Find Time For Home Biz Success by Taming the Great Life Stealers

By Doug West
Posted Sunday, December 19, 2004

We often hear from ones who say that they just don't have enough time to devote to their home business. They work full time, raise kids, take care of aging parents, or for other reasons are just too busy to devote much time to a biz. Still, they would like a home business if they could only find the time. In this article we want to review some common areas where most folks tend to waste time, and how you can tame these life stealers.

# 1 TV Viewing

This ranks as the greatest time stealer of all! "Wait a minute" you might say, "don't tell me to give up my favorite TV programs!" No, we are not going to tell you to quit watching TV altogether. However, with just a little effort you can save TONS of time that could otherwise be spent on your home biz. Consider some ideas:

* Record Your Favorite Programs and Fast-Forward Through Commercials.

This could trim off a third or more of the time it takes to watch them.

* Control the TV - Don't let it Control You.

Instead of vegetating in front of the TV for hours, watching everything that comes on, try picking only the programs you really want to see and setting the recorder. Sometimes it may be good to just chill out in your easy chair and turn on the tube, but once you get into the habit of recording shows, you may find more recordings to view than you have time for. The more productive time you spend on your home business will start to become a habit (so will the extra money that you earn from it!), you will spend less time with the TV naturally, and find that you have more energy too!

# 2 Recreation

Here is another big time stealer. Everyone needs some recreation, but most of us think we need more than we really do. Consider that most folks work all week just for a few moments of fun on the weekend. Back when I was working a J.O.B. the factory was full of ones like this. They lived their lives for fun in the sun. Never planning for anything but more recreation. When the flag ship factory closed it's doors and laid most of us off, these same ones wanted to know how they would afford their boat payments, golf cart notes, vacation bills etc. Many had mortgaged themselves to the hilt with recreation bills.

I was smiling because I knew we would get a nice severance package, and that I could now focus full time on my home biz that I always had worked on the side (I have toys too, and enjoy fun in the sun, but I pay cash for those things or I don't buy them - no credit for me on recreation - no sir!). I had turned down a few weekends of pleasure seeking over the years, but when the whip came down, I'm sure glad I did! I work harder for myself than I ever did for someone else, but I control when I work, and how much I want to make. Since I love what I do, it really is not like work. I still limit myself on recreation, but when we do play, we really play well!

A profitable home business is something that you should want to do for the rest of your life. Recreation, and TV viewing have their place. We all need relaxation and recreation, but you might want to consider just how much time you spend recreating when you could be building a home biz that will give you something to do in your retirement years (not to mention help you get there faster).

Many dream of the time when they will just lay around the pool and do nothing for the rest of their lives. Well, I'm here to tell you, that many wealthy or retired folks who get to do pretty much what they want will admit - it flat gets old doing nothing! Developing work ethic is one of the biggest obstacles for most folks who would like to work from home. Start Now, by putting limits on your recreation, and you will find all kinds of time for building your home biz!

# 3 The Internet

"Now Wait Just a Minute" you might be saying, "I'm building my business with the net". That might be true, but there are a LOT of things you can do online besides building your business. If you aren't careful, time can be focused away from your work and more toward pleasure seeking or just plain old surfing. Before you know it, you could spend hours in front of your PC without doing one thing to promote your business. A PC with an Internet connection can develop into your digital recreation tool. The very thing that is supposed to save time and make our lives easier could become our biggest life stealer! Again, you need to limit yourself.

In any of these activities, it would be good to take note of how much time you spend with them. Try keeping a careful record for just one week and you may be surprised. Each hour take note of what you spend time doing, and make a log. You will quickly isolate where the time for building your home biz can come from. Learning to use your time wisely will prove beneficial for years to come.

About the Author
Doug West is the editor of Opportunity Investigator. He has been interviewed in many of the top home biz publications like SFI magazine - (see (http://kosoma.com/DougWest.htm)). His affiliate program provides members all the tools you need to succeed online.==> (http://probot.net)