Tuesday, July 21, 2020

Managing Your Online Time

No Games During Working Hours
Time management is crucial for the Internet marketer, or any business person, for that matter. While there are several aspects of your business that you will be able to conduct offline, much of your work will be done while you are connected to the Internet. The temptation to surf, do research, or fool around in general is great and the savvy Internet marketer will be mindful of what they are doing online.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of time management is discipline. While many of us yearn to be our own bosses, sometimes we’re not prepared for the freedom we suddenly have once we take on our own business. That’s why, even though there may not be anyone looking over your shoulder, you’ll have to make sensible rules – and then follow them! To many of us, there is nothing more relaxing than an online game or surfing our favorite websites, and there’s nothing wrong with that. If that’s what you like to do, by all means, keep doing it. Just discipline yourself to do so in your off hours. It may be difficult at first, but you’ll be much more productive if your work hours are for working only. That way, you can thoroughly enjoy yourself during your off hours and you won’t feel guilty for playing. Effective time management isn’t for work only, it’s for every aspect of your life.


Networking is Important, But…

Networking is an important tool both in the offline and online business communities. However, if you’re not careful, you can spend so much time networking that you don’t have time to actually work. The solution? Just like you should schedule time for the rest of your business activities, schedule time to visit forums, network, and check on your competition. Depending on your business needs, you may need to schedule this type of online activity on a daily or a weekly basis. The important thing is to take care of this task at a time that is not taking away from the task at hand.

Managing Chat Programs

Depending on your business, you may have a variety of chat programs open so that you can communicate with clients or customers. While this can definitely be a boost to your business, it can also be a huge time waster if you’re not careful. While you certainly should let clients know when you are available to them, no one should be allowed to monopolize your time. If you need to leave chat programs open for clients to communicate with you, do so, but don’t stop to chat with every friend or acquaintance that stops to chat with you.

Take advantage of the invisible option available on most chat programs when you can. In addition to going “invisible,” you can also create a custom message or be invisible to only certain people. Then after working hours, you can be visible again if you choose. The important thing is to not let the convenience of chat and instant messaging turn into a huge time waster. Depending on the needs of your business, you may want to set aside certain hours that clients can reach you and then work certain hours where you are left on your own to attend to other tasks.

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Saturday, July 18, 2020

Leave Multitasking off Your Schedule

Keep Business Calls a Priority
Maybe your mother can do five things at once, but multitasking is not always the best advice for the Internet marketer. Think about it: if you’re doing five things at once, which one is receiving your full attention? It’s far better, most of the time, to focus on one thing at a time, do it well, and then move on to the next item on your list.

While you can probably get away with stirring the soup and throwing the clothes in the dryer when you’re on the phone with your sister, multitasking while you’re on the phone can be a huge turn-off to clients and customers and could cost you their business. I don’t know about you, but I can usually tell if the person on the other end of the phone is doing something else and I find it highly annoying. Time management doesn’t mean saving time when you’re losing customers.

Focus! Focus! Focus!

Even when you’re alone, it’s important to focus on the task at hand. While you may like to work with the television on, it can be a huge timewaster and your productivity can suffer as well. Now, that’s not to say that all multitasking is evil; there’s nothing wrong with folding the laundry while you watch television in your off hours, but there’s certainly nothing wrong with doing absolutely nothing while you relax and watch TV either. In fact, you’re likely to enjoy your off time even more if you will let yourself be totally off during leisure time without trying to accomplish something every minute.

Quality vs. Quantity

While you may indeed get more done when you’re multitasking, don’t neglect the importance of quality. Clients who insist on quality work and products will only patronize Internet marketers who are able to consistently provide quality work and products. Remember, too, that word of mouth travels even faster online than it does offline and no matter how fast you produce, if you get a reputation for shoddy quality, you’ll find that reputation almost impossible to lose. Quality should never suffer for the sake of time management, but rather, effective time management should allow you to produce quality work each and every time. Save the multitasking for when you are watching television, listening to music, or leave it out altogether and enjoy quality time when you’re relaxing as well.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Keeping a Time Management Diary

Time Management Diary
One of the first things financial experts tell those with money problems is to write down every single dime they spend for a period of about 30 days. This is often used as an eye-opening exercise so people can see where their money is really going so they can know where they need to make adjustments or control their spending. In the same way, keeping a time management diary can be a valuable tool to help you to see where the bulk of your time is being spent. If you are constantly being interrupted by phone calls or find yourself surfing the net when you should be working, a time management diary can help you to pinpoint areas where you might need to make adjustments.

