EnTrends

If you're in the paid workforce and
toying with the idea of starting a
home business so that one magic
day you can tell your boss what you
REALLY think of him or her, you
have a rough patch to get through
first. The time crunch that comes
with running your business on the
side in your already non-existent
spare time while you continue
working in your job until the
business is generating enough of an
income to allow you to quit.

It's tough being a moonlighter, as
many of you reading this know only
too well. Here are some ideas to help
you beat the time crunch.

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Before you can begin planning how
to make the most effective use of
your time, understand where it goes.

An activity log is a good way of
identifying black holes that can be
turned into productive time. Keep a
log for a typical week. Just write
down everything you do for that
week. Be sure to include everything:
getting ready for work, eating meals,
taking breaks, travelling to and from
work,grocery shopping, telephone
calls, faxes, emails, casual chats,
work activities, reading, making
meals, watching TV, whatever.

IDENTIFY TIME WASTERS AND
NUKE 'EM

Your activity log will identify, in
excruciating detail, exactly how much
time you are squandering each week
... valuable time that you could be
putting to productive use in a home

business. You may find that you're
spending 16 hours a week watching
TV, for example. That's two whole
business days right there.

So identify those time wasters and
kill them off. A time waster is any
thing that doesn't make a worthwhile

contribution (proportionate to the
time you spend on it) to your work,
your business or your personal
wellbeing. If

it doesn't make a contribution to one
of these three areas, dump it or
delegate it.

ON THE JOB

The more efficient you are on the job,
the more easily you will be able to
free up work time for business-
related activities. You can't be too
obvious about it, of course, but so
long as

you're on top of your work
responsibilities, you can buy
yourselfsome time to take care of
some of your business-related
activities.

Paradoxically, studies have shown
that moonlighters who 'cheat' by
squeezing in business activities
alongside their work activities are
often more effective in their day jobs
because they work harder than they
normally would to keep from getting
caught. One word of caution,
though. It's generally a BAD idea to
choose for your business something
that competes with your employer's
business. Such an arrangement is rife
with conflicts.

SCHEDULE YOUR TIME

If you've followed the above steps,
you should by now have a
reasonably good idea of how much
time you have available to you and
what activities are going to serve
your business, work and personal
needs.

Now it's time to schedule everything
you need to accomplish. You may
choose to do this on a daily, weekly
or monthly basis, it's up to you. I
recommend though that you start out
by creating daily "to do" lists until
you get used to the discipline of
managing your time effectively.

Make a list of everything you would
like to accomplish today.This
includes business, work and
personal. Now prioritize those

activities in order of necessity,
importance and urgency. When

thinking about priorities, make sure
that if you run out of time

today, what doesn't get done is
something that can wait until

tomorrow.

In addition to scheduling your
activities, allocate realistic

time periods within which to
complete them. By setting a time

limit for these tasks, you will force
yourself to lift your pace to

get them done in the time alloted
which in turn will force you to

become more productive. It will also
help you discipline yourself

not to allow distractions to get in the
way.

When scheduling, work with your
effectiveness level as much as you
can. Schedule important tasks that
require creativity and clear-thinking
for your most alert period of the day.

Routine or mundane tasks can be
slotted into low energy/low
concentration periods.

Also, try and maintain and influence
your energy levels with diet and rest.
A high carbohydrate breakfast will
keep the brain supplied with sugars
for the early part of the day. But by
mid-morning, you may experience a
sugar slump so get into the habit of
having a mid-morning snack to avoid
this. A banana will do the trick. Some
people swear by protein (such as an
egg) at breakfast to delay the energy
dip. Experiment until you find what
works best for you.

Still on the subject of diet, if you
want to have a productive afternoon
avoid large lunches because they
divert blood from the brain and to
digestion. If you've ever felt like
taking a nap after lunch, that's why.
Also, don't drink alcohol at lunchtime
because it's a sedative. All you'll
want to do is go to sleep. Not very
conducive to a productive
afternoon's work.

BE RESULTS-FOCUSED

Focus on results, not on being busy.
You are, I'm sure, familiar with the
Pareto Principle, also known as the
80/20 rule. The Pareto Principle says