zeldabelle

Preventing Home Based Business Burnout

If you're a home based business owner, you know what I mean. Priorities shift constantly. The home based business accounting tasks that you meant to get done this morning are still waiting for you when 6:00 p.m. rolls around. And since you're at home, well, you think, why not, and plunge right back into your home based business chores. Before you know it, it's 11:00 p.m. You've missed dinner with the kids and only want to fall into bed, exhausted. Every home based business owner has days like this occasionally, but a steady diet of them can cause serious home based business burnout. Luckily, by using these tips on making the most of your time, you can prevent it from happening to you—which could ultimately save your home based business.

One of the first things you should do is categorize tasks that are similar and do them all at once. For instance, make as many phone calls as you can during one block of time. Knowing you have other calls to make to your home based business clients will help you keep your calls shorter. And it also just makes since. You already have the phone in your hand and your phone book, if necessary, handy. Do the same thing with writing letters and taking care of email. Grouping your chores this way will help you make the most of your time.

Another thing you can do to help you get more home based business work accomplished in a day is to set priorities. Write them down, and then look at your home based business to-do list. If there's a task or two that won't take a great deal of time to do, take care of them first, then jump into the higher priority jobs on the list. This gets a few things off your home based business to-do list that you may not get to otherwise, and over a period of days, those unattended to tasks add up to a mountain that seems overwhelming. Getting a few less important home based business chores done early in the day also has a psychological effect of making you feel more productive, and so you become more productive.

You also want to build some breaks into your home based business schedule. Eating lunch and/or dinner at your desk in your home based business office is a big no-no. Make it a point to take meal breaks anywhere but in your home based business office. You might build in a short walk during the morning or afternoon to give you an additional break. You'll come back to your home based business more refreshed, and this makes it possible to do your work more quickly and efficiently.

Learning to say no is important too. When you're just starting your home based business, this can be difficult to do. You want your home based business to be successful, after all, so it's only natural to want to say yes to everyone and everything. But taking on too many clients or projects, particularly ones that don't really fit with your personal and home based business objectives and goals, can end up actually costing you money, not to mention energy that you could put to better use doing your necessary home based business projects and chores. So before you say yes or sign any contracts, give serious consideration as to whether it's the type of client or work that fits your home based business goals and if you can realistically take on more work.

Some other tips on making the most of your home based business time include:

Delegate whenever possible
Outline the work for any project in advance
Make appointments with yourself to do certain chores—and keep them
Bring in help if you need to
Organize your home based business office for maximum efficiency
Create a filing system—and use it

Finally, don't make the mistake many home based business owners make in thinking working harder means getting ahead. Remember that saying about working smarter, not harder? Well, it's true, and it's also the best way to prevent home based business burnout.

Charles Fuchs
http://www.charlesfuchs.com
http://charlesfuchs.blogspot.com

I grant permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way.

Copyright © 2006, Charles Fuchs, President of Vision Management Enterprise Inc., is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Work at Home Based Business.

MORE ARTICLES:

Small Business Marketing: Boosting The Profitability Of Your Business
Are you always looking for small business marketing help that will allow you to not only have a successful enterprise but one that is capable of growth now and in the future? This should be the hope of most entrepreneurs, but many are simply trying to keep the doors of their institution open. Far too many companies fail because the focus is always on the wrong thing. Marketing is important, but only if it is done in a way that will increase the profitability of the company instead of exposing it to more and more market risks.

Business Card 2.0 Launched
Web destination offers digital tool for professional branding and personalization.

7 Essentinal Resources for Small Business
So you want to start a business but you don't have a lot of money? Start your business online, and it won't be a problem.There are some pretty terrific resources you can use.

Bolster Credibility with Investors--Avoid These Phrases in Your Business Plan
Remember Papa John's commercial on TV with the slogan "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza"? Well its nothing more than puffery: general, non-provable, inane claims. The problem is puffery is not only acceptable it's often expected.

Manual Submission To Directories: One Of The Most Tedious Part Of Managing An Online Business
(but also one of the most crucial part)It is time consuming, and..

Kaseya MSP Customer Data Balance Wins Business Solutions Magazine "Channel Innovator Award" for Managed Services
Pro Balance Solution Utilizes Kaseya to Remotely Manage Gold's Gym Franchises' IT NeedsKaseya, a global provider of information technology (IT) automation software for IT solution providers and corporate IT organizations, today announced that customer Data Balance has won the 2008 Business Solutions "Channel Innovator Award" for Managed Services. The annual Channel Innovator Awards recognize the publication's choices for the year's most revolutionary channel solutions.

Sun Capital Group is the Premier Sponsor Offering Alternate Business Funding Solutions at Growing Wealth Live 2008 May 22-24, 2008, Hilton San Francis
Growing Wealth Live discusses many topics on finance including working capital for businesses and Cash Flow Management (http://suncapital.com/newsletter/may_growing_wealth.asp).

Graphic Designer Shows Entreprenuers and Small Business Owners How Page Layout Can Sell More Books
Karen Saunders, award-winning graphic designer and owner of MacGraphics Services, has just posted the latest in a series of free articles on her website. Readers will often pass on a great book because it's hard to read - not because of the content, but because the page layout simply makes it difficult on the eyes. So how do you make it easy on the eyes? Saunders shows you in her latest article, entitled Turn Page Turners Into Buyers With Great Page Layouts. Without getting too technical, Saunders gives a little insight in to what makes people buy a book or put it back on the shelf. She offers marketing and design tips on a variety of topics on her website at How to Increase Your Business and Make it Grow without Killing Yourself in the Process
The typical business owner is usually heavily involved in the day-to-day production of the company and manages around the edges. When they try to make a run for the bathroom someone will commonly stop them and ask them a question. Oftentimes the owner doesn?t have enough data to actually answer what?s going on or solve a particular problem. This lack of information can result in making some poor decisions. Sometimes the owner will make a decision for a staff member and the staff member walks away thinking that the decision or solution will never work. At times owners get very frustrated with their staff when presented with problems in the office which require their help -- saying that they are busy and when they get a break they will solve ...

Empower Your Business Success
GIVE YOUR BUSINESS A GOOD STARTSo you want to start your own BUSINESS ? But you don't know how to make it happen. Here is my best advice to you.

Nielsen Business Media Announces Lineup for Marketing to Men 18--34
The Definitive Conference For Brand Leaders is targeting elusive male consumers.

S4 Inc.'s Chandu Shah named Massachusetts Minority Business Person of the Year
Chandu Shah, President and CEO of S4 Inc., was recently honored as the Small Business Administration (SBA) Massachusetts Minority Business Person of the Year for 2007. This award was presented by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to recognize Mr. Shah as an outstanding minority small business owner, and for his personal achievements and contributions to our nation's economy.

Applying For A Home Business Loan
One of the biggest considerations that you will encounter when creating a home business is applying for a bank loan. Many people are not sure how to prepare for walking into a lending institution and asking for their money. The surest way to experience denial is to be unprepared. Before filling out the application, you will have to spend some time organizing the facts and figures that the bank will require. There are several steps that you will have to complete before your home business loan request can be submitted.

The Advantages of Bilingual Business Cards
In today's business world, you can't help but handle all sorts of customers from all countries. Additionally, while you're doing business with clients from countries where English is not their common means of conversation, then here is where bilingual business cards come into play.