TIME MANAGEMENT - article index

• Cracking the Whip: 4 Free Tips for Effective Time-Taming by Harmony Major
• How Organizing Your Time Can Save You Money  by Harmony Major

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Cracking the Whip: 4 Free Tips for Effective Time-Taming
© 1999, by Harmony Major

Ever get the "bogged down" blues? Running a successful home business will definitely take its toll on your lifestyle if you let it. Marketing and promoting your business and website can be daunting tasks when you're burnt out. Keep the pace with your day-to-day routine and you're headed straight for success! But, let your business overrun you and you'll never make it off the ground. 

All you need to do is perform your daily tasks with a twist -- an unconventional way of tackling your to-do's. Take these quick and easy steps to start reigning in your home business! 
 

1) Keep a TIME-SCHEDULED, Four-Column To-Do List 

Write out a list of daily activities, just like you would any other to-do list. Only this time, create one column for the activity, one column for the check mark (to show you've completed a task), one column for the time you estimate the task will take, and the last column to write in the time the task actually took. It should look something like this: 

Done?	Name of Task	Time Allotted	Time Taken
x	Check e-mail	30 minutes	45 minutes
	Update website	60 minutes	50 minutes

And, so on. The "Done" field will contain a pencilled-in check mark instead of an "x," but there's no "check-mark" key on my keyboard. ;-) The purpose of this column is so that you're able to remember tasks that haven't yet been completed, and transfer them to your to-do list for the next day (or week). 

The "Name of Task" column is obvious, except you'll probably need to make it a "Description of Task" field so you'll know EXACTLY what needs to be done. I used the title above for lack of space. 

The "Time Allotted" column is how much time you anticipate the task will take. More important details on this column later. 

The "Time Taken" column is so you'll be able to contrast how much time you estimated a task would take, versus how much time it actually took. This is one of the most important aspects of effective time-taming. 
 

2) Oh, puleez ... Let's be realistic, here! Can you REALLY check your email in four minutes flat? 

Don't set unrealistic goals or time increments for the "Time Allotted" column. Although you think you can be finished with a task item in three minutes, NEVER put anything under five minutes. You'll have a greater sense of accomplishment when you finish your list with time to spare! And, a strong sense of accomplishment is important to stay motivated in maintaining your home business. 

And, likewise, NEVER set a time over two hours for any task -- this sets too leisurely of a pace. Plus, if you need more than two hours to complete a job, it needs to be put on your weekly to-do list. Don't try to finish it in only one day! When you do things for longer than two hours, most people become very unproductive and even more easily distracted. 
 

3) Done! Now, to maximize your efficiency... 

After you've done all of the things on your list, you'll then want to compare the "Time Taken" and "Time Allotted" columns to eliminate any discrepancies, and to tighten your schedule. If this is your first time working by a time-scheduled to-do list, you've more than likely taken more time for each activity than you'd planned. 

That's okay! 

The point of evaluating your time is to gain a more accurate sense of the time it takes to do certain activities, and to eventually DECREASE that time. If you took longer than you expected for a certain task, make sure you understand why. Was it more work than you thought it would be? Were you interrupted? Were your time standards just a little too strict? 

Remember, don't be hard on yourself, and give yourself time enough to finish an activity completely AND effectively. If you completed a task with time to spare, why was that? Were you just faster than you thought? Did you get help from an outside source? Did you allow too much time for that activity? 

The best way to judge whether or not your time estimations were accurate is to put the actual time that it took you to complete a task one day, in your "Time Allotted" column for the very NEXT day. 
 

4) Why the heck should I care EXACTLY how much time I take per activity? 

Well, that's an easy one. Your main goal when working on a time-scheduled to-do list is to DECREASE the time it takes you to complete your daily routine. The less time it takes you to complete scheduled tasks, the more time you have to build your business ... or spend time with family! 

The key to effective time management is to recognize where you need improvement, and build on that. By keeping track of how long it takes to complete each individual activity, you'll soon be able to use your time more efficiently, and become much faster finishing your daily duties. 

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Excerpted from 'Simply, eBusiness', Harmony Major's online business and marketing startup guide. Learn how to start an online business, acquire money-making online marketing techniques, and profit like never before! Get the guide at http://SimplyeBusiness.NET

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How Organizing Your Time Can Save You Money
© 1999, by Harmony Major

Applying these ten proven time-saving tips can mean the difference between your Internet marketing and home business success, or a life-time of struggle to make ends meet! If applied effectively, these little gems can be some of your most effective money-makers. 
 

