Tag Archives: scheduling

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

Schedule, schedule, schedule…it is the word that has been running through my mind for a good week now. That’s because I am beginning to learn even more the importance of this word when you are running a home business. Of course, I have always believed in having a schedule. I believe in scheduling your days to start and end at a certain time (if possible), and to even schedule in your breaks. But one of the things that I have come to realize recently is that scheduling needs to go beyond this. I need to schedule time for other things, … Continue reading →

Scheduling Your Work Week

This may seem like the most obvious thing in the world but I do not know how many times I have talked to small and home business owners who confess that they take things day-by-day. They get up in the morning and get down to work, letting their day unfold as it may and putting out fires, tending to details, and dealing with things as they pop-up. They confess that they just don’t have time to schedule and plan and, after all, isn’t that one of the realities they left behind when they left the traditional work world?! Okay, maybe … Continue reading →

Collaborating on Deadlines

We often think of deadlines as something that is mandatorily set by someone else that we have to adhere to. It can be a means of control and structure and it may be that we are the ones setting a deadline and expecting everyone else to fall in line. One of the ways we can provide better customer service is to be willing to work WITH our customers and/or clients and agree on deadlines together in a collaborative fashion instead of having one party setting them for the other to follow. I know that many deadlines are non-negotiable. I definitely … Continue reading →

Do You Work Better at Home or Elsewhere?

We call it a “Home Business” but that does not mean the same thing for all of us. For some, it means that our business takes place in our home (a child care or elder care facility), for others it means that we have a home office or work for someone else from the comfort of our home. For others, it simply means that we are working for ourselves and not for a traditional company or someone else’s business. For many of us, we have come up with our own definition or a combination of some of these others. How … Continue reading →

Working in Bursts and Batches

I often write about time management and how to carve out efficient time for working at our home businesses. In fact, I often talk about how to protect your work time and create long stretches in order to stay focused and get things done. It dawns on me, however, that many us really do our best work in spurts—we only have time or energy for a little burst here or there and we work in batches instead of being able to spread things out over hours and days. This needs to be an okay way of working at a home … Continue reading →

You May Have to Throw Out the Clock

Figuring out how to schedule our time can be an on-going reality for the average home business owner. While I am definitely an advocate of trying to come up with reasonable and somewhat predictable business hours, I also understand how sticking to a set schedule and doing business “by the clock” just may not work for a home business operation. I have written before about how I do think that time management is a key concern for the home business owner. After all, what is the point of working 13-hour days that net us $20 in income? Of course, in … Continue reading →

When My Friends Complain About How Much Their Partners Work

I live my life straddling several different “camps,” at least that seems to be how it appears to others. For me, I feel pretty comfortable right where I’m at: a long-time single parent who runs her own home business, works for herself much of the time and does some work projects for others too. While I have been a wife and I spent a couple unsettling years as a SAHM unwillingly, mostly I have worked while raising my family, and it has been years since I was NOT the sole support for my family and household. With both male and … Continue reading →

Try Not to Hurry Through Your Day (If Possible)

I am writing this blog mostly for myself—I think it is a tip or a phrase of wisdom that I need to remind myself of every once in a while. Multitasking is one thing and time management and efficiency are good techniques for getting through a busy day, but too much hurrying and rushing can actually have a negative impact on our businesses. I feel good when I am being efficient and checking things of my list. I often, however, catch myself racing and rushing through my work tasks. With so much to do and trying to cram so much … Continue reading →

Are You Controlling Your Business? Or is it Controlling You?

Of course we cannot always be in control—especially with our home businesses. Not to mention, there is a big difference between maintaining some elements of control and being controlling (or a control freak.) Still, I do think it helps to ask ourselves if we are in control of our home business operations…or if our businesses are actually controlling us? Can you set parameters around your business and stick to them? Do you have general operating hours or do you take calls at any time of the day or night? I think that having some basic boundaries around a business can … Continue reading →

Give Yourself Time to Adjust when You Take on More Work

Growing a small business can often mean stretching beyond your comfort zone. While it growth and taking on more customers, clients and work sounds great in theory, the reality can be daunting. You may think that you will never be able to carve out the time or find the resources to expand your business. Instead of throwing up your hands and avoiding the challenge, give yourself time to adjust and see if you just don’t find a way to stretch and accommodate a growing business schedule. We all get in a groove–many of us are pretty good at establishing a … Continue reading →