REORGANISE YOUR TIME TO HAVE A HOME BASED BUSINESS
Almost everyone needs or wants more money
coming in, and with this desire most would
like to start some sort of extra income
producing project.
The trouble is, not many of these people seem
able to fit "a second job" into their time
schedules.
It's true that most people are busy, but
extra time for some sort of home-based extra
income producing project can almost always
be found.
It may mean giving up or changing a few of
your favorite pastimes - such as having a
couple of beers with the guys or watching TV -
but if you score big with your extra income
project, you will have all the time you want
for doing whatever you'd want to do.
The first thing to do is sit down with pencil
and paper and list your daily schedule.
What time do you wake up? Then step-by-step,
list everything you do each day.
Most people will find that they have about
three hours each day that can be utilised in
a more constructive or efficient manner.
As we've noted above, you may have to give
up the time you waste in your local pub or a
few television programs you watch, but it
will be worth it in the long run.
Efficient time management boils down to
planning what you're going to do, and then
doing it without backtracking.
Start by making a list of the things you
want to do tomorrow, each evening before you
go to bed. Schedule your trips to the shops
or wherever to coincide with the other
things you have to do, and with your trips
to or from work.
Organise your trips to take care of as many
things as possible while you're out of the
house. Take stock of the time you spend
standing around - especially the time you
spend on the telephone - and eliminate all
that isn't necessary.
Whatever chores you have to do at home, set
aside a specific time to do them, and a
specific amount of time to devote to them.
For instance, just one hour a day devoted to
house repair work would probably make your
property the envy of all your neighbours.
Don't try to do a week's work in one big
flurry. Whether it's painting your house,
fixing leaky sinks, or mowing your lawn and
trimming your shrubs, do a part of it, or
one particular job each day, and you'll be
amazed at your progress.
Take care of all your post the day you
receive it.
Don't let those bills and letters pile up for
you. If you're unable to pay a bill
immediately, file it in a special place that's
visible, and note on the envelope the date you
intend to pay it.
Answer your letters the same day you get them.
The important thing is to think of time as
your most valuable asset, because it is!
So organise!
Decide what you have to do, and what you want
to do.
From there, it's just a matter of arranging
priorities.
Once you start organising and planning what
you want to do, and then carry out your plans,
you'll find plenty of "extra time" for
handling virtually any kind of home-based
income-producing project.
People in general may not like routines or
schedules, but without some sort of plan as
to what is supposed to be done, the world
would be in mad confusion.
Laws, rules and regulations are for the
purpose of guiding people.
We live according to an accepted plan or way
of life, and the better we can organise
ourselves, the more productive and happy we
become.
The secret of all financially successful
people is simply that they are organised and
do not waste time.
Think about it.
Review your own activities, and then see if
you can't find a couple of extra hours in
each day for more constructive
accomplishments.
When you begin planning, and then when you
really become involved in an extra income
producing endeavour, you should work it
exactly as you have organised your regular
day to day activities - on a time efficient
basis.
Do what has to be done immediately. Don't
try to get done in an hour something that's
realistically going to take a week.
Plan out on paper what you have to do, what
you want to do, and when you are going to do
it. Then get right onto each project without
procrastination.
Set up your file system with your final plan
in mind, and you'll save a lot of time as
well as frustration.
Get the kind of file folders that hang from
the sides of the file cabinet's drawers,
allowing you to position the file folder
title anywhere across the top of the folder.
Then as you add clients to your file, you can
keep them in alphabetical order without
having a jumbled looking file drawer in
which you have to search for each title.
It's also a good idea to keep your active
accounts in one drawer, your "hoped for"
accounts in another, and master copies of all
your letters, proposals, business contact
information and records in still another
drawer.
You'll also need business cards.
Your nearest quick print shop can usually
order these and help you in selecting wording
and design.
Whether to rent, lease, or buy a copy machine
is up to you, but virtually no business can
get by without file copies. Carbon paper
means a loss of efficiency, and running over
to the corner shop to get copies is going to
cost you time and money, so be sure to fit
some sort of copier into your business start
up costs.
If impossible at first, use the old carbon
paper - you must have a copy for your file.
Just how good a typist you are, how well you
can write sales letters, and how busy you
want to be, should be the deciding factors
about the typewriter.
If you type at all - and there will always
be at least a few letters that you should
type personally - I suggest you go for the
long haul possibilities and rent, lease or
buy the best and most modern typewriter or
word processor that you can afford.
Later on, when you move to a "dream" office,
that will be one less piece of equipment you
have to be concerned about.
Once you've decided what area of business
consulting you want to be in, and have your
office or working space set up, the next
thing is to let people know you're available
for work.
Definitely use some common sense and applied
knowledge before spending any money on
advertising. Generally speaking, you will
pick up some customers, regardless of the
problem area you specialise in, by
advertising in your areas most popular
newspaper.
Finally, and above all else, when you're
organising your time and business, be sure
to set aside some time for relaxation.
Be sure to schedule time when you and your
spouse can be together. You must not involve
yourself in anything to an extent that you
exclude other people, particularly your loved
ones from your life.
Taking stock of the time you waste each day,
and from there, reorganising your activities
is what it's all about.
It's a matter of becoming more efficient in
the use of your time. It is really easy to do,
and you will not only accomplish a lot more,
you will also find greater fulfilment in your
life.
