I Cant Find My Office Door Through This Pile Of Laundry!
| Category: Home Based Business - is it for YOU? | Date: 2003-06-22 |
"I just dont get it", my loving husband said to me the other day, "Youre home all day. Cant you take just a ilittle/i time to pick up the house?"
I squeezed my eyes closed and prayed to find forgiveness in my heart.
When my husband and I were married a few months ago, he loved the idea that I ran a successful business at home. I appeared to be independent, self-sufficient, and in command of my life and my future. Of course, in the first blush of dating I had always taken great care to pick up the house before he came over. I would reluctantly put my work aside and blaze through the house like a fireball, stuffing laundry in the washer, piling dishes in the dishwasher, and vacuuming at a speed that would have earned me a traffic ticket had I been driving a car. When he arrived, he would see a decently maintained home and a welcoming girl friend. What he didnt see were the late nights I put in at my home office making up for the time I had spent in those romantic dinners and in the frantic house cleaning I had done earlier.
Then we married and he didnt understand why I couldnt put aside my work and clean the house, have dinner waiting for him when he walked in the door and run all the little errands he needed done. iAfter all, I was working at home-which must mean I had infinitely more time for these things than he did at his 9 to 5 job, right?/ib Wrong!/b
In order to become successful, independent, and self-sufficient running a home business, I needed to learn long ago about the first rule of being self-employed. iYour home office is your boffice/b, and you need to bbe in it/b in order to make money./i The piles of dishes, laundry and the dog hair on the carpet that I saw on my trips to the kitchen for coffee would just have to wait. I wanted to grow my business quickly, and every hour that I spent cleaning was an hour that I wasnt spending in marketing, talking to prospects and associates on the phone, and moving product. iEvery hour that I spent cleaning was blosing/b my business money!/i While living alone it was easier to ignore these things. Living with others, however, is a different story.
I had assumed that my enlightened and forward thinking husband would understand that my business required just as much of my time and energy as his demanded of him. Boy, was I wrong! After a little discussion, however, we worked out a compromise that has allowed us to meet both of our needs and expectations while maintaining a comfortable home.
To reach this compromise, I created a work-at- home schedule that showed him iexactly/i where my time was being spent-- on work and house cleaning, cooking, and errand running. We then sat down and reviewed this list together. He saw how much of my time was going toward the business and what that time was creating for benefits to our family. He also saw how much time I already scheduled for house cleaning and how much more effort was needed. And, he saw that I couldnt do it all alone. What a relief! Now we have a schedule that allows for the errands, chores and other household duties to be done consistently without taking valuable time away from my business.
This work-at-home schedule can be a wonderful tool for you to use in gaining a clear understanding of the actual time you will have to devote to the many demands in your life.
To create a work-at-home schedule, get a piece of paper and do the following exercise:
1.Honestly assess how much time your business will need from you in order to grow. Then, add 20% to this figure to cover unexpected loss of work time due to family demands (kids home sick), interruptions (your mother calls and wants to chat), etc. For instance, if you plan 20 hours a week to devote to your business now, add 4 additional hours a week to this figure (20% of 20 hours). This means that in order to get 20 hours worth of work done, you will need to schedule 24 hours a week. If you now devote 40 hours a week to your home business, add 8 hours to that and schedule 48 hours.
2. Next, Make a list of all household chores. Beside these chores list whether they need to be done daily, every couple of days, weekly, etc. Then, estimate how long each chore takes each time you need to do it. For instance, vacuuming can be done three times a week, and takes about 30 minutes each time. Dishes need to be done twice a day, and take approximately 15 minutes each time, etc.
3.Now, make a list of errands that need to be done each week, such as grocery shopping, going to the laundry, picking up the kids from school or driving them to practice, etc. Determine the days on which these errands need to be done and how long each errand will take.
4. Next, make a schedule by listing the days on which you will work at your business. This will vary depending on the type of business you have. Most people prefer a Monday- Friday schedule, but yours may be different depending on your circumstances.
5.Now, determine the times of day you will be working. Some businesses require that you work during regular business hours, beginning at 9 am. Other businesses may require you to make a lot of phone calls in the evening, when your prospects and associates are home from work. Think about which working hours will be most beneficial for your business. Using this information, block these times each work day. For instance, I do a lot of evening call arounds, so I reserve the hours of 7:30-9:30 each evening for these. These two hours a day are counted into my 48 hours a week work schedule. Other business activities, such as preparing mailings or ad campaigns, are more flexible and can be scheduled more freely.
