Home Business Blog

Today’s post on the topic of sticking to a schedule when you operate a home business is brought to you by a friend of mine Chrissie. We’ll be seeing a weekly feature from her in the future as shes a great writer and “living the dream” of working from home.

The decision to work from home is a very appealing one for many. The phrase “work at your computer in your pyjamas” carries with it a sense of freedom and liberation that many cubicle confined workers long for. There are countless benefits to working from home, but many people don’t realize the drawbacks until they are in the business and struggling. One of the most appealing factors of working from home is the flexibility in scheduling and not having to answer to an employer. In fact, it is this very benefit that causes many home businesses to fail. Many business operating out of the home fail within their first year because this flexibility that is so appealing, is SO appealing, that home workers can never establish, and maintain, a good schedule that works for them, their lives, and their business.

I am a full-time freelancer that works from home, and have been doing so for a few years now. I am also a single mom, and there is any given day where a chance event could occur that throws off my entire schedule. This has probably happened to you as well. When one day gets thrown off, you can easily disorganize your entire week if you don’t manage that time properly.

Here are some scheduling tips that I have come up with, through trial and error, that have helped me keep my full-time business a full-time business with some scheduling how-to’s.

1. Keep two emails minimum – one for personal and one for business. Do not check your personal email during your work times. If you really want to waste your work hours, you are better off just sitting in front of the T.V. for an hour.

2. Check your work email at set times in the day. If you have a business that requires constant client communication, 3 times a day should do it. 9 AM, 12 PM, and 3 PM. Pick the times that work best for you and when you can reasonably expect to hear from clients, and have time to communicate with them. Chances are, you are not getting paid for each email that you send. So the more time you spend on email, the more money you are taking from yourself by not putting in productive work time.

3. On Sunday nights, schedule your week. Make a list of what is due and when, and fit these tasks into the days they have to be done. This way, you go into your week organized. You may get new jobs, tasks, or projects, through the week, but at least you are starting your week with an idea of what kind of time you have available.

4. You may do the same thing every day, you may have different projects or assignments every day. Every home business is different. Set your next-days schedule the day before. Only do one day at a time or you will start to feel swamped. If you can’t do this, at least write down what you must accomplish the next day. Make a list in order of importance so that you know the next morning when you start your day, what you expect of yourself. Don’t finish your work day until the list is complete. Why? Because if you don’t, you will have even MORE work the next day.

5. I find it helps to list an approximate time frame beside each job I have that day. Sometimes I get new jobs and it really can be up in the air, but beside each task you’ve given yourself, list how long you expect it to take. Give yourself cushion room here. If you think one job will take an hour, give yourself an hour and a half *just in case*.

6. Make sure you schedule breaks. Here you can check your personal mail, run errands, make dinner, or do whatever you need to do. I have my break times during school pick-ups and drop-offs because it’s just easier for me. I can still clear my head, get out of work mode for a little bit, make calls that need to be made, grab a coffee or a bite, and still swing right back into my work day when the break is over. School times are not something flexible for me, so it only made sense to me to work my breaks into it. Find the times that work for you. If you don’t take breaks, you will find yourself getting stressed very easily.

7. Do not make personal calls or answer your doorbell during your scheduled work times. This one was a tough one for me at first. Particularly when everyone and their brother knew I worked from home, it meant nothing to them to drop in or give a ring when they had free time. This is your work day. You can deal with the world when your work day is done, or when your break comes up. If this is tough for you, turn off your phone and put headphones on when you are working.

8. Leave yourself an hour at the end of each day for administration. This will serve you two purposes. For one thing, you are probably burnt out from working all day, and this is a great way to unwind but still be productive. Secondly, this is stuff that you need to get done. Even though you aren’t being paid for administrative duties, you still need to invoice, email, make calls, etc. and do this as you are winding down and shutting your brain off.

9. Don’t be afraid to set office hours with your clients. Let them know when you will and will not be receiving emails or making calls. If you have a business phone line, ensure your voicemail greeting makes callers aware of when you will be taking calls or returning messages. Again, even other businesses can have the tendency to take advantage of the home worker. No, you are not always “on” or available. Commit to this to save yourself some headache.

10. By the same token, make sure you give yourself at least one complete day off every week. That means, from the minute you get up, until the minute you go to bed, you are not working. You need this downtime, and your business will not collapse because of this. Let your clients know ‘Sundays’ are your day off or whatever day you choose. You can even have a different day every week off if that serves you better. Only you know what will work for you. If you take care of yourself, you will be better equipped to take care of your business.

The edge or the flow in life is always working for you or against you. Before I proceed take note of that previous statement; it’s true and the more you look at your life objectively you’ll sense which direction you’re going.

Essentially we are just living organisms and on a purely simplified biological level not that much different then a plant; we have 2 states in life; growing and wilting. Unlike a pond or swamp life does not stagnate; it’s like an ever flowing river of energy, emotions and events. You are either moving forward upstream and growing or being pushed downstream and wilting.

People talk about “your edge” meaning what do you do differently which gives you an advantage over others doing something similar? I’m not here to talk about YOUR edge; I’m here to talk about THE EDGE. The edge is nothing personal such as personality or writing style; the edge is whether you’re in a positive flow with your emotions or not.

Take inventory of your emotions; daily routine, thought patterns and ultimately outcomes in your life of late. Are you moving forward or slipping behind? Every moment of every day you are oscillating between these two states. You’re either acting and thinking in ways that will enrich your life through all facets or you’re trapped in a state of deprivation.

