The following post is from Prerna of The Mom Writes: How to Make Your Work-at-Home Time Really Count
When I started out with my social media and web content business many moons ago, I was determined to bootstrap it and not dip into our savings for anything. So, not only was I the chief content writer and head social media manager, but I was also chief of everything else- designer, bookkeeper, fire extinguisher, and my go-to guide for everything was Google.
Since then, I’ve had the blessing of my husband join me and take on a lot of my additional workload but even then, with the business growing, I’m having to spend more and more time on client projects, consulting, and coaching and not as much time with my family. It’s a vicious circle, really. We need money since it is our primary source of income to give our family the life we want. ~sigh~
Anyway, so I recently sat down and plugged EVERYTHING I did into a nifty time-and-money calculator that my husband had designed for me.
Seeing how my time-consuming tasks {think uploading posts, replying to emails, PR, etc.} weren’t really bringing in the money was eye-opening.
It was time to make my time count. {See what I did there!}
Here’s how I worked out how to make the MOST of the time I spend on my business:
Table of Contents
Fix the “unprofitables.”
The first thing I learned from my time and money exercise was that I had been spending way too much unprofitable time on activities that were NOT my core focus areas. I specialize in writing and social media management, bringing in the butter for our bread. Replying to emails is something that a virtual assistant can easily and responsibly handle for me as well as help me with managing my PR and outreach efforts.
What is YOUR core work responsibility? Will doing more of that and outsourcing the unprofitableness give you the extra income and freedom of time that you need?
Say “No.”
I keep repeating this but saying “no” is so liberating. I have a to-do list for my personal life, and now I have one for work. Assignments that I wouldn’t take, things I wouldn’t do- Skype calls that can easily be sorted out over email, in-person meetings that can be done over Skype, and so on.
What can YOU say “No” to at work?
Evaluate every now and then.
Evaluating your current situation is key to making your time really count. For instance, I am ALL for bootstrapping and being a DIY-er, but when I was starting out, it was okay. I didn’t have the resources or even the wisdom to invest where needed. Now, if I want my business to grow AND for me to spend more time with my daughter and husband, I need to evaluate what I can hire out and how much time that would save me without impacting my income.
Download the free time-and-money project calculator and plug in your numbers for at least one month and see what can YOU do away with without it impacting how much you earn.
Keep your vision intact.
Seriously, you’d be amazed at how things get when business starts to grow. If you really want to make your time count, think about the WHY behind your journey and then take the action you need to realize it. For me, it was recalling that I wanted to work from home to be there for my daughter, and if now all I was doing is working, I might as well go to an office, right? So, write it down if you have to but keep your vision intact and base your decisions on that.
What is YOUR vision? What is YOUR story for working from home? How do YOU think you can make your time as a work-at-home parent count? Yes, we can all learn from each other, so do share!
| Prerna Malik is a mom, a wife, a writer, and a woman who believes in being positively productive, parenting with love, and creating a home that invites you to put your feet up and relax. Find her sharing her journey and experiences with productivity and parenting at The Mom Writes. | |