6. Schedule breaks for personal down time. Make sure you schedule a lunch break each day, two 15 minute breaks or a half-hour break to catch your favorite show, and any exercise time you need to recharge yourself during your busy day. iThese times are to be held sacred!/i You must have this down time in order to maintain your productivity and sense of self. Unfortunately, this is often the most tempting part of your schedule to give over to household chores. iDont make this mistake!/i Schedule and take your personal time each day.
7. After all of your scheduled work time and break time has been blocked, take a look at the remainder of the time left to you. Block time for the necessary errands that must be run or time sensitive chores that must be done. For instance, if you know that your son has chess club every Tuesday and will need a ride home, block that time first. If you know that you need to go grocery shopping every Friday in order to get double coupons, block that off too. You know you need to cook dinner beginning at 5:30 pm each day, so block that time on your schedule as well.
8. Now that you have a good idea of what needs to be done and when it will be done, you can schedule the chores that are more flexible. Very few people absolutely have to vacuum their floor at 3:30 pm every Friday. This is a flexible chore that can be scheduled or delegated as your schedule permits. You can do these chores in the times that you have not scheduled office work, personal time, or errand times. For instance, if you dont start your work day until 10 am, but you wake to get the kids off to school at 6:30am, you have a good block of free time in the morning to do some chores.
/liYou now have a realistic and thoughtful picture of what your work-at-home life will look like. It may be that you will not be able to do some of the chores you would like to do. These will either have to be delegated to another family member (get the kids to vacuum or mop, the family can fold clothes while theyre watching t.v., etc.), or they will have to be ignored until you can fit them in.
You can now sit down with your spouse or significant other and show them iexactly/i what working at home means.
Whether you are newly married or have been married for years, it is vital that you work out the realities of a home based business with your spouse or significant other before you take the plunge. That means letting them know that you will be ibworking/b/i at home- inot/i sitting around eating bon-bons and reading romance novels. And, that your business will require you to spend exclusive time on it, without interruption from house cleaning chores and errand running. This is where time management and scheduling can be your most powerful tool in growing your business while maintaining your peace of mind.
About the Author
Naisha Ahsian left a VPMarketing position in the corporate world to pursue her dream of a successful home business. After failing in three businesses, she finally found the right opportunity and is now enjoying a successful career at home!
:To contact see details below.
nahsian@prepaidlegal.com
http://www.EthicalHomeBusiness.com
I squeezed my eyes closed and prayed to find forgiveness in my heart.
When my husband and I were married a few months ago, he loved the idea that I ran a successful business at home. I appeared to be independent, self-sufficient, and in command of my life and my future. Of course, in the first blush of dating I had always taken great care to pick up the house before he came over. I would reluctantly put my work aside and blaze through the house like a fireball, stuffing laundry in the washer, piling dishes in the dishwasher, and vacuuming at a speed that would have earned me a traffic ticket had I been driving a car. When he arrived, he would see a decently maintained home and a welcoming girl friend. What he didnt see were the late nights I put in at my home office making up for the time I had spent in those romantic dinners and in the frantic house cleaning I had done earlier.
Then we married and he didnt understand why I couldnt put aside my work and clean the house, have dinner waiting for him when he walked in the door and run all the little errands he needed done. iAfter all, I was working at home-which must mean I had infinitely more time for these things than he did at his 9 to 5 job, right?/ib Wrong!/b
In order to become successful, independent, and self-sufficient running a home business, I needed to learn long ago about the first rule of being self-employed. iYour home office is your boffice/b, and you need to bbe in it/b in order to make money./i The piles of dishes, laundry and the dog hair on the carpet that I saw on my trips to the kitchen for coffee would just have to wait. I wanted to grow my business quickly, and every hour that I spent cleaning was an hour that I wasnt spending in marketing, talking to prospects and associates on the phone, and moving product. iEvery hour that I spent cleaning was blosing/b my business money!/i While living alone it was easier to ignore these things. Living with others, however, is a different story.
I had assumed that my enlightened and forward thinking husband would understand that my business required just as much of my time and energy as his demanded of him. Boy, was I wrong! After a little discussion, however, we worked out a compromise that has allowed us to meet both of our needs and expectations while maintaining a comfortable home.
To reach this compromise, I created a work-at- home schedule that showed him iexactly/i where my time was being spent-- on work and house cleaning, cooking, and errand running. We then sat down and reviewed this list together. He saw how much of my time was going toward the business and what that time was creating for benefits to our family. He also saw how much time I already scheduled for house cleaning and how much more effort was needed. And, he saw that I couldnt do it all alone. What a relief! Now we have a schedule that allows for the errands, chores and other household duties to be done consistently without taking valuable time away from my business.
