Self-employed: how to choose NA?

T

twunder

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Help! I work a full-time job and have successfully mastered using GTD there. I also started a small business from home this year. When I'm at home, there are so many different things I could do at any particular time, I can make calls, work on the computer, create my jewelry (that is my business), do bookkeeping, send mail, etc. I feel overwhelmed knowing how to choose what to do next since I don't have set hours for my business. Is anyone else in this situation and has it figured out?

Thanks!
Talia
 
I have found that blocking out specific times for certain tasks keeps me from wasting the day. For instance I only do bookkeeping on Friday afternoon. Otherwise I find myself spending lots of time entering data because it is easy and makes me feel busy. Marketing and other functions get similar blocks so that they are done regularly and efficiently.

Keeping as much time free as possible for my clients while making sure all of the day to day things are done. It is never easy to balance it all and I frequently have my plan disrupted but still try to maintain it as much as possible.
 
Especially at first, I think you need set hours, even if it's only a few hours a week. It's important to make space for the business even when it isn't a huge income source (yet).

I also think that it's critical that creators (writers, artists, jewelers, artisans) block out time for the creative part of their work as well as the business part of the work. You'll probably find that the two require different energy levels and mind sets anyway, so blocking out time makes sure you pick the best time of day for each.

Katherine
 
Set a day/week schedule.

Set a day/week schedule. And obey it. If there are no time constraints nothing is done.
 
I split my types of activities into categories. I needed to make certain I took care of activities in all areas, from my work for customers to marketing to bookkeeping to the routine and often strange administrative tasks. My groups are: admin, financial, clients, business development, professional development, plus some that are specific to my business activities. I have now applied those categories to my areas of focus which are a bit more defined.

Some of the biggest positives I have learned from GTD are checklists and routine activities now. Maintaining everything routinely and not forgetting small tasks which can bite you later, make a tremendous difference.
 
twunder;75030 said:
I feel overwhelmed knowing how to choose what to do next since I don't have set hours for my business.
Click to expand...

Haven't really figured it out but I do some things on a regular basis. I pay all bills on Thursday, so I can take them in to the Post Office when we go down to the pub for beer in the evening. I do monthly bookkeeping the first week of each month. I try to do most sheep work, in the morning because that seems to work best for most of the year (my equivalent to your making jewelry).

I found initially that I had to really think about my contexts and then make a concerted effort to stay in a single context for a couple of hours at a time to make any headway. It was easy for me to try to flip in and out of contexts but if I stayed in one I got a lot done. Now my issue is that there are contexts I hate to work in (namely @computer Windows) so I have to make a special point to go there at least once a month.
 
Do you know people that are not...

twunder;75030 said:
Help! .... there are so many different things I could do at any particular time, I can make calls, work on the computer, create my jewelry (that is my business), do bookkeeping, send mail, etc. I feel overwhelmed knowing how to choose what to do next since I don't have set hours for my business. Is anyone else in this situation and has it figured out?
Thanks!
Talia
Click to expand...

Please, share list of people that are not so overwhelmed, it could be the opportunity to look for another kind of job! :-)))))
 
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