Tag Archives: efficiency

Simplifying for a Single Parent

In the past few years, there has been a great deal of talk about simplification—making a chaotic life more simple and paring things down so that they can be more manageable. Some of us assume that the “simplification movement” is for uber-environmentalists or people who want to live off the land. For the average single parent, however, finding ways to simplify your life and the existence of your family can make you happier, healthier and free up time for you to spend together as a family. Simplifying your single parent home and family does not have to mean getting rid … Continue reading →

Is Hiring Household Help REALLY Out of the Question?

Earlier this morning, I wrote about how hiring temporary yard care help for the summer can be a good and efficient move for a single parent. Often, we single parents are on a tight budget and are reluctant to pay anything for extra help. It might be, however, that finding money in the budget to pay for a little household help can be money well spent and make our lives easier, and our families more peaceful. When most of us think of having a housekeeper, we think of someone like Alice from the Brady Bunch and assume it will be … 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 →

Cutting Down on Time Spent Waiting

Time management and making the most of the time we are given in a day is one of the chief challenges of single parenting. We spread ourselves around and as the solo adult in our household; have quite a bit to tend to. One of the realities that can “eat up” valuable time in a busy day is having to wait—we wait at the doctor’s or dentist’s office, wait on line, wait in traffic. If the average person figured out how much time she spends waiting, she might get incredibly discouraged at all the wasted time. What can be done … Continue reading →

Is This Work Worth the Money?

In the beginning of our businesses, most of us expect to work long hours and NOT see the immediate reflection of our work in our bank accounts. As we grow our businesses, however, it stands to reason that our time should become more valuable and we may find that we can begin evaluating how much time we are spending on a particular project or with a particular customer and ask ourselves whether the work we are doing is equal to the money we are getting paid? I know there are those people who prefer to just do the work and … Continue reading →

Clutter Slows You Down

You may think that you need your mess and stacks of papers and things to be creative and motivated; you may even be one of those people who claims that you know right where everything is and that the mess is YOUR mess—but the truth is, clutter slows us down in our home businesses. The time we spend shuffling, hunting and sorting is time we could spend more productively and time that could directly compute into added income. It is really common sense—it takes time to rummage and try to figure out where you left that important piece of paper. … 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 →

How Much Time Do I Spend Searching for My Readers?

I have not been one to go willingly into aging—particularly when it comes to my work world. It took me a good dozen years to figure out what I wanted to do with my life career-wise and now I am playing catch-up. Still, there are plenty of tiny little happenings that remind me that I am no longer part of the “young guard.” I have to consider an “age appropriate” hair style and I wear loafers and sensible shoes even when I am dressed up and networking. One reality of aging that I am certain is affecting my productivity and … Continue reading →

Sometimes, the Simplest Systems Work Best

There is no denying that a piece of single parenting comes down to organization and having “systems” in place that work. Whether it has to do with your custody arrangements, transportation, or just making sure the laundry gets done and the kids get fed—getting some workable systems in place can mean the difference between efficiency and chaos. Before you get too confusing and complicated with your “systems planning” however, it might help to remember that sometimes the simplest systems are the best ones… One thing I have learned raising a family of three kids over the years is that sometimes … Continue reading →

How Much Time is Wasted “On Hold”?

Between maneuvering through automated phone systems and sitting “on hold” I just know that time is being eaten away from my work day. While I am not going to take the time to figure out just how efficient sitting on hold is and I do try to find ways to “multi-task” and do other things while I am hanging on a phone call—I still think it is one of the liabilities or expenses of doing business! I expect that when I call the bank or particular suppliers that I will need to listen closely in order to push the right … Continue reading →