There is always something you can be doing in your business.  Are you more of a paper-pusher or a people person?   Would you rather be on the phone connecting with prospects or booking your next show or recruiting someone new or filling, reworking documents, ordering new address labels, sorting inventory, etc.?

I tend to fall into the 2nd category.  I love to do the work behind the scenes and the thought of getting on the phone will convince me to do even the most disgusting of household chores to merely avoid calling.  This has been a downfall of my business and one that has hindered my progress long enough.  I am seizing the day and determined to get on that phone.

A saying that has helped me lately has been “I call because I care”.  I care enough about people to follow up and follow through.  While it may not be eays, I WILL succeed with this.

So, my advise to you…examine your To-done list.  What things are you completing regularly in your business and what are you putting off.  Are the things you are putting off costing you?  What can you change to get those items completed that you are avoiding?

Get those ToDo’s in order and then get ‘um done.

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt.com

This is a great article on how to manage it all during the summer months when your kids are home all day long again.
Top 5 Tips for the WAHM and 10 activities to keep children occupied while you work during the summer vacation.
Enjoy!

Here are 10 time managment tips for the WAHM. I love these!

Today we have a guest blogger! Her name is Lisa Smith is the Owner/CEO of Regionz Kidz, a multi-cultural infant & toddler clothing line featuring ethnically diverse characters and designs. She publishes a blog on her website www.regionzkidz.com that discusses cultural diversity & children & is a frequent guest blogger on other blogs and website regarding parenting and children’s issues. You can contact Lisa directly at: lisa@regionzkidz.com
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Ok, so I am a work-from-home mom trying to launch 2 new businesses, run the household, entertain my 2 -year-old AND maintain some sense of sanity! Sound familiar? For a lot of work-at-home moms, this is the constant struggle; making sure there is time to get everything done that needs to be done. Suddenly 24 hours isn’t enough.
I have found that a few things have helped me get through the launch of my 2 businesses all the while maintaining time to spend with my husband, 21 month old daughter & myself J
1. When the office door closes, it’s family time: Leave your worries at your desk and enjoy the family that is in front of you. Only pick back up on work items when you get back into your office. You will appreciate family time more and get more focused time working if you can separate the two.
2. If it’s not urgent, it can wait: This was my biggest problem – everything HAD to be done NOW. Once I prioritized what could wait and what was a necessity, suddenly I wasn’t so short with my daughter if she interrupted my emailing sessions and wanted a book read or wanted me to sing to her. The e-mail can wait but she needs me now.
3. Participate in work events that can be a family affair: I only register for and work at events at which I can bring my family. Parks, Zoos, etc. allow me to show my product off to the public but also provide a family friendly atmosphere that is more casual and entertaining for my daughter . We can spend time together as a family but I can still get some work done.
4. Don’t sacrifice: At the end of the day there is nothing more important than family. If I need to take a day off or even a half-day, I do it & gladly. I made a commitment to live my life “family first” and therefore work and everything else is secondary. I won’t sacrifice time with them for anything.
I hope these tips have helped (at least a bit!). Good Luck in all you do & remember to take some time for yourself too - even just 5 minutes of silence can be GRAND!
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Thanks Lisa!

I just realized how long it has been since I posted here at my blog!  Holy Cow!  Well, something that I have been trying to implement in my daily life is the topic for today! 

Time Budgeting and Multitasking! 

A friend of mine recently told me that multitasking is a bad way to get anything done.  I have pondered on this concept for a while because the reasons she had behind this theory make sense, so here is my conclusions.  Multi-tasking is NOT bad BUT there are some simple rules that will make is more successful than others.  These rules are the reason that I’m combining the time budgeting along with the multitasking idea.  How many of us try to watch the kids while trying to work on the computer or do e-mail and/or dishes and laundry?  That was me about 3 weeks ago.  My work on the computer would take 4 times as long, I would end up frustrated, the kids would be crying and the laundry and dishes would be half done as well. Not really a good example of finishing anything. 

So here are my thoughts.  First, Make a to-do list of the things that you need/want to accomplish in a day.  Now re-write your list.  Put the most important things up at the top and put a star by them.  Put the least important things towards the bottom.  You can mix business and home stuff.  For example, there are some days that I HAVE to do the laundry…so that’s at the top.  Then the things that could possibly wait a day or until later in the day are closer to the bottom. Second, schedule out your time during the day.  It doesn’t’ have to be anything to rigid, just a general plan.  For instance-for the past few weeks I will start my morning out slowly.  I put in a load of laundry and start the dishwasher (if it wasn’t run the night before).  I will play with the kids and do general cleaning until naptime.  At naptime, the baby goes down and my 3 year old has quiet time.  Then I work on the computer.  I will check and respond to my e-mail, update webpages, write in my blogs…etc.  When the baby wakes up, I finish the last thing I’m working on and again step away from the computer.  I will rotate the laundry and then start to think about dinner. 

And Third…When you are multitasking, you need to group similar items together.  While taking a business call, label some of your flyers or cut out coupons to hand out for your business.  While cooking meat for dinner…cut the veggies.  In this way, you are still able to multitask, but you will get more done in the long run! By applying these simple steps, my days run a lot smoother, my kids are a lot happier, and I get more done in the time I have.