What are some of your time management tricks?

[Lori]

I think one of the main challenges Moms working from home face is balancing work and family.

I'm betting that many of you are like me and love your work so much you have to tear yourself away from it. And probably wouldn't, if it wasn't for your love for your family!

So how do we find the time to do it all? For one thing, we need to find ways to work smarter not harder. That may mean automating parts of your online business, or outsourcing work that someone else can do so that you can focus on the real revenue producing aspects of your business.

There are also lots of ways that we waste time. Checking our email to often is a common culprit. We all receive plenty of email that isn't related to our work. Most of it is junk, but some of it is newsletters that we have subscribed to. Rather than deleting this wanted information, and yet not wanting to be distracted with it - try setting up some filters that send it to a special folder. Then when you are having a cup of tea between projects, you can glance through and review it.

If you have small children at home and no childcare help - you have more distractions then most. Take the time to interact and play with the kids. Not only is that fulfilling your ultimate reason for working from home, but trust me, the kids will be much more content after getting some genuine attention and you'll find it much easier to get a chunk of uninterrupted work time.

What are some of your tricks for balancing work and family?

[Audrey]

I'm big on schedules. If you keep a schedule, you are more likely to get it all done. I remember when my kids were younger, they would grumble a bit about having to put "school play" into my calendar. However, since it was in there, I was ALWAYS there for them.

[Lori]

I'm big on schedules. If you keep a schedule, you are more likely to get it all done. I remember when my kids were younger, they would grumble a bit about having to put "school play" into my calendar. However, since it was in there, I was ALWAYS there for them.

I LOVE my outlook calendar :D As soon as I know something is happening I add it. You're right Audrey, I've noticed a big difference in the amount of time I seem to have when I'm more organized.

[tam2005]

If I don't keep my schedule/calendar in front of me, I'm lost! lol

A written schedule really helps me out big time. :)

[WorkAtHomeSpace]

I play it by ear and it's kinda all in my head. A lot of it is routine so I know what needs to be done first. Once that is out of the way, I start to work on my other things. I also know what I can handle and what my limit is when it comes to work, so I'm not taking on more than I can handle. I think I have a good balance and I can honestly say, I'm satisfied with what I have currently.

[aunicorn]

Time managment pocedure:

1. Make a "to do" task list.

2. Put priorities for each task in list.

3. Sort list highest priority to least.

4. Start working on first item in list.

5. Periodically review and change priorities as some tasks must be started or finished according to time schedules.

6.Allow for you to overide existing prioities and change them as you wish.

7. Periodically, usually daily, make a new list, That is go back to step 1.

Also, consider if some of the tasks can be worked on together, at the same time.
:help:

[Audrey]

That's a great working plan, thanks for sharing.

[kagome]

Thanks for sharing! I'm also guilty of procrastinating sometimes. Having a schedule is a big help.

[niseylee]

I love written schedules and to do lists, but my son has cured me of my addiction to paper:D He introduced me to twitter, Google Calendar, remember the milk etc. and it's helping to get me organized. He wrote a couple of articles on his blog (sheenonline.biz) to teach me and those like me how to use all this stuff.