boards on a daily basis. Is this really necessary? I mean, there are alot of good resources out the on forums, and you get to interact with like-minded individuals.. but is this helping your business? The best way to stick to a plan is by giving yourself a specific amount of elotted time for each activity you conduct online. If you normally spend 2 hours in forums, and think this is simply taking too much away from your business, set a limit on how much you do it. Say to yourself, "Ok Jason, I will participate in forums for no more than 45 minutes. From exactly 12:15 to 1:00 today, I will spend this time browsing forums and being an active member." And stick with it! 3) Give Yourself A Break! This may sound a little contradictory, but it's very true. If you have been working consistently for a few hours online, and find yourself to be slipping into the "dull glare" mode, give yourself a break. Step away from your computer for 30 mintues, and move around. Go to the fridge and grab a nice cold drink, and relax a bit. When you get done, you will feel more fresh and will be more focused on your list that you've already made to complete your daily business tasks. 4) Punish Yourself For Not Sticking With It. This may seem a little weird, but it will work if you give it a chance to. For example, let's say that you need to get something done by a certain date and you don't. To make things more productive for you, punish yourself for not getting it done! I personally love those Little Debbie "Star Crunch" cakes. I usually have one every day. One time I told myself, I said, "Self, if I can't eat a Star Crunch unless I get these webpages uploaded by 5:20 today!". And when 5:20 came, I didn't have it done. So I punished myself for not completing the task by the time I set. I didn't eat one that day. Let's say you have a favorite TV show you absolutely love watching. You must complete 3 things on your list before you can watch it. And stick with it! Believe it or not, it actually works! But only if you stick with it. Having many distractions can make things a bit more difficult with productivity when spending your time online. The first things to do to solve the time management problem is to identify what things are keeping you from being productive in your online business. The next step is to avoid these things at all costs. The hardest part is identifing these distractions. But after you do, more than half the battle is already over! I wish you much success with your businss and all your on and offline goals! Article written by Jason Gazaway, webmaster and owner of http://www.homebasedbusinessindex.com and publisher of the "HBBI Newsletter".
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Just Remind Yourself This is one more article on "Organizing and Enjoying Your Life". Much has already been written about this in magazines, books and on Internet. Time Management Is Key Having a home based business can be overwhelming. When you work at home, there is a lot to do for both your home based business, your home and you family. 9 Proven Principles for Increasing Productivity, Profit and Peace of Mind Do you feel guilty about all the publications you purchase but never read -- or the articles you read with great ideas or opportunities you never implement? Are you spending time recreating marketing materials because you cannot find what you wrote the preceding month or year? Do you run out the door for an appointment at the last minute because you could not find your keys or the directions you needed to get where you are going? Are you frequently feeling tired and overwhelmed? Do the people you care about express frustration at your disorganization or want to spend more time with you? If so, "getting organized" should be high on your priority list!One of the continual frustrations in my career as a professional organizing consultant has been people's misconceptions about what it means to be "organized." Visions of unrealistically tidy desks and impossible mandates such as "Handle a piece of paper only once" conjure up feelings of frustration and impossibility. Effective Email and Verses Voicemail Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time consumed by an unplanned telephone call is 12 minutes, verses 7 minutes for a planned call. This represents five-minute savings every time you jot down some notes before dialing a number. Desktop Management Boosts Productivity Many of us spend long hours at our desk. To assist make the most of every day we need to focus on creating an environment condusive to work. What Are You Thinking? What would be your reaction if someone said to you "In the next 24 hours you will be given $10,000 for every chair you sell like the one you are sitting on right now?"How many time management issues will you have? How hard will it be to set priorities for your day? How long would you wait before contacting your first prospect? How much time would you waist chatting on the phone or exchanging emails with friends? Probably will not take the time to be staring out the window or watching the grass grow!Seriously, in that situation would time management be an issue for you? How much of your 24 hour time frame would you spend sitting on that chair instead of talking to people about it? The excitement of getting lots of $10,000 checks would probably motivate you to see as many people as humanly possible in the next 24 hours, right? Most, if not all, of your time management problems would be resolved immediately!Think about this little example, and you will discover the key to success in many areas of your life -- time management, selling, managing, self motivation. One single ingredient determines the success or failure of just about anything you pursue in life. Time Management - How To Get More Done In A Day? Everyday, in life, we are bombarded with 101 tasks that are waiting for us to resolve it. This is especially true when we are involved in internet marketing where we had to check emails, respond to customer queries, set up product page. Time is Money - Dont Waste It "If you control your time, you control your life" - Alan Lakein (1973)Time is Money. Time is a precious commodity and everyone gets an equal share, but we use it differently. Setting Time Aside For Studying And Homework When trying to achieve a quality education, everybody knows that studying and completing your homework is absolutely imperative in order to be successful. Some people are very good and sticking to their guns and completing their homework and study time week in and week out. How to Find More Time in Your Day-Balancing Career and Family Goal Planning-Achieving balance in a person's life requires assessment of one's goals and priorities. This translates into sitting down in a quiet atmosphere and taking just a few minutes to think about "What are my priorities in life? What could I never live without?" When one is clear about the things that are important to them in life, it is easier to determine which errands, assignments, and projects to take time out to complete or to dump or delegate. Vilfredo Paretos Principle: The 80-20 Rule: 80% of Results are Produced from 20% of Efforts Vilfredo Pareto's Principle, or The "Pareto Principle," is more commonly known as the 80-20 rule. It suggests that a ratio of approximately 20% to 80% can be found as an effective measure for most things in life. The Kaizen of Goal Setting There is an old way of goal setting and a new way of goal setting!The old way of goal-setting involved setting yor goals, preparing a list of sub-goals, and then carefully checking them off one after another (as and when they were being accomplished). Am I trying o pour cold water on the goal setting method many of us grw up on?Not necessarilyWhile I am not saying the step-by-step approach does not work, I am advocating a flexible-goal setting approach. A Time-Saving Programming Tactic that Doesn't Work Let's say that you have a software project that's under severe time pressure. Let's say that this deadline is so tight that you already know it will involve many late nights of black coffee and frenetic programming. 7 Reasons to Take Breaks at Work My job in Chicago began with three months of probation.I was petrified to leave my desk. Effective Time Management Techniques TIME MANAGEMENTWith the creation of the universe, God gave humankind a miraculous gift. A wonderful gift which cannot be seen or touched but without which there will be no meaning in life. Biggest Time Management Mistake The biggest time management mistake you can ever make isforgetting your closest partner in life. The one who stayswith you all the way from cradle to grave. Perfekt! Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you do everything yourself because no one else can do it as well as you can? Do you believe that everything you do has to be absolutely perfect? Although striving for excellence is a good thing to do, demanding perfection in everything you do is not.Often, perfectionism is a way to delay taking action. Coping with the Time Crunch "There is never enough time, unless you're serving it."-Malcolm Forbes (1919 - 1990)My son is 17 months old. The WIT to WIN What are the most important things you should accomplish today? Go ahead. Make a list of your priorities and put them in order of their importance. Creative Leadership; Inspirational Power ( Part 2 ) Time management is absolute crucial nowadays where business decisions have to be taken often at the speed of light, leaders have to find spare time to prioritize their actions.Time is the scarcest of all resources.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 |
