Time and Tide
There is an old saying that goes, "time and tide wait for no man," and it can be a useful reminder for those of us that work at home that our time is precious, albeit limited and should not be wasted.
As managing the time spent in the different areas of this business can be a little difficult, I thought a timely article for the new year would be about the way we use our time and if it can be used any more effectively when we work at home.
Well, the first thing that springs to mind from my own point of view is that I'm a terrible time manager.
Time Managers
I'm sure there are plenty of good time managers out there that would simply tell me to do this or that and my time will be much more efficiently used.
The problem is that I am not a structured person in that respect, I'm more creative. That means I naturally resist any attempts to structure my time.
I've tried it in the past when I worked in IT and it was a disaster. I wasted more time in writing down and calculating what I was supposed to be doing with my time than what I was actually doing with it!
There are different types of people in this world and what you have to understand is that we all work our own way. Round holes, square pegs and all that. The people who advocate time management are generally the kind of people who work really well with that model. It's perfect for their needs and they are most efficient when they are managing their time to a tight schedule.
Other people, like myself, are the opposite and actually work less efficiently when we are restricted in that way. So is there another solution?
Yes and no.
Stay with One Project at a Time
It all depends on how well you can stick with a project and not need to continually flit between several different ones through boredom. I find that I can stay with one project for a while before I get fed up and want to do something different.
So to use my time as efficiently as is possible for my way of being, I try to start the day working on the project that is most important to me. I stick at it for as long as I'm able and then take a break. Then I move on with a second project until I get fed up and take a break.
This might sound horrendously inefficient to the time manager types, but it works for me and that's far better than the alternative. So if you are having issues with your time, then you first have to figure out what works best for you and then go with it no matter what anyone else says.
Summary
Running your own business and trying to make money online while working from home can be demanding of your time, resources, effort and, at times, your very sanity!
It can be hard enough trying to keep up with your competitors without needing to monitor every minute that you are actually working. They are doubtless working just as hard as you are to stay in the game.
Only you know how you work the best and anyone else is only coming at it from their own perspective, which may not match yours! Stay successful!
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Posted on January 27, 2010 in Work at Home | 0 Comments