Increasing workloads are forcing people to spend more time in the office, even when the office is at home. This means that many parents are unable to stay involved in their children’s lives as they develop, and are becoming mere spectators instead of loving role models. The result is an undermining of their relationships, higher stress levels, a lack of balance and a generally unfulfilled life.
However, this should not be the case. Working at home allows greater freedom and independence and should result in less time being wasted. Yet many of us fail to successfully make this transition. Discipline is a key factor when running a business from home… and believe me; I know what I’m talking about as I am one of the thousands of business owners who enjoy the benefits and also the challenges of as a home-based business owner.
DISTRACTIONS DETRACT One of my clients used to run his own successful accounting practice from home. With pre-school children and trying to grow his business, he and his wife used to get very frustrated with the fact that they could never remove themselves from the workplace. They felt their business totally overwhelmed them and caused many challenges which affected their personal relationships.
We were able to identify exactly where their time was being spent and found that there were simple ways they could do more in their growing business and still have a life. Three years later with the growth of their practice they have had to move their business to new premises.
Here are seven ways you can successfully work from home and enjoy the benefits…
1. ESTABLISH A ROUTINE Structure your day so that it is both purposeful and productive. Decide on a starting and finishing time for your day; allow for breaks so that you work smarter, not harder. Doing this will also allow you to better differentiate between work and home, and will encourage you to be more professional.
2. FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS, OUTSOURCE YOUR WEAKNESSES Spend the maximum amount of time working on the parts of your business that you are best at. If your billable time is worth $200 an hour, then make sure you spend most of your time on the activities that will produce that for you.
If you don’t want to employ an administrative assistant, invest in a virtual assistant who works off-site. Avoid filling up your day with non-productive activities. Invest your time and money into the right areas of your business; don’t just keep yourself busy.
3. ORGANISE YOUR ENVIRONMENT Have the right tools and systems to work with - an appropriate chair, desk, computer, filing system. This will make you look, feel and act more professionally. In addition, if a client comes to your home, your professionalism will inspire confidence in you.
4. DECLUTTER THE CLUTTER A messy working environment which forces you to be continuously spending valuable time searching for things, whether files and emails on the computer or documents in filing cabinets and cupboards, cumulatively wastes hours a day. In fact The Wall Street Journal found that the average white collar worker spends 6 weeks a year looking for things around the office! Clutter is distracting and causes stress, and it is the primary enemy of productivity.
5. LEARN TO SAY ‘NO’ Inform your family and friends of your working hours and that because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you’re ‘available’. If you were in a corporate office, you would not allow your friends to drop by. Enforce these same rules at your office at home.
6. NETWORK TO EXPAND YOUR BUSINESS AND YOUR MIND Join local networking groups to meet other like-minded business people. Share knowledge and discover new ways of doing things. Check out your local council and chamber of commerce. Enquire about active small business networks.
Join your own trade association and share ideas. An organised business referral group like BNI can also be of enormous benefit to the home based business owner.
And without leaving home you can become part of www.theproductivitycoachingclub.com to stimulate your brain and keep you up-to-date in how to run your business more effectively and improve your lifestyle.
7. TAKE TIME OUT FOR YOU It can be easy to lose yourself in your work. Take time to ’smell the roses’ and to make human contact. When I’m spending the day working from home, I always go out for a walk at lunch-time. Plan time to have coffee or lunch with a friend or colleague once a week. Go for a walk every day. Have a weekly or fortnightly massage. Visit the gym more often.
THE FINAL WORD These ideas are simple… and guess what? It’s generally the simple ideas when acted upon consistently that will make a dramatic impact overall in your business and your life. You’ll feel happier and more fulfilled. You’ll also discover extra time in the day that you never had before.
******************************
Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is founder of ProductivityQueen.com and creator of “The Productivity and Profit System™” … the proven step-by- step program that shows you exactly how to work less and earn more! To receive your F.R.E.E. CD “10 Habits of Highly Productive and Profitable People” valued at $47 by mail and weekly how-to articles to increase your productivity and your profits visit http://www.productivityqueen.com
Did you know that from age twenty-five to sixty-five, we spend 73,600 hours at our work? And that 87 percent of Americans dislike their jobs? That means that 87 percent of Americans spend 73,600 hours in their lifetime doing something they don’t like. What a massive loss that is! Because every part of our lives has an influence on every other part of our lives, this could make for a lot of unhappy people. Why is this? Could it be that so many people have settled for because of fear or lack of direction when it comes to going after their dream career?