This work-at-home schedule can be a wonderful tool for you to use in gaining a clear understanding of the actual time you will have to devote to the many demands in your life.
To create a work-at-home schedule, get a piece of paper and do the following exercise:
1.Honestly assess how much time your business will need from you in order to grow. Then, add 20% to this figure to cover unexpected loss of work time due to family demands (kids home sick), interruptions (your mother calls and wants to chat), etc. For instance, if you plan 20 hours a week to devote to your business now, add 4 additional hours a week to this figure (20% of 20 hours). This means that in order to get 20 hours worth of work done, you will need to schedule 24 hours a week. If you now devote 40 hours a week to your home business, add 8 hours to that and schedule 48 hours.
2. Next, Make a list of all household chores. Beside these chores list whether they need to be done daily, every couple of days, weekly, etc. Then, estimate how long each chore takes each time you need to do it. For instance, vacuuming can be done three times a week, and takes about 30 minutes each time. Dishes need to be done twice a day, and take approximately 15 minutes each time, etc.
3.Now, make a list of errands that need to be done each week, such as grocery shopping, going to the laundry, picking up the kids from school or driving them to practice, etc. Determine the days on which these errands need to be done and how long each errand will take.
4. Next, make a schedule by listing the days on which you will work at your business. This will vary depending on the type of business you have. Most people prefer a Monday- Friday schedule, but yours may be different depending on your circumstances.
5.Now, determine the times of day you will be working. Some businesses require that you work during regular business hours, beginning at 9 am. Other businesses may require you to make a lot of phone calls in the evening, when your prospects and associates are home from work. Think about which working hours will be most beneficial for your business. Using this information, block these times each work day. For instance, I do a lot of evening call arounds, so I reserve the hours of 7:30-9:30 each evening for these. These two hours a day are counted into my 48 hours a week work schedule. Other business activities, such as preparing mailings or ad campaigns, are more flexible and can be scheduled more freely.
6. Schedule breaks for personal down time. Make sure you schedule a lunch break each day, two 15 minute breaks or a half-hour break to catch your favorite show, and any exercise time you need to recharge yourself during your busy day. iThese times are to be held sacred!/i You must have this down time in order to maintain your productivity and sense of self. Unfortunately, this is often the most tempting part of your schedule to give over to household chores. iDont make this mistake!/i Schedule and take your personal time each day.
7. After all of your scheduled work time and break time has been blocked, take a look at the remainder of the time left to you. Block time for the necessary errands that must be run or time sensitive chores that must be done. For instance, if you know that your son has chess club every Tuesday and will need a ride home, block that time first. If you know that you need to go grocery shopping every Friday in order to get double coupons, block that off too. You know you need to cook dinner beginning at 5:30 pm each day, so block that time on your schedule as well.
8. Now that you have a good idea of what needs to be done and when it will be done, you can schedule the chores that are more flexible. Very few people absolutely have to vacuum their floor at 3:30 pm every Friday. This is a flexible chore that can be scheduled or delegated as your schedule permits. You can do these chores in the times that you have not scheduled office work, personal time, or errand times. For instance, if you dont start your work day until 10 am, but you wake to get the kids off to school at 6:30am, you have a good block of free time in the morning to do some chores.
/liYou now have a realistic and thoughtful picture of what your work-at-home life will look like. It may be that you will not be able to do some of the chores you would like to do. These will either have to be delegated to another family member (get the kids to vacuum or mop, the family can fold clothes while theyre watching t.v., etc.), or they will have to be ignored until you can fit them in.
You can now sit down with your spouse or significant other and show them iexactly/i what working at home means.
Whether you are newly married or have been married for years, it is vital that you work out the realities of a home based business with your spouse or significant other before you take the plunge. That means letting them know that you will be ibworking/b/i at home- inot/i sitting around eating bon-bons and reading romance novels. And, that your business will require you to spend exclusive time on it, without interruption from house cleaning chores and errand running. This is where time management and scheduling can be your most powerful tool in growing your business while maintaining your peace of mind.
About the Author
Naisha Ahsian left a VPMarketing position in the corporate world to pursue her dream of a successful home business. After failing in three businesses, she finally found the right opportunity and is now enjoying a successful career at home!
:To contact see details below.
nahsian@prepaidlegal.com
http://www.EthicalHomeBusiness.com
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