How to Improve Your Time Management

As a work at home business owner one of your biggest challenges will be managing your time efficiently. In your home distractions abound. Here are just a few:

• put a load of laundry in the washer
• get dinner started
• go get and then open the mail
• answer phone calls
• empty the clean dishes out of the dishwasher
• respond to incoming emails

So what are you to do to overcome the challenges posed by working in your home? Eben Pagan of Guru Mastermind has some great ideas to better manage your time that I have implemented in my own life.

Let's address one of the biggest fallacies when it comes to interruptions and time management.

Multitasking

Did you know that each time you quit doing something and return to it, it takes 20 minutes to get back to the same frame of mind you were in when you left off? Imagine that you get interrupted 5 times during your work day. That is 100 minutes that are waisted getting back to where you left off. Schucks! And I thought I was blessed with a rare skillset! : )

Studies actually show that multitasking lowers your IQ more that smoking marijuana. This blew me away! Can't be real helpful with managing your time either.

Natural Rhythms

To best manage your time it is important to have a clean focus when you work in blocks of uninterrupted time. Those blocks should be 90 to 120 minutes long. Then follow this with 15 minutes of relaxation or rest. This rhythm is optimal for humans. Schedule your day with this in mind.

To better manage your time create routines for everything important you have to do. And then schedule your must do chores in a 2 hour brick at the same time each day.

Renew Yourself

Because you work at home it is easy to find yourself on the computer most of the day into the evening. Also, you may find yourself working every day of the week including weekends. Remember: it is important to take 1 to 2 days off at a time. It's hard to think that time off is helpful with time management however, no time off can lead to burnout and lack of creativity.

Start of your day

Okay, here is where I'll wear my hat as a dietitian and health and wellness consultant. How you start the first hour of your day is most important in managing your time. This sets the stage for the rest of your day.

Upon rising:

• Drink 2 cups of filtered water
• Engage in a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise that you enjoy. This helps raise your heart rate and often serves to fuel and inspire some great ideas for your business.
• Consume a healthy breakfast. Studies actually show that when you eat a good breakfast you will tend to eat fewer calories throughout the day and even make better food choices for the rest of the day.
• Pray or meditate for 5 + minutes
• Read inspirational material for 10-15 minutes

In order to stay focused and best manage your time you must be able to clear the distractions in your life that are causing problems. In order to do this:

• Make a list of all the things in your life that get in your way of accomplishing your daily tasks
• Rank them in order of priority (most disruptive at the top)
• Eliminate the top 3 to 5 that interfere the most with managing your time

For example: My list included:

• email alerts with each incoming email,
• mess on my desk,
• telephone calls,
• my daughter's arrival after school,
• never ending loads of laundry,
• determining what's for dinner

Solution:

• Silenced email alerts and only check twice per day
• Organized my desk and filed miscellaneous papers in appropriate files
• Screened telephone calls and recover voice message at end of my day unless husband or daughter call
• Schedule my two hour bricks such that my daughter is home at the tail end of one so I can connect with her about her school day (1-3:00 PM is my 2nd work brick and she arrives home from school at 3:00 PM. We visit for 15 to 30 minutes.)
• 5:30-7:00 PM is my home chore brick. I cook dinner, do laundry and dishes during this brick only.
• Figure out dinner for the following day before going to bed.

Now, list the 3 activities that create the most value for your business. Around those 3 activities schedule 2 hour time blocks into your work day.

Here is a sample schedule assuming a 6 hour work day:

• 7:30 - 9:30 AM - Rise and Shine, eat breakfast, drink large glass of water, write in journal and spend time in devotions, exercise, shower
• 9:45- 11:45 AM - spend time creating content for Hub pages, squidoo, Blog and You tube, etc.
• 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM - break for lunch
• 1:00- 3:00 PM - work on lead capture pages and sales letters and auto responder emails
• 3:30 PM- 5:00 PM - read ebook Google Adwords made easy or view tutorials in Renegade Professional back office
• 5:00- 5:30 PM - check emails and respond as needed, return any voice messages,
• 5:30- 7:00 PM - do miscellaneous chores around the house i.e. laundry, start dinner

When I follow my schedule that I have posted by my computer my day goes well and I often get more done than I expected. So, yes, working from home can pose some challenges in time management because of the many distractions that exist in your home environment. With a little planning and discipline these distractions can be overcome and you can be more efficient at managing your time!

One of my favorite tools for time management is Renegade Professional since it has structured tutorials that move you forward in building an internet network marketing business or any home based business for that matter.