Other ways a Time Management Diary can Benefit Your Business

When you start keeping a time management diary, don’t just note that you are working at certain times but rather write down exactly what kind of work you are doing. You don’t have to get detailed here, just jot down a few words. For example, are you conducting research, responding to customer questions or complaints, filling orders, updating your site, or what? Tracking the amount of time you spend on each work activity, at least at first, will help you to see where you are spending the bulk of your time and where you might need to make adjustments.

Be Honest!

The time management diary is for your eyes only so be honest! Write down the time you spend surfing, playing video or online games, emailing friends, and any other non work-related activities. Just like the individuals who keep finance diaries are often shocked to discover how much they spend on beverages or magazines, you may be surprised to discover where huge blocks of your time are going. Whatever you discover, once you have a record of how you normally spend your time, you’ll have a pretty good idea of what adjustments, if any, need to be made.

Time Spent on Business Activities

You may be surprised to discover that you spend a good portion of your day answering customer questions or complaints. If so, use this information wisely to streamline your business and hopefully, increase profits. For example, if you are spending a significant amount of time answering customer questions, could your site benefit from a FAQ section? What about customer complaints? Are you seeing the same complaints over and over again? Is there something you can do different to minimize those complaints? If so, it will serve you well to do so since your customers will likely tell others how they feel about your business, whether it is positive or negative.

Start keeping a time management diary today and use it as a tool to grow your business!

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Saturday, July 11, 2020

Assertive Techniques for Effective Time Management

Techniques for Effective Time Management

It’s not easy to tell others we’re busy, especially when they’re just trying to be friendly but at times, it will be necessary to be assertive when others want your time and attention during working hours. Whether you’re just starting your business or you’ve been an Internet marketer for a while now, the most important thing you can do with respect to others respecting your time is to treat your business like the business it is. Otherwise, if you lounge around in your pajamas and work now and then, others may not take you or your business seriously and may think they can call or visit at any time. Being firm about visiting after work hours is an often difficult, but necessary time management skill.

When you treat your business like a business and work a regular schedule, most people will respect that schedule. Instead of friends and acquaintances expecting you to stop what you’re doing, they’ll most likely ask you to lunch or to get together after work, as if you worked a conventional job. Self-discipline can be difficult at times but it is one of the most important components of effective time management.

One of the greatest benefits of being your own boss is that you can be flexible with your schedule. You can schedule medical or other appointments whenever you need to or attend your child’s school activities. You can name your own days off and take a vacation whenever you like. Still, in order to be as productive as possible, it is smart to keep the same schedule every day.

Sometimes, there may be friends, neighbors, or acquaintances who don’t really believe you’re really working, especially if you work out of your home. Neighbors may ask you to sign for packages or look in on school age children after school. Friends who have the day off may assume they can drop in unannounced and you’ll stop what you’re doing to visit. Although it may be tempting to do so, it will be better for you and your business if you remain firm. It can be difficult at first but you can say something like, “I’d love to visit but I’m working right now. What are you doing at 5:00?” (Or whatever time you stop working for the day). There’s nothing wrong, either, for you to sign for an occasional package but be careful not to become the neighborhood go to person or it could interfere with your work.

As more and more individuals turn to the Internet to make money, either part-time or full-time, those individuals who do work at home will be taken more seriously and won’t have to defend their time as strenuously. In the meantime, if you want others to take you seriously, make sure you are treating your business like serious business. That means being serious about time management each and every day.

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Wednesday, July 8, 2020

Combining the Two: Your Personal and Professional Lives

Your Personal and Professional Lives
Individuals who own their own businesses often have a lot of flexibility when it comes to which hours and days to work and how many. Many Internet marketers work out of their homes and some of them choose to work in an office outside of the home. Wherever you choose to work, be aware that it is easy for your personal and professional lives to clash when you are your own boss.

