Time Management for a Home Based MLM Business

Without effective time management you'll more than likely end up feeling like you are busy, yet you won't seem to be getting much done. The secret to effective time management is to plan ahead and keep focused.

I usually break things down into categories and then the different tasks within that category.

For example

Marketing

Blog

1. - brainstorm articles
2. - check analytics
3. - update content distribution

Facebook

1. Change offer on fan page

So you can see within the marketing category there are sub categories such as blog.  Then with the blog I list all the tasks that need going for that week. Prioritize what tasks need to be done first and then do them first, often the hardest tasks to do are the most important.  Do them first, as this will lighten the load and give you some breathing space to get on with the rest of your tasks.

In Stephen Covey's book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" he talks about the difference between urgent and important. They are two very different things.  Getting to the doctor because you broke your arm is both urgent and important.  Decide what is urgent and what is important and follow the diagram to form an action for that task.

One of the most effective ways to get things done is to have a stop watch by your  side.  I go through all the tasks I need to do in the morning and allocate a time frame  in which too get it done.  I set the timer and off I go.  I find this keeps me extremely  focused as I know I only have X amount of time to do the task.  This prevents me  from "quickly" checking out something on the web or getting distracted with  anything else.

One of he biggest  distractions for someone who is running a home based MLM business is the ringing phone and incoming emails.  Decide on set times when you  will make and receive phone calls and read and reply to emails.  Switch off you  email alerts and set your phone to voicemail.  You can take is a step further by leaving a message on your voicemail to say that you will return calls, say between 10am - 11Am and 2pm - 3pm.  Likewise with your email, set an auto reply to send an email out to the person sending you an email to tell them exactly when you will reply to an email.

I scan my emails once a day to sort my inbox out.  Any emails that need immediate attention get flagged and dealt with in a time slot at the end of the day, any emails that are to do with reading/education I file away to be opened in my reading time (usually it he evening or on weekends).  And of course the dreaded junk mail gets deleted.

In summary:

• Break down your business into categories and sub categories
• Plan your week ahead prioritizing the most important tasks with a category or sub. Ate gory
• Use a stop watch to keep track of your time and keep you in focus
• Decide what is important and what is urgent and schedule it appropriately
• Schedule phone call (incoming and outgoing) and emailing to specific time slots.

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