Time Management Takes Self Discipline
58023
Business > Entrepreneurs
Dec 1, 2007
awebpro
Time Management Takes Self Discipline
Aside from creating to do lists and using them as guidelines for your business day, you need to become better at time management on the whole. That means that you will have to learn what schedule works best for you and your business, how to set goals and follow through making them, and how to prioritize those goals. You will want to stay away from time drainers, especially if you work at home. It appears when you work at home that friends, neighbors, even family can sometimes get the idea that you are free to run errands, make calls, take visits, or just plain chat because you are at home. You need to quickly dispel the idea that your time is available and open for other's to schedule for you. YOUR WORK SCHEDULE This is probably one of the most overlooked and most beneficial aspects of having your own business. If your customers are not setting the hours for you based on their schedules, you can reasonably create a schedule that maximizes your productivity because it suits your personality and your lifestyle. There are many entrepreneurs who use the flexibility of home businesses to manage their time in a fashion that doesn't exactly fit the straight 9 to 5 pm standard workweek. There are plenty of entrepreneurs who prefer the standard workweek. It all depends on how used you are to this routine and whether you think you can get more mileage out of a different work schedule. A STANDARD SCHEDULE If you are on the conservative side or trying to do business with others who are on this schedule, then you will probably schedule your day so that you commence working at 8 am or 9 am and quit after 8 hours or more. You can do this for five days a week and keep your weekend this way. The key here is to have some separate area in your home set up as an office that marks when you are at work and when you are on your own time. If you don't have this boundary, you will be consistently hit upon by people trying to take advantage of the fact that you are not under anyone's supervision but your own. Be clear, when you are in your office - you are working and should not be disturbed. Have two phone lines and don't answer the home phone when you are at work. All this is common sense, but many people waste time by not making it clear to their spouses, their children, or even their pets that work time is not play time or come bother mommy time. FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES One of the key benefits that people who work at home and have online businesses realize quickly is their ability to take advantage of flexible schedules. If you hate waking up early in the morning and are not a morning person, you can begin working later - as long as you make your full day of work. If you prefer working weekends and doing your grocery shopping on the week days (when the stores are empty), you can soon figure out that you are saving yourself time on your home duties as well as smartly scheduling your time for work. If you have to make runs to particular businesses in the course of your workday, like the post office or the bank, then you will begin to find out when the best time is to show up. The less time you spend in line, the more time you have to work and make money. Don't forget that the hours you save commuting can also be used quite well, if you are an early riser. You can schedule your alarm as if you were going to a regular office and instead go to your home office, which should be a much closer commute. You save money on gas too. There are people who do freelancing who work in the middle of the night and during hours that are more comfortable for them. In the middle of the night, there are no distractions and the possibility of being completely free of the noise of the outside world is something very attractive to programmers, writers, and other professionals. If you have a full day during the day caring for children, you can schedule to sleep when a spouse comes home and wake up early in the morning (2 am to 3 am) to begin your workday in complete solitude. You save money on day care but can still schedule some time to work from home on an online business. This may sound totally unpleasant to some people, but there are a number of business owners who relish the idea of having a very quiet and beautifully cool night to work through. Finally, if you've hired contract workers who are working in India or some other place because they are cheaper, you may need to modify your schedule to be able to contact them during their working hours. While the cost of labor may smaller, the price you pay is that your schedule has to work to be able to telephone them directly at a time when they are available. Otherwise, you can work through emails and expect a time lag difference, which is not very effective. Time Management involves numerous disciplines, but if you are keeping your time line goals in mind, you will get better at managing the time required to make your business a success.
Dwayne Garrett is the author of several eBooks and popular software applications, he also offers an affordable Shopping Resource that will save you a ton of money on some of todays popular ebooks, softwares and videos. http://www.BumRushMedia.com
send email to awebpro
Write a Review
Add to My Favorite
Refer it to Friend
Report Article
Other links at Business > Entrepreneurs
Setting up a home based business is easier than many people might think. The beauty of starting a business at home is that the start up cost is much, much lower than what would be required for a more traditional brick and mortar business.
Category:
Many people decide to start their own businesses for a variety of reasons, whether it is to get away from their current job, to make more money or to be able to spend more time with their family, getting started can be difficult and you may not be sure ex
Category:
Jeff Hester has these observations about whether the current trend in the Web 2.0 world constitutes too much money chasing too few sound business ideas. Here are 10 reasons to keep your business start-up (whether online or off) lean and mean at least in t
Category:
If you have the hunger and yearning to be your own man or woman with full independence you need to learn this
Category:
If you are planning to start out a business but do not yet know what to engage into, you should take into considerations the possibilities of retailing closeouts.
Category:
Site Sponsor
Directory Statistics
Articles: 68222
Categories: 501
Yahoo Entertainment
