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Time Management
How to Manage Your Time Between Work & Home.
By Fernando Soave Copyright © 2004
When you first begin your business, everything is
fine and dandy. It's like bringing home the new
baby from the hospital. Everyone visits to see
the new baby. Everyone thinks the baby is cute
and wants to hold it. Everyone "oohs" and "awes."
After a few months though, the newness wears off.
Now it's time to get down to raising this new
baby and preparing him or her to be successful
for their role in life.
A new business suffers about the same type of
beginning. You talk the decision over with your
family and involve them in hearing your initial
business plans. Everyone gets excited and tells
you to "go for it." Everyone agrees to help out
and the whole house is buzzing about with visions
of big bank deposits dancing in their heads.
After a few months though, the newness wears off.
Since you probably haven't made any money, family
members may grow tired and discouraged. They
begin degrading your motives for opening the
business in the first place. They may even
embarrass you and make you feel like a total
failure without even realizing it.
Eventually, if you stay with the business and
exclude the family, they will begin feeling
rejected. A spouse may be upset because you don't
go to bed the same time you used to. He or she
may pressure you into spending more time with
them and the children. You love your family and
don't want to hurt them but you don't want to
hurt your business either. You are torn between
two decisions, and sometimes this decision is
extremely difficult to make.
What are you supposed to do? It's only common
sense, if your spouse gets ill and you have to
take care of him or her, that this situation
would demand more attention than your business.
But, most situations are not this severe. Often
times, family pressures only come from the fact
that the family member feels left out and
rejected. Naturally, when you are building your
business, your time is occupied in this field -
much more than when you didn't have a business.
Your spouse may be used to falling asleep with
you while watching television. You can still do
this! Just take a break and watch television with
your spouse until he or she falls asleep. In
turn, he or she should have the understanding
that you will probably be working on your
business for a few hours while they are sleeping.
Give a little!
If the children are used to you spending more
time with them, try and involve them in some
aspect of your business. Take them to the post
office with you to pick up your mail. Talk with
them about school or other things that interest
them while you're both in the car. Ask them to
drop the mail in the mailbox while you are
cleaning out your post office box. Even a small
amount of responsibility in your business builds
up a respect for your work and they will give you
more space when you need to take time away from
them.
If your children are young - take a nap when they
are asleep and work longer hours after they go to
bed at night. If you work a full-time job, take
some lunches by yourself and study your
business-related materials. You'd be amazed how
much research and new ideas you can come up with
in 1 hour at lunch undisturbed over a
peanut-butter sandwich. Save money too! Carry a
mini-cassette recorder or pad of paper with you
every place you go. Write down ideas that come
into your mind and review these ideas while
eating supper or watching television. I'm sure
you can find time to build your business - it
just takes a little thought. It may not always be
the amount of time you want and need - but you
can squeeze some time in somewhere. Just find out
"what" method works the best for you!
There are a lot of excellent books on the market
about managing your time successfully. Find one
and read it. Your family, friends and other human
relationships are very, very important to your
mental attitude. Don't alienate them completely.
Just find ways you can enjoy the best of both
worlds and everyone will be happy - including you
and your business.