If you’re in the paid workforce and toying with the idea ofstarting a home business so that one magic day you cantell your boss what you REALLY think of him or her, youhave a rough patch to get through first. The time crunchthat comes with running your business on the side in youralready non-existent spare time while you continue workingin your job until the business is generating enough of anincome to allow you to quit.It’s tough being a moonlighter, as many of you reading thisknow only too well. Here are some ideas to help you beatthe time crunch.WHERE DOES THE TIME GO? Pareto Lawrence
Before you can begin planning how to make the mosteffective use of your time, understand where it goes.An activity log is a good way of identifying black holes thatcan be turned into productive time. Keep a log for atypical week. Just write down everything you do for thatweek. Be sure to include everything: getting ready for work,eating meals, taking breaks, travelling to and from work,grocery shopping, telephone calls, faxes, emails, casualchats, work activities, reading, making meals, watchingTV, whatever.IDENTIFY TIME WASTERS AND NUKE ‘EMYour activity log will identify, in excruciating detail, exactlyhow much time you are squandering each week … valuabletime that you could be putting to productive use in a homebusiness. You may find that you’re spending 16 hours aweek watching TV, for example. That’s two whole businessdays right there.So identify those time wasters and kill them off. A timewaster is any thing that doesn’t make a worthwhilecontribution (proportionate to the time you spend on it) toyour work, your business or your personal wellbeing. If itdoesn’t make a contribution to one of these three areas,dump it or delegate it.