Time Management Tips for Women Entrepreneurs

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Time Management is an essential part of life if you want to be organized, less stressed and have more opportunities to enjoy your every day life. Managing your time is being purposeful in each choice you make by prioritizing your day. It’s so easy to get side-tracked by all the ‘other’ things and when that happens it causes us to waste time and often, leaves us feeling overwhelmed and stressed due to everything not getting done.

As a work from home solopreneur, mom and wife, I know how very difficult it can be to make a time management plan that will work for all areas of a persons life. There are a few tools that I use that have helped me tremendously and I’d like to share those with you.

My Bible: Before I  start my work day, I spend time with the Lord in devotions, pray and scripture reading. This is my highest priority, therefore, I plan my day starting here.

Crockpot: I can not prepare a home-cooked, balanced meal without my crockpot! The only thing I don’t cook in my crockpot is noodle based meals.

Kitchen Timer: By keeping a timer on my desk I am able to set a specific time for each task. This allows me to stay on top of the time I have scheduled for myself  and keeps me task – focused.

Notebook Paper: I have 3 sheets of paper labeled, HOME, FAMILY, BUSINESS  that I update every Sunday.

• Sheet #1 is titled- “HOME” is where I list every chore that needs to be done that week. I do not assign a specific day of the week for every chore and I do not list chores such as: “cooking”, “dishes” because those things need to be done daily and already have a place and time in our schedule.  What I do schedule is seasonal type chores, such as: “wash windows”, “organize office boards”,”Organize spices”.
• Sheet #2 is titled: “FAMILY”- On the left side of my paper I write the days of the week, then place any appointments (taken from the family calendar which is kept in our downstairs kitchen) and place those on this sheet of paper.
• Sheet #3 is titled: “BUSINESS”- On the left side of the paper I write the days of the week, then I list my clients and what tasks they need done on the appropriate day. If there is a emergency project, I then highlight that so it sticks out from the rest of my tasks.

The reason I have 3 sheets of paper laying between my keyboard and my screen is to keep me focused on the task at hand plus this allows me the freedom of making changes as I need to without having to ruin my wall calendars.

The best time management system is the one that works for you! You are the only person in-charge of your time and knowing what your priorities are will be the first step in successful time management.  If you find that you have more on your plate than you can handle, then perhaps the best time management tip would be to outsource the tasks that are ‘time stealer’s.

Stephanie Fish is the owner of Buckeye V.A. an Ohio-based Social Media and Internet Marketing virtual assistance business. You can follow Buckeye V.A. on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. To learn more about Stephanie’s services view her website at: Buckeye V.A.