How many of you wake up in the morning with your home business to-do list in your head, only to go to bed all pissed off and super irritated because you couldn’t even complete one task for the day? Or you have your list well thought out and have all intentions of completing most of it until your sister calls and needs you to desperately babysit her three kids… NOW.
Well, let me tell you this has happened to me over and over again (in the past) and I hated the stressful feeling I got just thinking about my to-do list and how I didn’t get much done each day. Managing time effectively can be one of the most difficult tasks to battle when operating
your home business. Having a list of tasks to do and not getting enough done throughout the day can end the day in much unnecessary stress and cause you to fail at growing the income you so desire if ONLY you can complete your to-do list!
Setting your priorities and sticking to them is a great step towards reducing your stress, but it won’t help much if you don’t have time to finish all the other menial tasks that are involved in running an at-home business. Items like staying organized, billing, filing, ordering ink for your printer, and a million other little things that pile up over time still need to be done.
Let’s look at six methods to help you keep better track of where your time goes, and keep on top of your schedule:
The Daily Dump.
That’s right! Do your daily dump of writing all of your to-do’s on paper. Famous productivity expert David Allen, author of Get It Done, recommend getting your to-dos out of your brain and onto paper. I can attest that this method works! When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I have found one of the greatest ways to de-stress is to sit down and write out everything I have to do that’s got my head spinning. Whether those are big projects, little five-minute tasks, or anything, it all goes down on paper as my brain is churning out the words. When I can actually see my thoughts on paper, I can start sorting and prioritizing (see Section 2 above). I also find writing down my business to-do’s the night before will keep me well rested throughout the night with no overwhelming disturbances. And I wake up in the morning with my cup of coffee and start prioritizing my list and end up feeling ready to go! However, making the list and prioritizing is only the first step in getting it done.
Keep track of how long a task takes you.
It’s a common psychological trick we play on ourselves – we overestimate how long it takes to complete unpleasant tasks, and we underestimate how long we spend on pleasant items. Get real by writing down the actual time it takes you to do things like file papers, log receipts, and any other tedious task. Then you have a concrete estimate the next time you think, “Oh, that’s going to take all day!”
One fantastic idea I got from my business coach was to set a timer for 45 minutes or one hour when I want to complete or work on a specific business task up in my office. This way when the buzzer would ring, I knew that it was time to stop that task and start working on another. It definitely kept me on my toes with focusing on one particular task at a time without interruptions.
Minimize interruptions.
Turn off your email alert noise, put your phone ringer on mute, and clear your desktop before you jump into a task that requires concentration. Fewer interruptions and distractions allow you to get in that concentrating “sweet spot” where you’re humming along and working at a pleasant clip. That means you’ll get your work done faster and be less stressed. Constant interruptions ultimately result in needing to re-prioritize your day, over and over and over again. You can see how the stress you feel just keeps escalating without minimizing the interruptions each day.
Break down large projects.
Big projects – website overhauls, writing reports, planning marketing campaigns, creating a newsletter – can be very overwhelming. When faced with a large project, break it up into tasks you can complete in one sitting, preferably in under 20 minutes. That way, instead of looking for a free afternoon to tackle the project all at once (which you’ll never get!), you just need to squeeze in 20 minutes here and there until the project is completed. I don’t know anyone who can’t find 20 minutes, but ask an entrepreneur to block out 8 hours for a project, and you’ll receive in turn a stunned glare.
Take advantage of “lost” time.
Our days are full of five minute breaks between activities. We call these “dead” time. You may be sitting in car-line at your child’s school, or in line at the pharmacy, or even waiting for a pot of water to boil. There you are, simply waiting for something to happen. Keep a notebook with a running list of tasks that can be completed in 5 minutes or less. Schedule an appointment, call a friend to set up a lunch date, clean out your voice mail, file your nails – anything that you know you need to do but don’t get around to doing.
Now when you have “dead” time, glance down at your notebook with the list of 5 minute tasks and start at the top. Work your way down the list every time you find yourself with a few free minutes. You’ll be amazed at how much you accomplish when you’re ready to go!
Focus on what makes you money and outsource the rest
Try not getting stuck with the “busy” work that takes up too much time. Instead focus on getting work done that makes you money and outsource the rest. For example, if you hate writing and you just can’t seem to get your article finished, then stop with wasting time on it and hire a ghost writer to write or edit for you. Maybe you have no idea how to set up your ezine campaign for your newsletter each week. If so, then think about hiring someone to manage it for you. Believe it or not, all successful home business owners hiring a team of people that they outsource their work to. Even though it costs money to do so, you will be surprised how priceless it becomes when major tasks get completed efficiently, effectively and ultimately makes you money and relieves a lot of stress!
Comments are always appreciated. Tell us what time effective strategies work best for you.
