Being Self-employed does not mean Wasting Time
One of the biggest benefits of being self-employed is the freedom that it offers. This means the freedom to wake up when you want, quit when you want, and oversee every last detail of your business. But at the same time, the biggest drawback of being self-employed is exactly the same. With so much leeway in what you can do, wasting time is something that every self-employed worker has to deal with.
Keep this in mind: even if you are self-employed it does not mean that you can slack off. In fact, the exact opposite is true. If you slack off you are not going to get paid. This is not the way that it works if you are employed by a company. You may get fired sooner or later for being a bit lazy, but until then, the paychecks will continue to roll in.
It is easier today than ever before to waste time during the workday. You can thank the internet for this. With so many distractions looming around every corner of the net, you could easily get off track and spend hours on end reading, gawking, and searching for useless information.
The way that I avoid wasting time is quite simple. Every night before I shut my computer down, I write out a list of what I have to get done the next day. When I wake up, I look at this again and devise a plan for working through the tasks. If I am lucky enough to complete them early, I will then allow myself a few minutes to scour the internet for information that is not related to work. This is more or less a reward that I give myself for working hard to complete my tasks list.
But even then, this is easier said than done. Yesterday, despite having a list of 15 things to do, I found myself searching the internet for information on dogs. I am interested in buying a dog, so of course, it was on my mind yesterday morning. Before I knew it, 15 minutes went by and I was still staring at pictures and reading about buying a new puppy. At that moment, even though I was having fun, I had to pull myself back to work. I bookmarked the page I was reading, and then made a promise that I would finish it after my work was done.
Although the internet may be the biggest way to waste time, if you work from home, you will be faced with even more distractions. This includes everything from television to radio to playing with your kids.
If you want to be successful as a self-employed worker, you need to learn how to resist temptation. Make a list, work through your tasks, and then reward yourself!
July 20th, 2007 at 1:02 am
I too find that list making is a good way to get things done. But in order to actually look at the list every day, I have to change my list medium from paper to something like Google Desktop every now and again.
July 20th, 2007 at 4:28 am
I also think I tend to get more done if I have a list in front of me. Especially helps if I give myself a time-line on top of that.
July 20th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
You gotta have a list in my opinion. If not, it is way to easy to get off track, or to simply forget something that you needed to do…
July 20th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
one of the biggest misconceptions by people regarding entrepreneurial types is that having your own business means you can “do whatever you want” whenever you want. this is the farthest from the truth. since no one is telling you what to do, or instructing you from a manager’s point of view, it’s that much harder to cover all your bases consistently. i keep forgetting to write down my to-do lists. thanks for the reminder!
July 21st, 2007 at 2:03 pm
I totally agree! In many cases I feel that being self-employed is much more difficult. Also, make sure that you keep that to-do-list current!!
January 18th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
This is some great information on how to be organize for people that work at home. Like me! I run my own SEO Company and it can get pretty busy. This will definetly help me..thank you
March 25th, 2008 at 11:55 am
my wife works from home as well and she seems to be working better at home than in the office..sometimes i wish i can do something like that..i have my own Replacement Windowscompany so it can get pretty busy and overwealming..
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
It seems that more and more wifes are working from home..i think this is great! this gives them a chance to be with the kids..
May 27th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I run my own Real Estate so that gives me a chance to work from home and be able to spend time with my children..
May 27th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Working at home definitely has its advantages when it comes to spending time with family members, etc.
June 11th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I totally agree with chris…I work from home and I get to spend time with my two year old..it is so rewarding..
July 10th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
That’s right! working from home can be very good for you and your family