01st Nov 2005
Finally focused
I’ve been online in the WAHM community for coming up on two years now. Wow was I amazed when I can online and realized there were so many people working at home and wanting to work at home. I had signed up with a direct sales company back then and the first networking group I was involved in was one directed at that company. I found that direct sales just wasn’t for me so I branched out - but I was hooked on networks and forums.
I floundered around, flopping here and flipping there, bouncing from group to group, going from very active to barely active to lurker and back again. And I admit I still do that. When I really get involved in my business, I definitely do a mistake by ignoring my networking, forums and groups. I know that is bad!
The past few months have been super busy for me - vacation, coming back to my baby starting school, my husband having eye surgery (corrective - nothing bad!), then me having LASIK, and top that off with a business slowly but surely growing!
I have finally learned focus. Alice Seba has a great blog entry here about doing the work “for my family.” And yes, I was on online while the kids watched Dora the Explorer, took naps and the moment they were in bed. I stayed up late when my husband stayed at work and was online early in the morning on the weekends when he made breakfast. Finally, he put his foot down.
It’s been a hard thing for me to do because other then working online, I have fun things I do online as well - my personal email, chatting with family and playing with my digital pictures/camera. So how can I change and make my work more focused. I had to make a huge change.
It took listening to Kelly McCausey’s Power of a Focused Business a minimum of three times for me to really get it. I had to take charge of my business - run it, instead of it running me.
Wow what a change. My days consist of getting the kids ready, taking one to school, coming home and playing with the youngest, picking up the one from school, coming home for lunch, naptime, maybe errands (if I had any and if I didn’t do them in the AM), then it’s ready for dinner, hubby coming home, family time, quiet time, watch a favorite tv program time. Then it’s bedtime and start all over. Where does one fit working online in there!
I had to set strict online business hours and stick to them. Now I get so much done because I know what my priorities are. I work set hours each day, and sure if my kids are at daycare, I work then as well. I should do a set time for daycare as well. It takes baby steps!
It’s amazing what you can get done when you focus. Sure I still have time to check and reply to my personal email. Sure I might run in and check my email over a free fifteen minutes that I have. But my business is not running me anymore. I’ve accomplished more in the past few months then I have in ages. And of course I am making more each month as well, isn’t that the goal? More money but not being a slave to the grind. If I wanted that, I’d have a J-O-B, and blah, who wants that.
I’ve been online in the WAHM community for coming up on two years now. Wow was I amazed when I can online and realized there were so many people working at home and wanting to work at home. I had signed up with a direct sales company back then and the first networking group I was involved in was one directed at that company. I found that direct sales just wasn’t for me so I branched out - but I was hooked on networks and forums.
I floundered around, flopping here and flipping there, bouncing from group to group, going from very active to barely active to lurker and back again. And I admit I still do that. When I really get involved in my business, I definitely do a mistake by ignoring my networking, forums and groups. I know that is bad!
The past few months have been super busy for me - vacation, coming back to my baby starting school, my husband having eye surgery (corrective - nothing bad!), then me having LASIK, and top that off with a business slowly but surely growing!
I have finally learned focus. Alice Seba has a great blog entry here about doing the work “for my family.” And yes, I was on online while the kids watched Dora the Explorer, took naps and the moment they were in bed. I stayed up late when my husband stayed at work and was online early in the morning on the weekends when he made breakfast. Finally, he put his foot down.
It’s been a hard thing for me to do because other then working online, I have fun things I do online as well - my personal email, chatting with family and playing with my digital pictures/camera. So how can I change and make my work more focused. I had to make a huge change.
It took listening to Kelly McCausey’s Power of a Focused Business a minimum of three times for me to really get it. I had to take charge of my business - run it, instead of it running me.
Wow what a change. My days consist of getting the kids ready, taking one to school, coming home and playing with the youngest, picking up the one from school, coming home for lunch, naptime, maybe errands (if I had any and if I didn’t do them in the AM), then it’s ready for dinner, hubby coming home, family time, quiet time, watch a favorite tv program time. Then it’s bedtime and start all over. Where does one fit working online in there!
I had to set strict online business hours and stick to them. Now I get so much done because I know what my priorities are. I work set hours each day, and sure if my kids are at daycare, I work then as well. I should do a set time for daycare as well. It takes baby steps!
It’s amazing what you can get done when you focus. Sure I still have time to check and reply to my personal email. Sure I might run in and check my email over a free fifteen minutes that I have. But my business is not running me anymore. I’ve accomplished more in the past few months then I have in ages. And of course I am making more each month as well, isn’t that the goal? More money but not being a slave to the grind. If I wanted that, I’d have a J-O-B, and blah, who wants that.