Time Management Tips For Your Home Business

When working for an employer, we all dream of the opportunity to have more freedom and flexibility with our time.  But most people do not know how to manage their time effectively when they finally start working from home.   Managing your time for a short period consistently each day will pay off for your business when you do it right.  A small intentional effort goes a long way.  It is the 80/20 Rule—20% of your activities contribute to 80% of your results.  

For over a decade, I have witnessed new entrepreneurs who get laid off or who quit their jobs or who retire, and they happily start their own home business!  They spend most of their time doing miscellaneous chores around the house from washing dishes, folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms, watching television, doing yard work, scrolling on social media, making coffee, eating lunch, and at the end of the day they ‘feel’ they have accomplished a lot, but they have not accomplished anything in their business.   After a few unproductive months, they go back Online to find a job because they needed the structure they were once so resistant of.   Every company requires discipline and structure, a home-business is not an exception.  We don’t sit on the couch all day eating Oreos and go off on exotic vacations whenever we want, we work!   It isn’t easy but the payoff of flexibility and time with your family is rewarding to those who desire a fulfilling lifestyle they can create and control.    

Here are the 5 activities that most home-based businesses should focus on to get results.  These are considered money making activities!  After all, you are in business to make money; otherwise, it would be called a hobby!

1.       Building your network (5 new contacts daily)

2.       Inviting and booking appointments

3.       Presenting your products or business

4.       Closing and follow up

5.       Personal development and training

If it does not fit into any of the above 5 categories, it should not be your focus during your office hours.  Oh yeah, you should have office hours!  My public office hours are 9AM-2PM and 6PM-8PM (by appointment) but my real hours are 4AM-2PM and 6-8PM.  I am a proud member of the 5 o’clock club -an unspoken elite status of successful entrepreneurs who start their work day at 5AM.  You can promote yourself, too!  Start waking up at 5AM and you will add more hours to your days.  I wake up at 4AM to start my day with prayer, meditation, and I shower and get ready for the day.  

My business is scheduled around my daughter.  She is the primary reason, I work from home.  When my daughter gets home at 2:30PM, I don’t want to push her away because I must work, I want to hear about her day and help her with homework and be available to listen.  I cook her dinner and we chat or watch a movie and then I jump back into my money-making activities when she settles in for the evening.  I know we hear you should grind all day but that is not feasible for single moms, I’m a single mom.  Most parents whether single or not, work their home business around their children’s schedule.  I work 5 days a week with Tuesday and Friday dedicated to presenting my products away from home between 6PM-8PM.  To some, it is perceived that I work all day, but my money-making activities are dedicated to Mon-Friday from 8AM-2:00 PM and 6PM-8PM.  

My weekends are flexible for family time, me-time, or training and public speaking opportunities.  

I encourage you to grab a notebook and pen and deliberately write down your 7-day schedule and write down the activities you plan to do during your office hours.  When you write it down before it happens, you are more likely to work on it.  If you don’t write down how you will spend your time, you will find yourself doing a bunch of busy work!  Procrastinators tend to do a lot of busy work and if that’s you, I suggest reading the book by Brian Tracy, “Eat That Frog!  21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and More Done in Less Time.” 

Did my tips help you, email me and let me know at support@helenapaschal.com. 

My blog is for busy entrepreneurs who work from home but are seeking to build a thriving business with more leverage and influence.  As an entrepreneur for over 15 years with 2 businesses under my belt and national recognition as a mentor and trainer, I am confident you will find reading my blogs an impactful contribution to your bottom line!