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Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Time Management Tips

I've had a couple of emails and phone calls this week from friends who told me they are giving up their home business because they don't have time to do it. AAAGGGHHHH!!! That's the point! Getting financially free so you do have time for the important stuff! Sure you're going to work hard for the first couple of years. But after that, if you build your business correctly, you can take time whenever you want to.

Rather than quit, let's use some time-saving tips to help make the hours necessary to build your business.

1. If you haven't done it yet, set your goals. Be very clear about them. Write them down. Once you know what you really want to achieve (and why) it’s easier to make decisions about what needs to be done, and to plan accordingly.
2. Make your to-do list daily. List your top priorities and focus what time you do have on them. You'll be much more effective!
3. Schedule your day. Literally write an appointment in your work planner (you do have one of those, don’t you?) to set aside a realistic block of time for your priority actions.
4. Learn to say no to all of those friends and family members who think that you are free to do whatever they need just because you work from home. Don't let them distract you from your business.
5. Get organized. Create systems for filing, management of information and communication.
6. Learn to delegate. Surely your husband can learn to do laundry. Let the kids do the dishes. Can your neighbor take your kids to soccer practice along with hers?
7. Balance your life. All work and no play will burn you out faster than anything. When you are scheduling your day, schedule family time, spouse time, and a little "me" time.
8, When the day is over, let it be over. Finish what you are working on and "go home." Don't be thinking about that important client phone call when you should be focusing on your spouse. No paperwork at the dinner table or notes while watching TV with your family. Relax and you'll be less tense and more focused tomorrow
9. “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein.”

3 comments:

Bev Mahone said...

Oh, what wonderful tips!!! #2 and #5 are crucial. I started out NOT having a "To-Do" list and my day was in total chaos because i was always dropping one project for another but now I keep that list and follow it to the letter. Once you have that to-do list, everything else will start to get more organized.

Thanks Melodieann for sharing this!

Anonymous said...

Melodieann,

You have made some very good points in this posts. Working at home isn't viewed as working unless you set regular hours and let friends and family know that you run a business and that it requires cooperation and assistance from them.

Anonymous said...

Boy did I need to read that, Melodieann. Especially the part about getting organizing my things into groups and not taking work to the dinner table. Real bad in both of those areas. Thanks. I think I'll print this and post it on my wall.