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As a mum of 1, a partner of another, and an ex wife of a third, trying to run two businesses whilst keeping everyone happy requires either a thorough understanding of time management – or a nervous breakdown.
Here are some tips which have helped keep my sanity intact:-
- Start a catch-all notebook divided into:-
- Short Term Projects (more involved tasks)
- Long Term Projects (over 60 days)
- Short Term To Dos (quick tasks)
- Long Term To Dos
- Short Term Reference
- Long Term Reference
- Delegate / Outsource
- Add in categories for:
- To buy – split between personal, food, presents etc
- To call
- To email
- To pay
- To chase
- Appointments to make
- WEEKLY TIMETABLE – type up a 7 day schedule – block out time for travel, meals, homework, your business, exercise and you/family time.
- From the catch all notebook write a TO DO LIST for the week and rank in order of priority separating into Must Dos and Want To Dos. Once you have done this you can then allocate specific tasks to the above weekly time blocks. Try and group together similar tasks – e.g. make all calls between 9-10am each day.
- In your schedule allocate a Daily Power Hour – pack as many 5-10 minutes tasks as you can into this hour eg catch up emails, make quick calls, pay a bill etc.
- Only open your email program twice a day for a set time period so that you are not constantly distracted by incoming mail.
- MEAL PLANS – spend a couple of hours typing up a monthly spreadsheet of each meal, with a space under each day for ingredients; go through your recipe books and fill in each category. It may take a while to set up but once done will save you time and money.
Sophie Lee is an ex single mum of 1 living in Sydney. She runs a national flatmate search website for single parents www.space4.com.au.
Special offer this month – if single parents are in your target market, book an ad in the SPACE4 December newsletter prior to 21st November for as little as $18.75, a 25% discount. Contact admin@space4.com.au for further details.
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