I have days when I definitely work a “regular” work day but there are others where other areas of my life encroach. As a home business owner, many of us face a reality where we can only work an hour or two on our business a day and we have to try to make that time count. What IF you can only work for a short period of time on your business? How do you take advantage of the time you do have and make the most of it?
If you do not have unlimited time to dedicate to your business, you have to prioritize. The more you are able to identify those tasks that are most important and bring in the revenue, the better off you will be. Additionally, the more organized you are in terms of your business operation, the more time you can spend actually working and the less time you have to spend hunting for things or clearing off a space to work on your desk.
Think of the typical 8 or 9-hour work day—how much time do you spend doing busy work like tidying your desk, sorting messages, cleaning out your e-mail in-box, processing mail, etc. Not to mention the other “filler” of getting snacks, going to the bathroom, etc. You may discover that a typical, reasonably productive work day really only involves a few good hours of concentrated work anyway. If you only have a couple hours to give your business—get rid of all the clutter and distraction and stay as focused as possible on those identified priorities for the time you do have.
Are there tasks you can do while you are doing other things? You may be able to carve out a little more work time if you can make phone calls while you are waiting for school to let out, or mix in your work errands with your personal/family errands. If you can multi-task and get in more work while you are doing other things, you may be able to expand your productivity as well.