Time Management For Home Business Owners: A Balancing Act

Being  time management challenged myself, I believe I have some good advice for anyone with a home business. This is particularly important if you are considering a home-based business. We are all busy when we are first presented with a home business opportunity.  Often when you do a presentation for someone they discard it out of hand with: “I don’t have time”

It may be an excuse sometimes because they are truly not interested or they may believe on the surface that this is true. Our lives have become so busy; we are so caught up in the minutia of daily survival that we sometimes lose the big picture perspective.  The thought of taking on one more plate to spin can be too much for people to consider.

Effective Use of Time

If the dream of having time and more money in your life has become important enough to you; you will find the time. We all have the same 24 hours. Rich or poor; successful or not successful yet; its effective use of time that makes the difference.

One of Steven Covey’s habits is to begin with the end in mind. His book The 7 Habits for Highly Effective People is a classic and it’s high time I went back and re-read it.

Balance is a Critical Component

There will always be times in life when you are not in balance. One thing will take precedence for a period of time; like getting a college education for example. You make time to do it in addition to what you are already doing because it is important and a necessary step towards achieving your goals and dreams. A home based business falls into this category. Your life will be out of balance until you build your business to a level where you can kiss your day job good-bye. [see my article on Home Business: What’s the Catch]

A Solution: The Weekly Compass

I spin a lot of plates myself.  I use Covey’s weekly compass where I can write in my Sharpen-The-Saw Activities: Physical; Social/Emotional; Mental and Spiritual. There is then space for 7 roles that are the most important to you. You need to identify the most important roles in your life right now. For example the hats I wear:

•    Spouse
•    Parent
•    Family Member
•    Friend
•    Home Manager
•    Self-employed Business Owner-offline
•    Business Owner-online

You can purchase these as inserts for your day timer or you can write your roles out on a 3X5 card. You want to see it at a glance. The reason it is called a weekly compass is that you write down 1 important activity that you wish to accomplish some time during the upcoming week. Even if under friend you only write down the name of 1 person and make 1 phone call a week over a period of time you will have touched base with everyone on a consistent basis. You can then block out time for each of these activities on your calendar. This way you can maintain some kind of balance in your life.

Conclusion

Hopefully this information has been of benefit to you. I must confess that I don’t always take my own advice! LOL If you are serious about being your own boss in a home business environment you will find what works best for you. To enjoy success in your home business time management is essential . You will be out of balance in a balanced way with the use of this tool; if that makes sense.

To Your $uccess!

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Overwhelmed? Want to Know What do I do Next?
Irene Kirkman, internet marketing consultant, is offering personal assistance for those who have home based businesses or would like to work from home online. The biggest challenge with taking your business online is becoming overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available. Avoid ‘analysis paralysis’, learn what you need to do next. The number one challenge I hear from people is: "I just want simple.” and “ Can’t you just tell me what to do next?" I have a solution. I know very well what not to do and can therefore shorten the learning curve substantially for anyone that is serious about escaping the rat race.
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