Avoid These Time Wasters
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We all do it - in fact I have been guilty of every one of the following time wasters (except #2) at some point in my attempts to make money online. The first step is in recognizing where the time goes – so start tracking yourself. You will be as amazed as I was, and you will be one step closer to taking control of your business and income.
1. Email – This has to be the biggest time waster – and a hard habit to break, but it has to be done, or you will waste half of your day!
One way to solve this problem is to resolve to only check your email twice a day, maybe once first thing in the morning and then again at the end of the day.
You should also use multiple email addresses in order to prioritize – one, for business, one for family, a throw-away for forums, program sign-ups, or anything that could flood your inbox with junk. Also, try to resist the latest and greatest, must-have, tools and programs being thrust your way via copy-cat emails from every marketer known to man.
Turn off your email alerts, or pop-ups to help you resist the temptation to look.
2. Social Networking Sites – A personal pet peeve, but if you feel that you must participate in this sort of communication, try to limit yourself to once or twice a week. There is some real debate as to how much these sites actually help your business – if you use them for fun, then stick to the email rule.
3. Forums – Another time-sucking distraction that can cost you hours before you know it. Yes, I have been guilty of this one – still trying to kick the habit.
4. Surfing – Although it may be necessary to do some amount of surfing, especially if your work is totally online, you should try to stay focused on what you are surfing for and not get sidelined by something off-topic that catches your eye.
5. Checking Your Stats and Earnings – It can be tempting to analyze the hell out of your sites, especially when the traffic starts rolling in. While there is some value in this, it can bog you down unnecessarily. Same goes for the daily checking of your affiliate income – once (okay, maybe twice) a week should be enough.
6. Procrastination – The worst time waster/business killer of all! Putting things off, or spending too much time over-analyzing and not actively doing costs time and money that you cannot afford to loose.
The best way to combat procrastination is to set goals – I have a weekly list of things that Need To Be Done, and every morning I make a short list of things I want to accomplish by the end of the day. Logging the time you actually spend on your tasks will make you more conscious of how productive (or not) you really are, and hopefully help you to see where you need to make changes.
7. Doing Too Much - Spreading yourself too thin cuts down production remarkably. Focusing on just one major project per day will help you to accomplish much more than you might imagine. For instance, if you set out to write a set number of articles one day and then get a “brilliant idea” that you don’t want to loose – just write it down and put it on your list for the next day.
8. Texting – This basically fits in the same categories as Email and Social Networking. I fail to see how this can improve your business.
9. Phones – If this is a necessary part of your business, then try to set a block of time to deal with phone calls – outside of that time period, let it go to voicemail. Answering a call when you are on a roll only breaks your rhythm and train of thought.
10. Outside Distractions/Housework – The working from home atmosphere lends itself to all kinds of outside distractions – family, pets, visitors, etc. It seems to be hard for ‘outsiders’ to understand that just because you are home, that doesn’t mean that you are at their disposal. If you have an office, then shut the door and post a “Do Not Disturb” sign – if you don’t pick a room and do the same.
Housework can wait! A little self-discipline on your part is involved here. Although it may be tempting to just throw in a load of laundry, it is still a distraction. Household projects have a way of snowballing. Treat your work hours as if you were out of the house and do your chores as you would if you worked a 9 to 5 job.
