Organizing Your Day

One thing I have run across during my time as an online marketer and while counseling others is the time factor. When you work out of the home, you know that from 9-5 you will be working and your mind will not be on having to do laundry or making the kids behave so you can work in peace and quiet. Not so when you work from home. You need to learn to be more organized and have set times you know that you can work around your family. Unless you have older kids, for now you will work crazy hours, I know I do. When I first started working from home, it seemed I was working all the time. The truth was if I really added up all the hours, I really wasn't working more than 8 hours a day. But I worked all week, including weekends for eight hours, because I wanted to be successful. I didn't want to be out in the work force. Those who know me know I do not handle well structure imposed upon me by someone else; hence, the 9-5 job isn't for me! I had to learn to find out what times worked for me. I had to ask myself what are the kid's hours? Are they in school? What time do they go to bed? What is the most important thing I have to accomplish today? Once I established those "rules," I was able to set up a day-to-day schedule for myself. I am not always organized, but I do have to write things down or I will forget! Hey, having three kids and a hubby around you tend to lose track of items  So what I did since I couldn't find a big enough organizer that I liked, I went out and bought a nice 3-ring notebook with file folders and dividers. I also bought a large refill pack for the day-to-day calendars and monthly calendars to see what needs to be done at a glance. Here is how to set up the organizer for starters. Later, once you get used to what you are doing, feel free to set the organizer up the way you feel comfortable. Purchase three divider labels--one for ideas, one for marketing ads (type these out on the computer, than print them out and ad to this divider), one for contacts that you meet everyday. Purchase folders to keep those print outs from the Internet during your online classes or searches that will help you later on. Do you have more than one company? If so, make sure you have a folder for each one of your companies. Keep all the information pertaining to each company in a separate folder. Now organize your daily and monthly calendars. Another useful tool I have is a Rolodex. I add WAHP's contact information to my Rolodex so in case I lose any information, due to computer loss or deletion I have it on hard copy. This was a HARD lesson I had to learn this past year. I had relied so much on my computer that when it crashed I lost everything. I also, sad to say, never backed anything up! Now I make sure I back everything up at least once a week. I also have a business card holder that I place in the folder. It contains the cards of anyone I do business with, whether it is someone I bought products from or they bought from me. On the back of each card I write myself notes for instance: After ordering how long did it take for me to get my order? Did they have good customer service? Did I feel like a valued customer? Would I go back to them? Would I do any type of business with them? ETC I know it sound tedious but it's been worth it to me. Now that we have your organizer all set up, I want you to take one divider and use it for the next week. Go about your business and work schedules like you always do. Write down what you do, where you go, how long you spend on a project, the hours you work, the time you get on the computer and the time you get off the computer. List the errands and normal household duties you need to accomplish everyday. After two weeks, I want you to go back over your notes and see what your day really is like. See how to set up your schedule. When were you the most productive? When were you the most frustrated? What is your best time to work with peace and quiet? Now take a few minutes to write up a schedule for the next week and stick to it. I know it's going to be hard. This is to allow you to realize what you can do and cannot do. This will also help you set limits and know exactly what goes on around you. Feel free to adjust your schedule after the first couple weeks to better suit your needs. My point in all this is you need to know exactly how you spend your time. If you were networking and then decided to go play a game online or just post in forums or shop online, you cannot count that as working.