Does anyone have a written routine they follow?

[pschlegel]

[karadawn]

I kinda do, although my schedual has fallen apart in the last few weeks after being sick. What I normally do is in the morning do my daily tasks such as answering emails, checking traffic stats and income reports, updating my spreadsheet, and hitting message boards (although that's one thing I've been slacking on). I watch the clock and attempt to get everything done before lunch time. After lunch I get started on a task that varies day to day like revamping a website, building pages, link exchanges, etc. These things I work on for around 4 hours then I try and go clean house (again I've gotten seriously off track and this week I've been playing a little too much).

I think the real trick is balancing a schedual where you are doing half daily (or even weekly) tasks and half new projects - without burning yourself out!!

[Kevin Robb]

[kathleen]

[pschlegel]

[sugarrae]

I don't work with a schedule at all. But, I am hardest on myself when it comes to working my business - I am always thinking I should be doing more. Once a week I make a list of things that need to be done in the coming week. Then I just leave it up to myself to get them done. And it never fails that every week I end up doubling the list with add ons.

[webturtle]

Well, I've been working from home and by myself for 9 years so you would think I'd have some routine

Seriously - I do, but its fairly fluid. The day usually starts at 8 a.m. I am a list maker - and I use Outlook's task list for this. And its synched to my phone each morning so I can take it with me. Every single thought I have about needing to do ANYTHING gets logged in the task list with a start date, a due date, and if possible, assigned to a contact (that way I can look back at the history for a client later). Most days, I read email and check all the various networking forums over breakfast, and reply to stuff. Then I start ticking off stuff on that to-do list. Sometimes its a gazillion little things and other times its a solid block of time I have to work on a project. Other times, the tasks are business related - marketing things I need to do, like write articles. Every day is different in regards to the task list. Things that are urgent have a timer set to remind me and other stuff is just there in order for me to check it off.

I schedule backups once a week - usually Friday night or Saturday. And I check in with my accounting system about twice a week, to prepare invoices, transfer money around and stuff like that. This often coincides with writing estimates since I'm already in there.

I usually take a lunch break at noon, for about a half hour, and pry myself out of the chair for that I also go to the gym 2-3 week days (and always on the weekend) for either a swim or a walk on the indoor track - I find that really recharges my batteries for the rest of the day - and something about swimming and a stop in the sauna really puts me on cloud nine the rest of the night or evening.

I come back and work until 7 pm, start dinner and break until 10 or so. Its not really a break - i check industry headlines and read articles on my Treo during commercials After a little TV (which I personally could live without but its the only time I see my house mate), I tend to either tie up loose ends, surf the web a little or read for a couple hours.

I have a deal with myself that if I get everything that was one my Monday task list done by Friday noon, I can take off. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't - sometimes I just go to a coffee shop and write with my pda phone and other times I get completely out of work mode. I learned my lesson years ago about burn out and I'm determined to not over extend myself this time around. So all in all, I'm much more structured than I used to be.

[PattyGale]

I definitely work with a schedule... but it's not too rigid. I need some type of guideline to keep me on track.

I work outside the home part time in the a.m. until noon. Then, it's straight to the gym for an hour workout. I then pick up my daughter (3) who is at the sitter and we get home usually around 1:45.

Snack time for her. I have a small desk just for her and a t.v. with vcr in my office so she can have a special place to "work", too, and watch Barney or other videos.

The afternoons are usually spent answering emails and networking because there is just too much room for interruption to concentrate on designing.

I usually stop around 4:30 or 5:00, then it's dinner time and family time until Emily's bedtime around 7:30.

The evenings are my longest stretches of totally uninterupted time, so that is my design and planning time.... graphics for new products, articles, newsletters, site stuff.

I try to get to bed by midnight, but that's a joke sometimes. Weekend nights will find me up until at least 2:30 or so a.m. working. It's amazing how much you can done when everyone else is asleep!