Internet marketers can easily become workaholics, especially those who enjoy what they are doing. Because virtually anyone can become an Internet marketer with little or no startup capital, it often takes many hours of hard work before any profits are realized. This can take a toll on the Internet marketer’s personal life and cause professional burnout as well. Effective time management skills can not only be good for your business, but they are essential for your personal life as well.

That’s why it’s so important to manage your time wisely so that work isn’t spilling over into your home life and vice versa, especially if you have a spouse or partner who is not a part of your business. While you may think you have to work sixteen hours a day to get your business off the ground, it is important to balance both your home and work life, especially if you work from home.

With laptops that can go virtually anywhere, it may be tempting to take your work to the kitchen table, to bed, and to the family room while the family is watching television. Making a practice of this, though, could cause resentment in the family so it might be wise to establish regular working hours and have a part of the home that you can claim as your workspace. If you’re able to have an office in the home, that is best, but many Internet marketers start out in the corner of the kitchen, living room, or bedroom. Wherever your workspace is, try to keep your work in that area so that when you are interacting with other family members, it is clear that you are not working. While you will need a certain amount of flexibility, by practicing strategic time management skills, you will have the time you need for your business and for your family.

It is important for the Internet marketer to have the support of his or her family when possible and you will probably garner much more support if you don’t let your work overtake you. Try to keep regular working hours and let work go during your off hours. If you do find that you have to work extra hours in the beginning, sit down with your family and explain what it is you need to do and ask for their support. Most importantly, make time to be with your family even if you just walk out of one room and into another. Share your goals with your family but be available to them after working hours just as if you had a conventional job. By separating your personal and professional lives, you’ll have more peace in both.

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Sunday, July 5, 2020

Goal Setting for Effective Time Management

Goal Setting

Time management is important for any business but it is also important to know exactly what it is you are trying to achieve when you set out to wisely and effectively manage your time. For example, do you need to interact with more customers per day, write more content, or update your websites in a more timely manner? Someone famous once said something like, “If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?” While this statement is true for almost any aspect of life, it is certainly true for the Internet marketer as well.

Set Reasonable Goals

The time for time management techniques and strategies isn’t when things are falling apart; the time for time management is every day. But first, before you decide how you will manage, or schedule your time, it is important to know what it is you plan to accomplish and when. If you concern yourself with proper time management techniques before you even start your business, you will be well ahead of the game.

Since there are so many aspects of Internet marketing, you will likely have several important things on your agenda that you need to accomplish. Instead of setting aside the afternoon to update your blog, set aside a specific amount of time to do each task and notice the difference between the time you allotted for the task and the time it actually took to complete it.

What is Stopping You?

Everyone gets interrupted from time to time but it is extremely important to return to your task as soon as possible after the interruption. Also, it is important to make note of what kinds of things are interrupting you. If it is the telephone that is constantly interrupting your work and the calls are not business related, you might want to think about not answering your phone during working hours and making time after hours to return personal calls.

When Work Interrupts Work

Maybe one aspect of your work is taking more time than you thought and is preventing you from completing another aspect of your work. This happens more than you might realize and is perfectly normal. This is when you need to sit back and assess how much time various tasks are taking to complete and adjust your schedule accordingly. Part of effective time management is being able to tell when something isn’t working and being flexible enough to adjust your schedule or even the way you do things.

Perhaps you need to hire some extra help or let something else go altogether. One of the mistakes beginning Internet marketers make is trying to do too many things. Then they wonder why customers stop coming to their website or websites when the answer lies with how they are managing their time and their business.

Be Flexible

Internet marketers that spend all their time creating websites and almost none of their time updating them may be disappointed to find that traffic comes to a grinding halt after a while. Web surfers and customers are looking for relevant, fresh content and marketers who don’t devote the necessary time to update existing websites may be sorely disappointed in their revenue.

Effective time management is a skill that is learned over time. No one gets it right the first time and in order to make the most of your time you will need to be flexible while keeping your original goals in mind.

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