7 Quick and Easy Steps to Manage Your Time More Effectively
The internet is one of those things in life that borders on the verge of a good versus evil battle. It can be the greatest money making tool in existence, or the most malicious time waster. When people venture into the business of internet marketing, they often think it’s going to be a piece of cake. Most people who decide upon internet marketing as a business venture love the internet to begin with and want to unleash its evident power to their advantage.
Sometimes these web lovers are sorely disappointed because it seems that they work for hours upon hours and don’t get anything accomplished. That, my friends, is the nature of the beast!
If you intend to do business on the internet, you absolutely have to be disciplined in order to manage your time. Here are 7 steps to doing a better job of it:
1. Set work hours
It is so easy to waste time when you should be working and to end up working unreasonable hours. Internet work can seemly turn into an addiction overnight if you don’t set specific work hours and stick with them.
2. Schedule play hours
Don’t spend your work hours playing – surfing the net, visiting internet forums or participating in chat rooms. Set aside leisure time for such activities if you are prone to them.
3. Schedule communications
Set specific times during your work hours to open email. This should usually be the first thing and the last thing you do each work day. If you open your email periodically and respond to it, your work hours can be eaten up in a hurry! Turn off any indicators that tell you you’ve got new email.
4. Block the SPAM
Use a SPAM blocker to isolate or block SPAM email and keep it up to date. Use a separate email address for your business and personal email. Open personal email during your leisure time and business email during your scheduled communication time within your work hours.
5. Make a long-term plan
Make a long-term plan of what you wish to accomplish through your internet marketing. Having a vision with milestones and deadlines will keep you focused and working purposefully day after day.
6. Plan your days
Plan your days ahead of time with a “to do” list that ensures important things will get accomplished. Always plan a little time for unexpected interruptions or demanding little emergencies.
7. Kill the messenger
If you use messenger programs such as MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger, log out during your work hours. If you conduct business communications through the messenger program, open separate accounts or block contacts so that only your business associates that you need to be available to can contact you via the messenger program during your work hours.
Implementing these 7 simple tips will help you to master your time and will skyrocket your productivity!
A friend of mine back in high school never failed to amaze me every time we have assignments, projects, and requirements to submit. He would work on projects only a couple of days before submission when we had been given weeks to do it. It was also his habit to write papers and solve homework usually on the day of submission itself. Yes, he sometimes turned in late but I just find it somehow brilliant that he gets to still finish tasks without fully utilizing the time frame given to us. Little did I know then that my friend’s habit of cramming is already a behavioral problem called procrastination. Yes, that’s really the term for it.
We cram from time. We postpone doing the dishes to finish a movie on TV. We put off finishing our office work to be able to clock out early and attend a party. We start some tasks much later because “there’s still so much time.” And the list goes on. Heck, cramming is a part of life. But once cramming becomes your lifestyle, that’s where you got a problem.
Procrastination delays things and is counterproductive as well as unnecessary. These inevitably cause stress and a wave of guilt. Because one fails to deliver what is expected of him or her, s/he tends to magnify the perceived sense of disapproval of the people around him or her. One’s self-confidence and self-worth could also reach extremely low levels such that the person already starts sinking into depression and finds it hard to socialize even with close friends.
With stress also comes the degradation of physical health. To be able to review for an exam or finish writing a paper, students usually spend whole nights cramming. Lack of sleep and rest lowers the body’s immune system, making one more susceptible to illnesses. And it gets even worse when once your body starts to slow down, you load up on coffee and other energy-boosting, caffeine-heavy drinks. Caffeine may keep your body awake longer but it can’t keep your mind as sharp. Thus, the end result will just be a lowered body resistance.
One of the reasons of procrastination is the lack of skills. Some people who are not confident enough to do a certain task may, as a coping mechanism, procrastinate so they would have an excuse if they don’t finish their task on time properly. Procrastination lets them avoid doing something and gives them some sort of consolation. They make themselves believe that were they only given more time to work on something, they could’ve done it right.
Another reason for procrastinating is lack of interest. When they don’t have the drive to do something, some people procrastinate by doing something else or nothing at all. The thing about here is most people believe that they have to be in the mood to be able to do something when, actually, it should be the other way around. “Mood” is such a fleeting emotional and mental disposition, so it won’t really do us right to wait for it just to be able to do something. As efficient people say, the motivation is in the doing.
Now, given that procrastination is a serious behavior problem, if you think you’re a candidate for being a certified procrastinator, you should know better than to just laugh about it. Read up on how to strengthen your will power and discipline to be able to correct this habit. And, do it now.
