WAHM Tips: Are you a Busy Bee?
Every week we bring you a tip to help ease the stress of working from home. It may be a technique for getting things done, avoiding interruptions or just getting through the day with your sanity intact. This week we are looking at being busy versus getting stuff done.
Working at home means that you have to motivate yourself to get your daily tasks done. But do you ever find that you’ve been working all day but don’t seem to have made even the tiniest of dents in your to-do list?
We can fill our whole work day with busyness but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ve been productive. Here are our 7 steps to getting things done:
1. Think about what you want to accomplish
2. Set a reward for yourself (this could be a snack, a coffee break, a wander round the garden) this will keep you motivated and inspired
3. Shut out any distractions – switch on the answer machine, facebook and twitter
4. Start small with short periods of time (like 30-45 mins)
5. Focus on only that activity
6. Keep going until you achieve it
7. Celebrate with your reward - then you can set your next priority.
I've learnt these and lots of other wonderful tips from Helen Rappy, she's one of my mentors at the moment and just by taking action on the advice she's given me, I've got more done this year than I've done since coming online in 2007. I'm actually getting known as someone who gets things done, which is wonderful! You can get to listen to her 8 top productivity tips on her monthly free call here.
Email me with your WAHM tips and get your name in print on our page.
Thanks for another great post Heather, I’m sure you can read my mind. Must remember to reward myself more often and shut out the distractions, namely Facebook.
Thanks for that Ann,
I’m so glad that I’m giving you what you need lol.
Facebook can drain our time resources if we’re not careful.
It’s good to switch off and unplug, go get some work done, then come back and see where everyone’s up to.
We won’t have missed anything we can’t catch up with 🙂
Heather xx
I find it very useful to start each day with thinking about what I can do today that will help my business move forward. There are so many times, however, that I am busy rather than productive. I also think I have mastered the art of getting distracted. Great post Heather.
Nicky Kriel recently posted..LinkedIn- Are you using the search function
Nicky,
You made me giggle!
I love your question to start the day – it’s really positive, inspiring and motivating.
I love your honest too about the distractions.
I’ve noticed that whenever I get distracted lately, I have Helen Rappy’s voice in my head saying “How is this helping to move your biz forward Heather?’ – I think she’s been listening to you! lol
Heather x