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What do Oprah, Scrabble, and dirty laundry have in common? For the self-employed, they can all be dangerous distractions that interfere with daily productivity.
There are tons of advantages to working from home. Many of us already dream about them -- setting your own hours, the freedom to schedule things like doctor and dentist appointments, and the ultimate in casual dress, to name a few. But what most solopreneurs don't know (until it's too late) is that there are also tons of hazards to working from home, too.
For instance, daytime television is much different than prime time. There are shows on that many corporate drones have never even heard of! (Not to mention the tried and true gems like Oprah.) Also, nobody will suddenly come up behind you to compel you to close that online game site window, and get back to work. What about the piles of laundry and housework clamoring for your attention? Oddly enough, even though you were able to let the housework slide when you worked outside of the home, now you feel a sudden compulsion to spend more time vacuuming, straightening out the junk drawers, and organizing your papers. It's a bit harder to ignore these distractions, since they are almost always in sight as you're attempting to work from home.
Yet there are many ways that a work-at-home solopreneur can manage distractions like these. The oft-given advice is, "Set a daily schedule and stick to it." Mmm, sure, sounds logical enough. But the whole reason we are choosing to work from home in the first place, is to have some freedom and flexibility! We just didn't know, going in, that managing our projects is a lot more difficult when there's no bossy boss looming and telling us what to focus on, when.
I've found a very simple way to manage time and attention that works well for many work-at-home solopreneurs. I call this "The checklist Method."
1. List all of the tasks you want to accomplish each week for your business. Include the time you spend working with your clients or customers. (i.e. Client time, newsletter, networking, follow up calls, administrative work, etc.) Generally, 15-25 tasks are manageable for most solopreneurs.
2. Put an estimated total hourly time (per week) next to each task.
3. Now you have a realistic starting point. Does your total hourly estimate add up to how many hours a week you intend to work? If not, adjust either your task hours, or your intended work time, until they are equivalent. Often, solopreneurs don't even realize that part of their frustration comes from the fact that they are trying to squeeze a 60-hour workweek into 35 hours.
4. Break down your tasks by day into a daily checklist. For example, you may have four items for Monday; client time, newsletter, admin, follow up calls. Tuesday's checklist may include client work, project A, and networking. Continue to fill out the checklist for the entire week.
5. Each day, your primary goal is to complete the daily checklist before focusing on other tasks or projects. Of course unexpected events arise that need immediate attention, but the purpose of this checklist is that it lets you know what to focus on when you're not in the middle of putting out a fire! Oftentimes, solopreneurs struggle with focusing their attention on the basics when the urgent things have been resolved. The Checklist Method reminds us of what needs to be done on a day-by-day basis.
When I first started using this method, I was delighted to learn that I still had time for Oprah, Scrabble, and dirty laundry - but my work was completed first!
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