Let's face it - webmasters never have enough time. Not enough time to build all the sites they want to build. Not enough time to launch all of the great ideas and projects that they have. Not enough time to spend with their families.
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"You need to identify your own personal problems, issues and pitfalls as an at-home worker before you can move forward and manage your time more effectively." |
How many times have you wished there were more than 24 hours in a day - or more than 7 days in a week? We're busy from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep - and what do we get for our trouble? Sure many of us are very profitable and are making a good living - but still others are getting stressed out, getting unhealthy and a few have even suffered through problems with their families because of their time spent online.
But it doesn't have to be that way. Managing your time can seem like an 800-pound gorilla - too big and too weighty to control. It's more than just telling yourself that you need to make a schedule. You need to identify your own personal problems, issues and pitfalls as an at-home worker before you can move forward and manage your time more effectively.
One way to identify your problem is to make a personal list of everything you do each day for a couple of days. It seems tedious - and more time consuming - but trust me, it's worth it. When you roll out of bed in the morning, what do you do first? Do you make a pot of coffee and catch up on emails and ICQs that came in overnight? Do you read through the message boards to stay on top of the daily buzz? Mark down how much time you spend doing each task and log it so you can review it later.
How much time is spent checking stats, building galleries or submitting to traffic resources? Write everything down - everything you do - remember, this is just for-your-eyes-only because you will be the one evaluating - so just be honest! You will be surprised at how many hours you spend each day on things that could be cut out, lessened or better managed. It wasn't until I looked at my own schedule a few months ago that I realized it was totally out of whack - and I realized how little time I was spending with those that I care about the most.
Now that you've got your log, you're ready to review it. Total up how much time is spend on answering emails, chatting in chat rooms, posting on message boards, talking on ICQ and list all of that under Networking and Communications. Then, total up how much time is spend actually building sites, galleries, utilizing and re-sizing content and getting projects done - put this under Labor.
Next, make a total of all the time that you spend on submitting your sites, galleries and pages to traffic resources and engines - as well as the time you've spent on making link trades with other webmasters and checking stats - this should go under Marketing. Finally, total up all the time that is spent working on extra projects and thinking up new ideas - list these activities under Innovations.
You do more work than you thought - don't you? Networking & Communications, Labor, Marketing and Innovations - they take up a lot of time in the daily duties of an adult webmaster. Now all you need to do is evaluate how much time is spent in each area and learn to juggle it - and then juggle it with a real away-from-the-keyboard life as well!
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Even though we depend upon others for traffic and then sell that traffic to sponsors, making our income off of those sales and conversions - we still are our own bosses. Setting a schedule can be difficult - especially when you work from home. You never really leave your office - and for most webmasters - that's the root of the real problem.
Scheduling your time is all about setting limits. Think about what you really want to be doing with your time. Do you really want to sit in front of the monitor for 18+ hours each day? Or - do you want to spend a typical 8-10 hour workday online, leaving the rest of the afternoon or evening to spend with family and friends? Or maybe - do you want to work less? Think about what is important to you and weigh it against your business goals.
If you're in the middle of a huge project, then no - you probably won't have a lot of personal time. But if you are just working your sites, doing the daily "grind," then you can afford to allow a little give for personal off-line time.
What is most important to you about your work as a webmaster? What aspect of your daily schedule helps to "pay the bills" the most? Networking and Communications are important - but HOW important. Do you find that you spend hours each day sitting idly in a chatroom or chatting on ICQ? Take a look at your time evaluation and weigh once and for all how much that time is worth to your business. Are you spending enough time building sites? Are you making sure to set aside some of your time each day to submit to new traffic resources?
Identifying what's important and separating that from what's not as important - can not only help you to better manage your time, but it could ultimately improve your business as a whole. Think about it - if you set a limit of 1-2 hours per day for networking and gave yourself an hour or so to explore new projects - the rest of your time could be dispersed between actual site building and traffic building.
Now, if you haven't actually sat down and logged your time in yet, I'll bet you're shaking your head and saying, "but I already DO that!" Trust me - you may think you are, but chances are you're not.
Networking and communicating within the webmaster community is vital and extremely important - don't get me wrong - but there's a time for everything, and if time is becoming a problem for you - this is probably an area that needs the most control. However - not every webmaster is created equal. If you find that you are spending too much time building sites and not enough time networking - make sure you allot yourself a little bit of time each day to get out and see what the rest of the world is up to. Make posts, make friends, join chatrooms, listen to educational webmaster radio shows. You need to know who's who and what's going on just as much as you need to keep building! Who knows? Once you get out there, you just might learn something totally new that will make your daily job that much easier!
It's all about balance. The well-balanced webmaster is happy, healthy, profitable and well informed. Take some time to look deeply into your daily schedule and I'm sure that you'll find room for improvement. Remember - you're the boss! If you set limits, set reasonable goals and take care of yourself and your business - the rest will fall into place and you'll find your success in no time!