What did you do today? Did you do things that gave you energy or things that stole energy? Are you being all you can be and taking the high road or are you being lethargic and lazy letting your energy run down to the path of least resistance? Some succeed in life but ultimately many fail because to fail you don’t need to do anything explicitly. The path of least resistance has always lead to misery and poverty and it always will. It attracts the mind which is not occupied attracting the object of it’s desire. Wealth and happiness on the flip side are elusive and shy; they must voluntarily be attracted to you through deliberate thought and action.

Think about this as you go about your day; are you acting in ways which will benefit you today; tomorrow and into the future or are you chipping away at your vitality and just going with the flow? “only a dead fish flows with the current” is an old trite saying but it’s true. Why is society like a pyramid where some have lot’s but most have very little if anything? Ironically the line is often razor thin and you have to be aware of it’s existence to know which side you’re on.

In life you are either having the edge work for you or against you. It’s black and white and the beauty is as soon as you are aware of this you have the power to change your thoughts, actions and ultimately destiny.

Here is just an example; when I’m not smoking, drinking lot’s of coffee and I’m exercising my mind isn’t trapped wasting energy saying you shouldn’t be doing this or emotionally getting down on myself for failing to do what is best for me. That’s mentally but physically I’m sapping my vitality with each smoke and often too hopped up to really be productive from all the coffee. This is just a very basic example; another could be with the food you eat. Did you eat something that your body was like “awesome” as needed nutrients and proteins flow to the parts of your body lubricating, strengthening and making you feel full of vitality? Or are you eating foods which your body is screaming NO that saps your energy, makes you feel bloated, gives you no nutrition and ultimately rots you from the inside?

Another great saying is “your life goes where your energy flows”; what aspects of your life are getting the most energy; are these aspects things that will enrich you or merely hold you back? Perfect example is of say an alcoholic; they spend so much time thinking about and going about obtaining and drinking that if they didn’t have that intense drive for liquor but put that same intensity towards something productive where would they be?

Once you realize that your current reality which is everything around you and the thoughts inside you are the perfect result of every moment you’ve spent on this planet to date it empowers you to change some of the inputs to change the result. Nothing happens over night; remember that! You are where you are now from years and years of experiences albeit positive and negative. Where would you be next year if you capitalized; sought after and made the effort to align as much as your life as possible in activities and thoughts that help you grow and minimize the ones that cause you to wilt?

When the edge is working you feel empowered like you can do anything; when you’re on the flip side of the stream everything is a challenge and feels impossible; often even the smallest things! Take note of your energy levels they are the number one indicator as to which stream you’re traveling in. Your body subconsciously knows when you’re on the right path and consequently when you’re not.

Before worrying about your edge in life; be sure you have the edge working for you. Get into the positive energy stream and stay there. Like things attract; the longer you stay in the positive flow the more positive things and people will appear. Maybe that’s why you’re reading this post right now?

Opinions are cheap everywhere in the world…

If you want to be successful in the online marketplace or any industry for that matter you must watch whose opinion you seek. Opinions are one of the cheapest commodities on planet earth. Everyone has an aresenal of opinions on all topics. Opinions are so common and cheap that 99% of the opinions you will hear in your life are free! In today’s world most voluntarily give away a free commodity to anyone that will listen!?

I’m not about to say this in a mean spirit but it’s true; before you ever share an idea with someone qualify or disqualify them in your head first before you ask their opinion on a topic. Impossible is not a word that I use; ever. (except for here ) If you ask someone who has lived their whole life in one small town about the idea of starting a tourism company in one of the fastest growing tropical destinations they will probably give you an opinion which involves fear, doubt and uncertainty. It’s not their fault they are merely telling you what they think based on their wordly knowledge and experiences. Ask someone who is in international affairs and has many multinational corporations and they will probably tell you a totally different opinion filled with enthusiasm, hope and opportunity.

Take inventory of yourself; how many times have you shared a grand idea with someone for them to basically shoot it down one step short of ridicule? It’s not possible in their mind so they assume it’s not possible at all. Sadly your family who is hopefully your largest outlet of support is often not a good idea to bounce radical new ideas off of. Unless your parents and family are very open minded self starting entrepreneurs chances are they will only bring about negative possible outcomes because their number one priority above all else is to do their best to ensure you are safe and successful. All that they are familiar with is the life they lived and chances are they plan something similar for you as it’s a safe route they are familiar with. There is nothing wrong with that; it’s just not a great place to bounce radical ideas if you want a different life.

Chances are the friends you are with now are a result of previous attitudes and events. If you have an idea for the future which radically changes who you are both in society and financially and location wise chances are they are not the best people to bounce the idea off. I’m not saying you shouldn’t seek advice; I’m saying be careful whom you seek it from because doubt and fear are like a cancer that will eventually suffocate an idea. Once infected with fear or doubt regarding an idea or endeavor it just tends to spread unless it’s radically extricated. Best away to fight this? Prevention; avoid it; be proactive.

Next time you have a million dollar idea write it down; develop it and wait until the time is right to bounce it off someone you can trust to give you a non biased idea. Choose someone who is worldy and believes in possibilities; not limitations.

If you want to meet many people as such join us at our blog forum; if you ever want to bounce an idea off someone just send a private message to “Bloggeries”; it’s me and I’m always willing to throw in my $0.02 (read paragraph 1 again) .

Best of luck and I feel funny writing the sky is the limit as I’m currently 30,000 feet above the clouds flying over central Canada.