Affiliate Guru

If you're starting a business at home, you've probably done a lot of planning about how you're going to handle your money, but have you given any thought as to how you plan to handle your time?

Time is every bit as precious a commodity as money, and for the self–employed entrepreneur, it is often in much shorter supply. You'll be much more successful if you avoid these six classic time management mistakes.

1. Not Accounting For Your Time

Many people roll their eyes at the thought of keeping a time log to see exactly where there time is going, but it really is a helpful practice. Keeping close track of your time, even if only for a week, will let you see where your days are really going and can help you pinpoint and eliminate time wasters. Logging your time is especially important when you're starting a business at home; it can help you develop a routine that will keep you on track.

2. Failing To Plan Your Day

One of the big time management slogans is, "Failing to plan is planning to fail," and there's an unfortunate amount of truth to it. No, your days won’t always be predictable, especially if you’re a freelancer whose schedule depends largely on the needs of clients, but you can still lay out a general groundwork for how you would like your day to progress. Sometimes it helps to list two or three tasks that you absolutely must complete, and then another three or four that you'd like to complete if you have the time.

3. Underestimating

When you're doing something you enjoy, it's easy to underestimate how long it takes. Underestimating can lead to over–committing, which can in turn lead to missed deadlines and frustrated clients who take their business elsewhere. When you're starting a business at home and aren't sure how long certain projects will take, build a little extra time into your estimates to allow for the possibility of underestimating.

4. Overestimating

On the other hand, you may tend to overestimate the time it takes you to do tasks that you don't enjoy. When you think a job will take more time than it actually will, you may put it off until you "have the time" which usually means putting it off until it becomes an emergency. If there's a project you're dreading because you think it will take a long time, commit to working on it a little every day. Even fifteen minutes is better than nothing. You may be surprised to find how quickly you complete the task.

5. Multitasking

Research has shown that people who try to do more than one thing at once don't really get more done at all.

Technology often obliges employees to work on two or more complex tasks simultaneously and answer queries immediately. Yet, “workers who are doing multiple things at one time are doing them poorly,” says Clifford Nass, director of the Communication Between Humans and Interactive Media Laboratory, at Stanford University, U.S.A.

Reportedly, multitaskers are often stressed, are more easily distracted by irrelevant stimuli, do not think deeply and, as a result, miss important details. Nass suggests: “When you start to do something, do it and nothing else for 20 minutes. This trains you to focus, to think deeply.”

6. Not Taking Regular Breaks

Many people think that skipping breaks is a good way to build more time into your day and be more efficient. Unfortunately, it doesn't work out that way. Your brain can only focus for a certain amount of time, for most people one or two hours, before you lose your concentration and start slowing down and making mistakes.

Taking regular breaks gives you a chance to rest, recharge, and return to the project with renewed vigour. If you work in a home office, taking breaks is also necessary for the health of your body, which was never intended to sit immobile through eight–hour days.

When you're starting a business at home, it's important to pay careful attention to how you are using your time. After all, time is one of your most valuable assets.

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