Hi, Mike.
You're right. Time management is crucial. Maybe my
article below will be of help to you.
--Marty
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Webmaster or Web Slave? Time Saving Tips for
Cyberpreneurs (C) 1998-2000, Marty Foley
"Time is money" in your online business, just as
it is in the offline business world.
The problem is, the typical Internet entrepreneur
is in a race against time: Often snowed under with
many tasks to accomplish, trying to achieve
maximum results (primarily in the form of income)
within the precious, very limited time available.
Especially if you're holding down a full-time job
while trying to launch or expand your Internet
business in your spare hours, you've got precious
little time to waste.
If care is not exercised in the way we spend our
time online, our personal and family life can
suffer, not to mention the adverse financial
consequences.
To add to that pressure, family members may resent
the amount of time spent on our venture, versus
the limited income it may initially make.
As the author of an audio program on time
management, I'm going to share with you some
proven time management tips, which have been
adapted to running a business online. I can't
promise you more than 24 hours in your day, but
I'll share practical tips to help you work
smarter and more profitably online - instead of
longer or harder.
Two primary keys to making the most of the time we
spend online are:
A) Being selective, and
B) Staying focused.
We must be SELECTIVE, because there are an
infinite number of things we can spend our online
time on, which will not yield productive results.
We must stay FOCUSED, because any of an infinite
number of things can easily distract us from
getting more important things done.
That brings us to the first step of effective
online business time management...
1) Set Goals
If you don't know what your final destination is,
how can you ever take action toward getting there?
Hence, the need to set goals.
The goals you set for your online business will
vary, based on which stage you're at and which
direction you want to go from there. It helps to
write your goals down and periodically review
them. Many feel that this better enables your
subconscious mind to help you work toward your
goals.
2) Keep and Use a Prioritized To-Do List
Keeping lists may seem simplistic, but the most
productive top-achievers are typically methodical
users of To-Do lists.
Be sure to rank each task on your To-Do lists by
priority, such as high, medium or low. As you
tackle the items on your list, always tackle the
highest priority tasks first, and those of lower
priority as time allows. Obviously, your highest
priority tasks will correspond with the
achievement of your highest priority goals.
I've found that a 3-ring binder kept near my
computer is a good place for organizing To-Do
lists, project notes, and other frequently used
online information, within easy fingertip reach.
Once your goals are set, you'll know exactly where
you're going (and what to stay focused on), and
when you use a prioritized To-Do list, you'll have
a step-by-step plan for reaching your destination.
3) Exercise Self-Discipline
The best time management system in the world is
worthless if we don't exercise self-discipline.
It's so easy to log on to the Net, just planning
to "check your email," and before you know it, get
distracted by other things and end up spending
much more time on things we hadn't planned, and
then wonder where the time went.
I know, I know: It's easier said than done, but
exercising self-discipline will help us stay
focused and avoid wasting time or getting
distracted on less important activities. If you
can stay focused on the most important tasks
(which you've identified by setting goals and
prioritizing your To-Do list), you'll see greater
results from your time and effort.
4) Automate Where Possible
I have written much more on this topic than the
limited space in this article allows, but let me
mention a few tools that aren't new to online
marketers, but whose time-saving value is often
overlooked:
*Autoresponders
Autoresponders are very useful tools for
automatically filling your prospects' requests for
information on your products and services - 24 hrs
of every day of the year. If your web host
doesn't make autoresponders available, you might
check out those offered by http://Getresponse.com.
(They also offer free ones if you don't mind their ads in your messages.)
*Email Filters
The "filters" feature of good email programs such
as Pegasus and Eudora Pro make the automation of
many email activities a snap. If you're not using
them, you don't know what you're missing.
~ To download Pegasus: http://www.pmail.com
~ To purchase Eudora Pro: http://www.Eudora.com
5) Periodically Analyze Your Business
In our quest for more value from the time we spend
in our online businesses, it helps to stand back
and periodically analyze which activities have
been working - and which haven't.
From there, we can give more attention to
expanding what's been working, and tweak,
change, or eliminate what hasn't. We can thus
progressively see more profitable results from
the time spent online.
Conclusion
If you want to get maximum benefit from the
limited time you have to accomplish things in your
online business, or any other area of life, you
must manage your time well. When you do, you'll
achieve more, and you'll look back on your work
with the satisfaction of knowing that you got the
most important things done, instead of looking
back with regret.
As Benjamin Franklin said: "Dost thou love life?
Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff
life is made of."
-----
TIME IS MONEY -- TIME IS LIFE! Increase
productivity, efficiency & personal organization.
Defeat procrastination, conquer paperwork and more
-- with the convenient audio course by Marty
Foley, "How to Get More Done with Less Time and
Effort: A Streamlined Time Management Course."
Click now to make the most of the year 2000 and
beyond! ==>
http://ProfitInfo.com/catalog/v1.htm
This application "automates the habits of highly successful websites."