What is your purpose? Your destiny? Have you known for some time what you are meant to do for a career, but you just aren’t sure how to transfer it to real life? Are you still searching for that path you can call your very own? Everyone was blessed with certain gifts, talents and personality traits that can be transferred into a fulfilling, satisfying and financially prosperous line of work. Some people know from the get-go what they want to be when they grow up. Others, like me, find their purpose through an evolvement of life’s experiences and challenges. Either way, you come to find that it is perfectly right for you.
I truly believe that you have the full potential to pinpoint, develop and achieve your dream career. Yes, you! One of the things that really saddens me is when I see someone with such potential for greatness, who is not allowing themselves to step into it and fully own it. I can share with you the important do’s and don’ts and give you valuable tools and support; however, you need to be the one to take that first step.
As you set out to find your purpose, or first commit to living a life of purpose, what drives you may still feel a bit elusive. Many people have no idea if they have a real purpose on earth. Ask a friend randomly what their life purpose is, and they may take a long pause before answering, “Good question. I’m not sure.” Well, I’m here to tell you (and them) that you do have a purpose and it’s probably not as mysterious as you think. Most likely it’s right under your nose. Maybe your purpose is to feed hungry children, build a gigantic bridge, love your children, or just be in the moment. Your life purpose is most likely connected to the areas that create passion and meaning in your life. Here are some simple steps for accessing your life purpose.
Get in touch with what really matters to you in the world and in your life. What do you get passionate talking about, reading or exploring? Before taking impulsive action steps toward a new career, business opportunity, or new relationship, ponder what gives you that inner surge of excitement. This could be the most important key for long-term staying power and success.
Gather your thoughts and focus your energy toward these ideas. Find a way to involve yourself in this activity.
Explore several possibilities before settling on one. However, if one really moves you, then go for it!
Connect with other people on a regular basis who are passionate about these ideals or activities.
See how you feel in this new arena. Does it stir your passionate energy? This is what we call “alignment,” or “being congruent.” When we are expressing our true inner thoughts, beliefs and ideals through external actions that match those thoughts, beliefs and ideals, we are operating in harmony rather than in conflict. The “practice-what-you-preach” philosophy.
Not doing what you ove could be very harmful to your health and your prosperity.
Most people think that doing what you love is a luxury, so they settle for something they don’t enjoy. Someone who loves your career more than you do will no doubt perform the job better than you. This person will eventually be greatly rewarded because this work matters to them. Part of what you’ll get from being out of alignment in your work is dissatisfaction and burnout.
I know you can do it. After all, it’s your greatness I am talking about.
Allison Maslan, HHP, CCH is a homeopathic physician and the author of Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan To Launch Your Dreams Into Reality. As a life and business coach, she helps people create a new business and the best chapter of their lives. www.myblastoff.com/booklaunch.
With little time left before Santa arrives and many of us caught up in the hustle and bustle of gift giving, I’m making a special exception to my guest blogger guidelines and posting an amazing article by Maggie Keenan of givingadvice - You’ll find resourceful strategies to Give Back while doing some last minute holiday shopping. Enjoy! ~MaryPat
5 Steps to Give Meaning to Giving this Holiday Season
As the holidays approach once again, we fret and frantically rush and fight traffic to get presents for family, friends and co-workers. We make our list, some people are a lot harder than others to buy for—so we wind up with last minute shopping. Although, some of us have gotten a bit wiser and shop on-line right from the comfort of our home. Nevertheless, we still feel obligated to attend holiday cocktail get-togethers, progressive dinners, office parties and other functions, leaving little time to reflect on what we are buying or why we are REALLY going to parties.
This year, dare to do things a little different. Make this year’s season with all your giving of presents and time more meaningful. Here are some ways to do things different and make a difference at the same time.
Think about your Holiday gift giving list and the individuals on it and ask yourself, “What are some of the issues each person cares about? What is important to them? Maybe someone wants to see a world without hunger, or another is concerned about literacy issues or finding a cure for a disease. Take a moment to create a list where each person is matched to a cause that you know they are passionate about. For the past few years, I’ve stopped buying presents for a few friends who I know are agriculturally-conscious. Instead they get a Share of Sheep, a Flock of Chicks from Heifer International. It feels great to give a gift that my friends like, that provides a better life for a family, and makes me feel like I helped to make a difference. You can visit them at www.heifer.org.
Send only holiday gift cards that benefit a charity. Most nonprofits have special holiday donation cards.
Skip out on the office party this year or forgo the progressive dinner. Suggest to co-workers or friends to take that time and volunteer to wrap presents for a local organization that will give families in need gifts or perhaps, offer to deliver a meal to seniors, or help to serve at a holiday breakfast. Better yet, if you enjoy the festivities of holiday parties, consider making your office party one that makes a difference and gives back to a cause. There’s a great reason to attend!
