Time Management to maximize your (at-home) workday

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The only real way to maximize your time and manage it efficiently is to learn how to manage yourself efficiently. Everyone, no matter who they are, has the same number of hours in a day. It is how you use those hours that determine your degree of success. I have read several books o­n effective time management, but it was when I understood that the solution to the problem required a totally different outlook, that I achieved some measure of lasting success. Here are the most important steps that have helped me become better at using my time in each workday. 1.     Purpose- You must determine before hand what you want to accomplish. Spend time thinking about your goals for your business. Write them down. Be specific. Have a clear purpose in mind. Think about where you would like to be in a year from now or maybe six months from now. It may take a few days or a few weeks to come up with the o­ne that clearly defines your objectives. 2.     Plan- After you have written down your mission, you must outline the steps that would be required to accomplish it. Break these steps into monthly actions, and then break those down into weekly procedures. Think about potential snags and how they could be avoided. Then, beginning at the beginning, take the first week’s action plan and break it into daily tasks. 3.     Prioritize- For each day (this can be done the night before) determines which are the most important tasks. How each is related to accomplishing your mission (step 1) gives it precedence or not. Number them in order of descending importance and do those that are most important first! This not o­nly gives you confidence as you complete each, but it also allows you to tackle them when you are most mentally prepared. 4.     Produce- As stay at home workers, we tend to be dreamers and perfectionists. Although these traits can be beneficial at times, they result in a lot of procrastination. Don’t wait for the perfect time to get the job done, nor should you wait until you have 5 hours to work o­n the project and complete it perfectly. Decide to spend 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes after lunch and you may realize that it is all the time that you needed. The key is to make sure and spend that time actually working o­n the project, not reading email or surfing the net looking for more information J. 5.     Play- Recharging is so important to the whole process. There must be time spent away from it all. This allows you a different perspective and even more creativity. The rejuvenation that comes after say exercising or playing with the kids makes it all so worthwhile. You will find that you will gain a much more effective use of your time if it is interspersed with some recreation and relaxation than if you worked all the time. This is not a quick fix. It takes time to implement these steps. But trying to incorporate them slowly and steadily into your workday allows you to see the progress. Bad habits are not easily substituted, but with consistent deliberate effort they can be replaced easier than they were formed. The secret is to work smarter not harder. For more free info visit: http://an-online-business.com