If you're
in the paid workforce and toying with the idea of starting a home business
so that one magic day you can tell your boss what you REALLY think of
him or her, you have a rough patch to get through first. The time crunch
that comes with running your business on the side in your already non-existent
spare time while you continue working in your job until the business
is generating enough of an income to allow you to quit.
It's tough
being a moonlighter, as many of you reading this know only too well.
Here are some ideas to help you beat the time crunch. WHERE
DOES THE TIME GO? Before
you can begin planning how to make the most effective use of your time,
understand where it goes. An activity
log is a good way of identifying black holes that can be turned into
productive time. Keep a log for a typical week. Just write down everything
you do for that week. Be sure to include everything: getting ready for
work, eating meals, taking breaks, travelling to and from work, grocery
shopping, telephone calls, faxes, emails, casual chats, work activities,
reading, making meals, watching TV, whatever. IDENTIFY
TIME WASTERS AND NUKE 'EM Your activity
log will identify, in excruciating detail, exactly how much time you
are squandering each week ... valuable time that you could be putting
to productive use in a home business. You may find that you're spending
16 hours a week watching TV, for example. That's two whole business
days right there. So identify
those time wasters and kill them off. A time waster is any thing that
doesn't make a worthwhile contribution (proportionate to the time you
spend on it) to your work, your business or your personal wellbeing.
If it doesn't make a contribution to one of these three areas, dump
it or delegate it. ON
THE JOB The more
efficient you are on the job, the more easily you will be able to free
up work time for business-related activities. You can't be too obvious
about it, of course, but so long as you're on top of your work responsibilities,
you can buy yourself some time to take care of some of your business-related
activities. Paradoxically,
studies have shown that moonlighters who 'cheat' by squeezing in business
activities alongside their work activities are often more effective
in their day jobs because they work harder than they normally would
to keep from getting caught. One word of caution, though. It's generally
a BAD idea to choose for your business something that competes with
your employer's business. Such an arrangement is rife with conflicts.
SCHEDULE
YOUR TIME If you've
followed the above steps, you should by now have a reasonably good idea
of how much time you have available to you and what activities are going
to serve your business, work and personal needs. Now it's
time to schedule everything you need to accomplish. You may choose to
do this on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, it's up to you. I recommend
though that you start out by creating daily "to do" lists
until you get used to the discipline of managing your time effectively.
Make a
list of everything you would like to accomplish today. This includes
business, work and personal. Now prioritize those activities in order
of necessity, importance and urgency. When thinking about priorities,
make sure that if you run out of time today, what doesn't get done is
something that can wait until tomorrow.
In addition
to scheduling your activities, allocate realistic time periods within
which to complete them. By setting a time limit for these tasks, you
will force yourself to lift your pace to get them done in the time alloted
which in turn will force you to become more productive. It will also
help you discipline yourself not to allow distractions to get in the
way. When scheduling,
work with your effectiveness level as much as you can. Schedule important
tasks that require creativity and clear-thinking for your most alert
period of the day. Routine or mundane tasks can be slotted into low
energy/low concentration periods. Also,
try and maintain and influence your energy levels with diet and rest.
A high carbohydrate breakfast will keep the brain supplied with sugars
for the early part of the day. But by mid-morning, you may experience
a sugar slump so get into the habit of having a mid-morning snack to
avoid this. A banana will do the trick. Some people swear by protein
(such as an egg) at breakfast to delay the energy dip. Experiment until
you find what works best for you. Still
on the subject of diet, if you want to have a productive afternoon avoid
large lunches because they divert blood from the brain and to digestion.
If you've ever felt like taking a nap after lunch, that's why. Also,
don't drink alcohol at lunchtime because it's a sedative. All you'll
want to do is go to sleep. Not very conducive to a productive afternoon's
work. BE
RESULTS-FOCUSED Focus
on results, not on being busy. You are, I'm sure, familiar with the
Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule. The Pareto Principle
says that 80% of unfocused effort generates only 20% of results and
the remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of effort. Focus
on the results you are wanting to achieve and look for ways to work
more efficiently. MANAGE
DISTRACTIONS
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Elena Fawkner is editor of the award-winning weekly ezine,
A Home-Based Business Online, a down-to-earth publication
containing practical home-based and online business ideas,
telecommuting job listings, original articles, free e-books and
much more. She also runs the A Home-Based Business Online
website at at http://www.fawkner.com.
You can subscribe to her newsletter at the site.
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