Shop on-line for gifts that support a cause. I mentioned in a previous ezine about Up Town Liz. I love this website as it offers special products that are great for gift giving while giving back at the same time. Visit www.uptownliz.com.
Lastly, resolve to make next year one that you will give a little more than you did this year. Increase it by just two percent. A company can have staff volunteer as a group at a charitable event—and wear your company t-shirts. If one of your resolutions is to take up exercise, consider training for a run that supports a charity. A few friends of mine recently took golf lessons— we wanted to learn golf and enter next year’s 24 Wishes in 24 Hours for Make A Wish Foundation.
Remember, the season is about giving. Make this year one where you give meaning to it.
Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D. is the Owner & Chief Giving Strategist of givingadviceTM dedicated to providing strategic philanthropy services to small business.Through givingadviceTM, Maggie guides businesses through a Six Step Giving IMPACT Strategy modelTM to provide a blueprint and giving strategy that is unique for each client. She knows that businesses can make stronger and synergistic connections between their business and causes. Clients are most attracted by her passion and vision for what she sees possible for their contribution to the world. With an uncanny ability to connect ideas, people and causes, Maggie sees opportunities all around for anyone that desires to be a force for change and businesses can play a role in that change.
You may have noticed a recent survey I did about what online business owners want and how they want it. Turns out that most people really want to know how to get more traffic to their website.
Whether it is converting your social network onto your list or just getting more eyeballs on your site, there are a few key techniques that work to create a steady stream of quality people checking out your stuff!
1.Drive traffic to your blog. Whether you have a website or you are active on Facebook or Twitter, you want to be strategic about the links you include in your “about me” section. Our 21st century way of doing business is about connecting and conversing. So your blog is going to be a better choice to carry the “conversation” than your website. Conversely, directing people to your blog over Facebook is also the better choice because this brings them closer to you, gives them a taste of your business and your brand, and allows you to actually track the visitors and the subscriptions.
2. Post on your blog often. I recommend at least 3-5 times a week. You want to include short tips and relevant information to your market. The more you post, the better the search engines like you and the more valuable you are to your market.
3. Share other people’s content. Review blogs daily and note valuable content. When your competition posts something of value, review the post on your site with links back to his/her site.
4. Guest blogging. Allow other qualified experts the ability to post quality, unique content on your site. This allows you to be the hub of information in your industry. Allow your guest blogger to include a “resource box” at the end of the article/post with a link back to his/her site. You can also be a guest blogger on someone else’s site. Make sure that the blog is complimentary to your services as you do want to attract people interested in what you have to offer.
5. Article marketing. This is my favorite strategy for driving quality traffic. You can post your article on various “portals” or directories that host your articles for people interested in republishing your content for their own newsletters or publications.
It sounds like a lot of writing, but don’t forget that you can repurpose your articles to be used on multiple sites. Make sure to repurpose at least 30% of your content so that Google doesn’t knock you down, but also so that you customize your content for the different readers. And create a system around when you post, what you post and where you post. This will help you keep track of what you are doing and how much time to spend.
Ever get stuck with what to do? Or you have the glimmer of an idea but need to flesh it out? This is my life. I often say that I am not creative, but really, I don’t allow myself time to be creative.
This article by my good friend, Bryan Waldon Pope, lays out a simple, yet effective strategy for tapping into your creativity and developing winning ideas. He uses this strategy himself (I have seen his whiteboard!) and he is definitely a “winning idea” kind of guy.
Read his article and then share YOUR strategy for tapping into your dynamic brain power where you create awesome new ideas.
I just posted this on my other blog: www.SavvyMompreneurs.com, but wanted to share here as well.
****************************
So I love videos, but really, when OTHER people do them. This is my attempt to personally invite all mompreneurs to our telesummit that starts this week–despite my 11 yr old peeking through the blinds in the background and my 5 year old opening and closing the front door multiple times…
I’ll bet you’ve noticed this trend too…have you been aware of more and more moms running their own businesses? Well you’re exactly right. Statistics show there are more and more Mompreneurs everyday. Unfortunately you can’t get a college degree on how to be a Mompreneur. Figuring things out on your own takes years and is filled with a path mistakes. Trust me, I know. I’m the mother of 4 and I’ve been an entrepreneur for over 20 years.
Because I REALLY want to help other Mompreneurs reach maximum success in the shortest amount of time, I asked 20 of the most successful women I know to share their knowledge with you. To my surprise I actually got confirmation from 22! They are making themselves accessible to you from February 16 through the 25th in the “Savvy Mompreneurs Telesummit.”
