Productivity EngineerInternet Marketing Tools to Enhance Your Productivity

Tired of waking up at the crack of dawn, running around trying to get ready and then sitting in traffic jams everyday no matter what time you leave? So was I until I found the awesome world of owning a home business. Now I make that long trek to my comfy desk chair about 8:00, in my sweats and not having a care in the world about making it to work on time. These are just some of the perks of owning your own home business.

Ok, enough of the pleasantries. As wonderful as working at home is, you must possess some great skills to find success at it. I am talking about time management and organization. If you are not careful, the comfort and distractions of having a home business can also be the doom of the very same thing. You have to find ways to ignore the laundry, cleaning and cooking that seems to be calling you throughout the day and make sure you stay on the task at hand. To help you accomplish just that, I have come up with a few tips that might make your life easier.

1: Be realistic with yourself. – You might want to start with asking yourself a few tough questions. Can I do this? Do I have what it takes to stay focused and ignore all the household distractions? Can I work to meet the deadlines while still retaining my freedom that I worked so hard to achieve? Freedom is great but it doesn’t pay the bills and if you don’t have the focus you need, this could be a disaster waiting to happen. Before you give a home based business a try, ask yourself the tough questions and try your best to answer them realistically.

2: Treat it like a job. – This may sound simple, but it can slip your mind easily if you can’t find the concentration you need. This is definitely a real job and is what you are counting on to pay your bills. Clock in and out just like you would a traditional business. Schedule your week and put it on a calendar you can follow daily. Schedule breaks and lunch like you normally would if you worked for someone else. Try not to detract form your schedule if you wan to find real success.

3: Is accountability your strong suit? – If it is not and you do get distracted easily, you may want to appoint an accountability partner. A spouse fits that description well, because they are looking out for what is best for you and the family as a whole. Check in with each other a couple of times a day to get a status report and use it as a way to gauge your activity.

4: Separate church and state. To manage your time working at home efficiently, you have to decide what you spend your hours on. Sometimes it is hard to explain to your family the difference between work time and family time. Once the workday is over, focus entirely on your family, and don’t let business intrude on your time with them.

5: How organized are you? – This is another very important question you need to address. De-clutter your home business surroundings. Concentrate on putting things away when you are finished with them, both on your computer and in your filing cabinet. Label everything in folders both online and offline. Being organized can lead to your success more quickly.

I hope these tips will help you with managing your time when it comes to your home based business. Having the right frame of mind and organization can be the real difference in your success.

Glyna Humm helps online marketing owners obtain success through step-by-step teaching, marketing ideas and strategies. To learn more about one of her unique, proven opportunities visit Let Me Help You During These Tough Economic Times

When coaching and consulting with many of my small business clients, we tend to focus on starting, buying or running a business. This can include hiring staff, working on better processes, developing a marketing plan and increasing cash flow. Often, though, they neglect important aspects of building success.

Entrepreneurs and small business owners tend to think differently. Small business owners often start their companies after having been employees in that industry. They frequently maintain that employee mindset. Entrepreneurs dream big, start several businesses from scratch, plan for the future sale of business and are always looking for the next opportunity.

Entrepreneurs see challenges like a recession as just another opportunity. Small business owners are often married to their business and get mired down in details. When the economy goes south, they hunker down into survival mode. Entrepreneurs are less likely to do this.

To be more entrepreneurial, small business owners need to create a real vision of what they want their business and personal life to look like. That vision needs to be very rich with detail and how their business will support their personal goals. Do you want more time to pursue scuba diving trips? Do you want money to send your children to Ivy League colleges? Do you want to be a keynote speaker? Start writing down your BIG DREAM.

If you are creating your vision for your business and your life and practical thoughts intrude, push them away! Asking yourself what you really want and writing it down makes no room for being practical. Practical is about the “how” not the “what”. You will get to that later. If you are an author and you dream of being on Oprah, write that down. If you are a stay-at-home mom who wants to earn a passive second income so you can devote more quality time to your kids, write that down. Just putting your dreams on paper is the first step to making them a reality.

Try to spend some time each day just experiencing what that big dream would feel like. Most professional athletes like Tiger Woods spend time visualizing the perfect putt, the perfect pass, the perfect no-hitter. They work with coaches who walk them through this process. If it works for them, why not you?

So, are you ready to take your small business to the next success level? Are you ready to acknowledge that big vision or do you want to stay married to your business and let it own you? Start thinking BIG like entrepreneurs do.

With 30 years of consulting experience, Steven Schlagel provides training and coaching for startups, entrepreneurs and small business owners. Check his site for more articles to increase your success!