Today’s world is one of ever-increasing activity. Families rush around from one thing to the next, juggling work, school, numerous extra activities, and maybe (if they are lucky) some sort of social life. Understandably, this is often a hectic and stressful process for all those involved. Parents in particular may find it difficult to orchestrate the numerous soccer practices, ballet lessons, and swim meets their children must attend. And that is not even mentioning any extra time that might be required for work or other activities not related to their kids.
So how can you make all these thing work without ripping your hair out in frustration? Well, the best way is to streamline your planning. This can be accomplished with a number of methods, but they all essentially boil down to planning your activities in advance and in detail to avoid hassles and confusion.
You can use some kind of organizer or planner as a central point for your family’s activities. This can be a professionally designed system, such as those you might find in office supply stores, or it can be a simple ring-binder notebook. Divide the notebook into sections for each family member, and use it to keep track of any appointments and dates, as well as notes and important phone numbers.
Bring your family together once a week to make out a master schedule for the week and place it in the front of the binder. This should include any activities your children will need to be taken to, and who will be taking them. This will prevent the confusion over who needs to go where, which is far too commonplace without any scheduling. This also gives you a good idea of just how full your schedule is, and will help you determine if you need to cut back on anything to make your schedules easier to manage.
If you have children you’re probably used to hearing someone ask “Mom, where’s my homework?”, “Mom, have you seen my new shoes?” and so on. No matter how often you tell your family to put their things back when they’re done with them, it seems they still end up missing. Make your morning run smoothly by having a morning routine for yourself and for your family.
Actually, you can start your morning routine the night before. Set out your clothes before going to bed and you’ll be that much closer to being ready in the morning. Find any accessories you need and make sure your clothes are ready to wear including knowing where both shoes are.
In the morning, you can get up without having to try to figure out what to wear. You can take your time showering because you have part of your morning tasks done. Go ahead and have a leisurely breakfast; your routine helps make your morning run smoothly.
Do what you can the day or the night before. Having a meal plan will help make your day run smoother by knowing ahead of time what you’ll be eating.
After you have dressed and eaten breakfast, start making your children’s lunches. Check your meal plan for dinner and see if there’s anything you need to take out of the freezer for dinner. Perhaps you can put part of your meal into the crock pot so you’ll have dinner at least started for the evening.
Check your child’s backpack to be sure all of their homework is in it. Were there any permission slips that you had to sign the night before? Be sure your child knows where the permission slip is so they can return it to their teacher.
Start a load of laundry if you have time. When you get home in the evening, put the laundry in the dryer and you’ll have less to do on the weekend.
Do you have a family calendar? Are there appointments you need to be aware for the day? Does your child have band or sports practice? Will you need to pick them up? Looking over your calendar before leaving each morning will help you be prepared for what each day holds.
Each day when you return home, put your keys in your purse and your purse in the same place. This one act can you save a lot of time because you won’t be searching for lost keys.
The old saying says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can teach yourself and maybe your family some. If you create your own morning routine, your day will run smoother. Perhaps watching how easy your morning is will make the rest of your family decide to create their own morning routines, too.
Routines are great for helping us get everything done so we can get out of the house on time each morning. Did you know that you can use routines to make a house run smoother, too?
Sometimes the best morning routines start the night before. If everyone in the family can get into the habit of selecting the clothes they want to wear the next day, it will make your morning run much smoother. You may even be able to get everyone out of the house on time and with little fussing.
Take time to develop a schedule that the entire family can follow. Find a calendar that has large squares to write in. Write down all regular family events such as practices or games if your children are involved in sports, scouting activities, weekly dates with your spouse, or religious activities if your family attends.
Determine which days certain household tasks must be performed. You may want to spend time each day cleaning a certain room in your home rather than waiting until the weekend to do everything. Do laundry one day, vacuuming and dusting another, clean the bathrooms on another day. You get the idea. If you have everything planned and do it the same way every week, it will soon become routine and you won’t even have to think about it.
One day each week, create a meal plan so you know what you’re going to eat. Write down what items are needed for each meal. This will give you an idea of what you need from the store. While you’re in the “food mood,” take the time to make your grocery shopping list and gather any coupons you may need. By having a plan and a list, this will allow anyone who cooks to be able to make dinner even if you’re not home to do it.
Having your meals planned out will also make it easier for you to get your family fed each day. You’ll know what you need to take out of the freezer, you can put everything in the crock pot to cook during the day, and you won’t have to make trips to the store on the way home.
After the evening meal, plan on setting aside time to enjoy as a family. Establish one night for family fun and games. Watch a movie or play board games. Have some fun with your family and watch the dynamics of your family change.
Set a bed time for everyone. Of course, you and your spouse will be able to stay up later than your young children, but everyone will benefit from getting to bed at the same time each night.
Creating routines to help your house run smoother is something every family can do. If you’re consistent in following the routines you’ve established, your day will run smoother and so will your house. It may take time to make the routines habit but the effort will definitely be worth it.