And they are all sharing real world techniques that are sure to push your business to the next level, no matter where you are today. There is really no other training for Mompreneurs available right now on this scale.
I’m sure you’ll recognize many of the names of these powerhouse Mompreneurs. We’re kicking off the series with Kristi Frank of “The Apprentice” fame. There are so many others I’ll just let you read for yourself. All the details are on this page. I look forward to hearing you on the calls and learning all about YOUR successes!
“It’s No Accident How These Savvy Mompreneurs
Have Run Successful Careers AND Happy Families…
And How YOU Can Too!”
From the home office of MaryPat Kavanagh
Monday, 9:23 a.m.
Hi fellow mompreneur!
Let’s face it. Moms are probably the best multi-taskers around. We can balance a toddler on a hip, while making a PBJ sandwich, and talking to our most important client on the phone.
But just because we CAN juggle so well doesn’t mean we always make the best choices about our businesses.
Did you miss the free preview call with myself and Lisa Sasevich? Now you can listen to the replay below!
No Matter What The Daily Pressures Are, A Lot Is Expected From Moms…
No Matter What The Daily Pressures Are, A Lot Is
Expected From Moms…
To be honest with you…moms have it tougher than your average person. Yes, we’re all time-challenged. But no matter how far we’ve come in gender equality, women are expected to juggle more. We are still maternal. It’s in our DNA. No turning that off. We want our children to thrive and be successful at everything from infancy to adulthood. And of course we want to make enough money financially to afford the freedoms that brings.
FOUR STRATEGIES FOR CREATING SUCCESS AT HOME BY
STAY-AT-HOME-MOM & FORMER ‘APPRENTICE’ KRISTI FRANK
Online entrepreneur Kristi Frank went from “You’re Fired” on Season One of ‘The Apprentice’ to “I’m Inspired” in her exciting and inspiring new reality - creating an online marketing site for stay-at-home mom’s just like her. Chosen by ‘The Donald’ to be in the first group of women ever to appear on NBC’s ‘The Apprentice,’ Kristi Frank left the show, got married, had a baby, and began working to become the new mentor for millionaire moms working at home.
By the age of 25, I had a degree in Engineering from USC and a real estate broker’s license. I’d already dealt in highly desirable Santa Monica real estate while earning money in my spare time dealing casino Blackjack. But I certainly wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen next. Chosen from over 250,000 applicants to appear in NBC’s ‘The Apprentice’ with Donald Trump - the first and still the highest rated season in the show’s history - I was happily running my successful Santa Monica restaurant when I took a shot at a New York long shot - ‘The Apprentice,’ created by Mark Burnett of ‘Survivor’ fame.
After hearing those dreaded two words directed from ‘The Donald’ to me, I was fortunate to take part in a whirlwind media tour, appearing as a guest on ‘Oprah’, ‘The View,’ ‘The Today Show,’ among many. I spoke privately with Barbara Walters and Katie Couric backstage, and on the way back home to Los Angeles, began to create a business plan for my next adventure. These days, when I’m not at home in Los Angeles or Park City, Utah with my husband and toddler son, you can catch me flying to and from marketing conferences across the country creating an online business specifically skewed to women. My sole intent is to empower “moms” with a soup-to-nuts online marketing business site that presents in a clear, linear format how to launch products and infomation online. But in the midst of developing my ultimate “mom’s” marketing web site, I thought I’d take pause and share some of the strategies for success I’ve employed in my own business and personal life. (more…)
Here is a great article by Melanie Benson Strick about firing yourself. I don’t know about you, but I figured out this week that there are 5 jobs I am doing that I should be fired for because I have friends that can do them all better. And then I can do what I do best (which is NOT creating spreadsheets or managing my books!)
Lorraine Pirihi, The Productivity Queen, is founder of ProductivityQueen.com and creator of “The Productivity and Profit System™” … the proven step-by- step program that shows you exactly how to work less and earn more! To receive your F.R.E.E. CD “10 Habits of Highly Productive and Profitable People” valued at $47 by mail and weekly how-to articles to increase your productivity and your profits visit http://www.productivityqueen.com
Allison Maslan, HHP, CCH is a homeopathic physician and the author of Blast Off! The Surefire Success Plan To Launch Your Dreams Into Reality. As a life and business coach, she helps people create a new business and the best chapter of their lives. 
Maggie F. Keenan, Ed.D. is the Owner & Chief Giving Strategist of 
Ever get stuck with what to do? Or you have the glimmer of an idea but need to flesh it out? This is my life. I often say that I am not creative, but really, I don’t allow myself time to be creative.
Did you miss the free preview call with myself and Lisa Sasevich? Now you can listen to the replay below!
