1. Chances are you started your business with the best of intentions - to be able to be at home with your children, to contribute financially to your family, or simply to have a little spending money of your own. Or perhaps you want to build a business which will give you the lifestyle you have only dreamed about in the past.
Take a moment and honestly ask yourself how you’ve been handling the time commitment of owning a business:
• Are you spending too much time on the phone, the computer, etc?
• Are your kids spending more time than usual in front of the TV?
• Do you snap at your children because of the stresses of your business?
• Do you worry about your business - to the point that it distracts you when you are with your family?
2. Make a list - Sit down and write out a list of things that you see that you’d like to change. This can be a list of things you can do differently to limit the time you spend on your business, and give you more time to spend with your family.
3. Analyse your time – keep a note of how long it takes you to different things, whether it is being on the phone, the computer, or other paperwork necessary. Also keep a note of the time you spend doing things with and for your family.
At the end of the week, total up the hours each day that you have spent on your business. Are you surprised or is it about where you thought you’d be? This can be a real revelation and show you clearly if your priorities have gotten off track.
Plan ahead and schedule your time. Prioritise things and have the work that will require the most effort and concentration scheduled for your peak time. Try and not get sidetracked and stay on track focusing on what you need to do. Set a time, perhaps twice a day to attend to your emails – you could be amazed how much more work you can get done by simply changing times that you read and answer emails. If you only answer them at set hours, you save yourself from being online longer than necessary and not accomplishing much.
4. Take a break - If you get to the end of the week and your time log has you in shock; it’s time to take a break. If you normally work during the weekend, make it a point to take a weekend off now and again. Shut down your email, let people know you intend having a family only weekend. You’ll be surprised at how refreshing this will be.
Use this time off to re-evaluate how you need to be spending your time. Try to plan out when you can work on your business without losing out on time with your children. If your children are in school, make it a point to stop working when they get home. If your children are still small, maybe you can limit work hours to when they have sleeptime.
5. Plan an activity - Now that you’re ready to make a change in your routine, why not plan an activity once a week? This can be an outing with your children or just something simple like setting aside time to make biscuits together.
Take the time to find what works for you and set your schedule accordingly. Make it a point to evaluate your priorities every few months to make sure that your time is spent properly. The rewards will be well worth it, when your family is not only proud of your accomplishments in your business, but also importantly your accomplishments as their mother, and a wife.
Be successful and successfully happy!!!!
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