Boomers with Home-Based Businesses Learn to Prioritize Tasks

Just ask any Baby Boomer running a home-based business – after a while, one of the most difficult aspects is to decide “What to do next?” Everyday presents new challenges. Hence, it is imperative to also maintain a prioritized list of tasks that will directly benefit your business. This is how home-based businesses survive and grow.
I like to keep a spreadsheet list for each of my businesses, one that can be easily sorted by priority. Since I’m at an age where if I don’t write down my ”brilliant” insights, they quickly vanish, I carry a notebook at all times. There, I jot down tasks, thoughts and actions that pop into my mind and then transpose them to my spreadsheet lists.
My priorities are totally subjective. Sure, there are normal business activities that must be accomplished, such as shipping products to customers or completing a consulting report to meet a deadline. These bring in money and pay the bills. And of course they typically have the highest priority.
Then there are the “fun” things. In this category, I include items that are creative or strategic in nature. For instance:

• Reviewing my website to enhance search engine optimization.
• Exploring adjacent markets for my products and services.
• Figuring out how to grow sales 20 percent this year.
• Thinking of ways to make my business run smoother.
• Determining who can I talk to get ideas for my business or to be a sounding board.

You get the idea.
Prioritized lists are key to organizing time and being productive during the hours devoted to a home-based business each day. They help Boomers accomplish more while freeing up time for “play” to enjoy golf, family and social time, trips, gardening or simply reading a good book.
Every morning, I review my lists and set an agenda for the day. Based on how much time I want to work today, I decide which items on my list to pursue. Now, they may not be items of highest priority. Some days, I just feel like doing lower-priority stuff that I enjoy, BUT at least I’m accomplishing something beneficial to my business.
I’m sure none of this is new to you. Boomers have been making lists for years. This is how we became successful during our employment years. Operating a home-based business, however, takes the art of prioritized lists to a new level.

http://www.boomerhomebizadvice.com/2013/11/boomers-with-home-base-businesses-learn-to-prioritize-tasks/