(10) Do your least favorite daily activities first! 

Don't put off those dreaded daily duties until last. Did you ever notice how fast you complete a dreaded task just to get to your favorite activities? Do hated activities FIRST so that you get them out of the way faster. 
 

(9) Organize your work space. 

How much time do you waste each day looking for a file, a disk, or an ORDER that you misplaced? My guess is, TOO much. Keep your work area organized to save time. When you get a few extra dollars, invest in a nice filing cabinet for your home office. You'll save more time, and you'll be eager to use your "new toy."
 

(8) Write out a daily "To-Do" list. 

When you map out your day's activities, you'll get side-tracked less often by knowing exactly what you need to do. For example, if you run across a great promotion site while searching for ezines to swap ads with, bookmark it in a "Great Promotion Sites" folder that you can refer to AFTER you've finished your daily duties. Stay focused! 
 

(7) Create a monthly or weekly "To-Do" list. 

There are a lot of activities that can't be accomplished in a day, no matter how much we'd like for them to. Put these activities on a weekly or monthly "To-Do" list so that you won't forget about them, and so that you can gradually map out a plan to work toward those goals. Depending on the task, you may even be able to break your weekly or monthly duties down into a daily, step-by-step plan for easier, more efficient completion. 
 

(6) Get an efficient, feature-packed email program. 

If you're a half-way successful online marketer or business owner, you probably get more e-mail each day than you can keep up with. Use an e-mail program that will auto-filter your mail into user-specified folders. Not only will this allow you to quickly weed through your mail to find out what's most important and what's trash, it will save you LOADS of time in reading, responding to, and sending e-mail. 

An excellent free e-mail program to try is Eudora, at http://www.eudora.com/products/eudora/download/
 

(5) Let friends and family know exactly when you're working. 

Not only will this make for much less time-wasting interruptions, it will also improve your creativity and productivity. You think much clearer when you're not pre-occupied with worrying about when your roommate is going to come interrupt you to use the phone, or when your husband will start bugging you about dinner! 

If you can't come up with a set working schedule each day, a simple "Working Do NOT Disturb" sign on the outside of your door will do. Believe me, I've tried it. 
 

(4) Keep HEALTHY snacks, drinks, and other tidbits in your work area. 

There's nothing worse than having to abandon a killer idea due to a persistent bout of hunger pangs. If you keep a few snacks like fruits, juices, and granola bars within arm's reach, you'll lose less time (and ideas) to those "natural disasters." However, don't keep too many snacks in your office or you'll run the risk of becoming a junk-food junkie.

Which leads us to our next time-saver ... 
 

(3) Pencil yourself in ... to YOUR schedule! 

Typical dedicated entrepreneurs can spend 12 hours straight at their computers, which is unhealthy both mentally AND physically. You're much more productive and fresh when you've rested a while. There's no milking a pooped brain for great ideas! And, if you spend that much time without taking a break, you'll become grumpy, tired, and in poor health (from all your meal-less days).

Don't skip meal breaks, bathroom breaks (God forbid), or "quiet time". Take some time out for yourself. 
 

(2) If you're too busy to read ezines ... subscribe to a few. 

"What? Is she crazy??"

Maybe. ;-) But seriously, don't become so "business-minded" that you forget how to have fun in your business. I thought the purpose of starting your business was to have more flexibility and free time for yourself? Never forget that. 

So, subscribe to a "Joke-a-Day" or motivational ezine. Joke and quote ezines are usually short and sweet, and give you something to get into a more light-hearted mood. You'll be surprised at how much the quotes can relate to your personal experiences each day.
 

(1) Find a few dedicated, trustworthy, and reliable joint venture partners. 

Don't take the long, slow, lonely road. Find someone with the same goals, dreams, and business themes, and find a way to co-op with them. You can cross-promote each others websites or ezines, exchange signature files, or anything else you can think of. Be creative. When you have help, the sky's the limit. 

Good luck, have an excellent day, and much success to you!

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Harmony Major is the author of Yahoo! Secrets, where she reveals how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day, by getting a #1 listing on Yahoo. Don't just settle for "getting listed." Use her instantly-effective tactics to boost your site traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing! Visit: http://YahooSecrets.com

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