Plus, I keep my IM open and can tell when my oldest son (away at college) is up or not... Not that I'm checking up on him or anything, but we can communicate much more frequently on IM and cell phone calls then we did when he was home!

I think you just have to see what works best for you. When Emily was an infant, I could spend some time designing in the afternoon because she took a nap. She hasn't napped now since October, so I had to adjust my routine.

Which is why I love what I do! I can be totally flexible in my schedule as things change in the household.


Patty

[womaninbiz]

Hi Paul,

What I usually do is go through my daily rituals in the morning, such as check all e-mail boxes & manage my networks. Then I hit my pending files for about two hours or so.

After that what ever comes up in between I work on and at the end of the night if something isn't completed that I know I have to get out of the way I write it down on my list of things to do for the next morning and start my routine all over again this time with the list of things to do as my priority for the morning.

I too get off track sometimes too though, especially when I get into forums such as these and get to posting away.

[irinam]

[MommyEnterprises]

I will have a routine, follow it for a couple weeks then get sidetracked.

I do this quite often

Stefani

[Shannon]

I have a routine I follow everyday that I call I call it my daily system for success. Here is an article I wrote about it.


Home Based Management
Copyright 2004 by Shannon Herod

When I woke up I knew I had a lot to do… link management, respond to emails, and all of my daily tasks. As I was drinking my morning coffee I was thinking I would get started right after Good Morning America. After my show I fired up my computer and went to work. Well not exactly because I had to get in a game of solitaire. The point I am trying to make is working from home gives you the luxury of doing things on your own time. Unfortunately it is easy to let that time slip away from us.

Procrastination or lack of activity is one of the biggest reasons home businesses fail. Remember just because you are sitting in front of your computer does not mean you are being productive. We all know how easy it is to say I will do it right after... and for this reason it is critical that a daily system for success or schedule should be set in place to work your business.

A schedule leads to a more productive day, which in turn leads to more money. More money leads to less stress. Less stress leads to better health. Better health leads to more energy. More energy leads to more quality time with your family and so on and so forth. As you can see managing your day is defiantly to your advantage. Making a daily system for success doesn’t mean saying I will work from 9-4 today or from 6-8 if you are part-time. This task takes a little more effort.

Make A List

Make a list of what needs to be done in that day. You can make your list first thing in the morning or at night before you go to bed either way is fine but I recommend doing it at night. This way your subconscious mind can work on how you will accomplish these tasks while you sleep. This only takes ten to fifteen minutes and will be time well spent. Your list should not only contain business tasks but also personal tasks as well.

Prioritize

The next step is to prioritize your list from the most important to the least important. Most people like to get the small stuff out of the way first and usually run out of time in the day to get the larger more important tasks completed. This will lead to more stress and rushing around to get this important task completed which usually leads to a mediocre job. Get the big stuff out of the way and your day will flow much smoother.

Timeline

Making a list and prioritizing it is a great start to have a productive day but you have to hold yourself accountable. I found that putting a timeline on your daily task keeps you better focused and more aware of the things that have to be done. I know things happen and you can not schedule your day to the minute but having a timeline written down in your planner or palm pilot or what ever you use will keep you focused throughout the day.

I had just started my home-based business and was promoting an on-line business opportunity. I had not started implementing my daily success system and was becoming overwhelmed with work I had put off. In the mist of all this I received an email from a prospect requesting more information on the opportunity I was promoting. Checking and responding to my emails is a priority of mine but I didn’t check my email that day. This prospect ended up joining another opportunity and becoming on of the top producers. That mistake cost me thousands of dollars. Don’t let money just pass you by time is a precious commodity don’t waste it. Start you daily system for success today

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Reprinted with permission if resource box is included.

[inhighgear]

Here's a site that has helped me manage routines better.



This isn't dedicated to to business, mostly running a home, but it will help you get your routines down...whatever they may be.

The response I've gotten from people I've shared this site with has been overwhelming.

Natalie

[Lynn Terry]

[uniquelyyours]