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/

 

Working from home with young children

More and more of us are working at home these days due to the restrictively high cost of childcare – and a need for more flexible hours.

Working from home is a great way to fit your career around looking after your kids, but it's a lot easier when your children are at school. So how can you manage things when they're really small?

Remember you are doing two jobs

You're working and being a mum – two important jobs – so schedule things accordingly. "If you have small children at home with you, things will take longer to complete, so set realistic deadlines to avoid disappointing your boss or letting down your team", advises Kristen Harding, childcare expert at Tinies, the UK's leading childcare company and nanny agency network.

Create a workspace

Even if you don't have a home office, set aside a corner of the room that you can use as 'your space', while still keeping an eye on what the children are up to. "Having your own space will help you feel more secure in your role, but being able to glance up frequently will help you feel more at ease," says Kristen.

Be organised

It's all about planning when you're a WAHM (Work At Home Mum). "Plan meals in advance, shop online and make it all as easy as you can" advises Personal Development Coach Cheryl Goldenberg of The Pickle Shed, who specialises in happy working mothers. "Plan the day, too – but be prepared to change the plan along the way! Think about what the kids will be doing while you're working and make sure everything they need is in the right place".

Have a working day

You might not be going to an office, but it's important to create a working day for yourself. "Dress for work so your brain knows what mode it's in", suggests Cheryl. "Then, when you're finished, leave your home office or workspace at 5pm and find a way to draw a line between work and home – get changed into 'home' clothes, go for a run, turn up the music...". Do whatever it takes to help you switch off!

Communicate with your partner

Talk to your other half and important people in your family such as grandparents. "Be open about how easy or hard you are finding it working from home", says Kristen. "Do you need help? What would help lighten the load? Remember only you know how you're managing: don't expect others to be able to read your mind."

Create a back-up plan

What will happen if your work throws you a curve ball? "Have a back-up plan in place for when you have a last minute meeting, or an urgent deadline", suggests Kristen. "Things don't always run smoothly but if you prepare for worst case scenarios, then every day is a lot less bumpy! A childcare website like Emergency Childcare is an essential for your SOS contact list."

Look after yourself

You need to be on the best possible form – physically and emotionally – to manage working from home. "If you fall apart then everything around you does the same", warns Cheryl. "Work out what it takes to keep you feeling fresh and schedule it into your diary. Connect with other mums and dads working from home, as isolation saps confidence. And find new places to work in child-free moments to refresh creativity – your local library, a coffee shop etc."

Try and prioritise

It's vital to set aside quiet time for the tasks that need greater concentration. "This might mean arranging play dates with other working parents so that you can have a few hours of total quiet, or arranging your work around nap times", Kristen says. "And remember, letting your kids have quiet times and learn to play amongst themselves are important parts of growing up – so you don't have to entertain them all the time!"

Don't be hard on yourself

Just because you do your work at home, it doesn't make it any less important, so talk about what you do to your children and partner. "Show the family what 'Mummy's Work' means – to help them to understand what you're doing and why", suggests Cheryl.

And remember, it's never going to go smoothly all the time. "If you have a bad day, accept it and start again tomorrow!"

http://www.parentdish.co.uk/family/working-from-home-with-young-children/

Does What You Wear Matter When You Work From Home

Switching from working at an office to working from home is a pretty big change. When I made the switch, I particularly missed my coworkers, the 10-6 structure, and the soda machine, but the biggest difference was definitely my wardrobe. Does it matter what you wear when you're working from home?
At first glance it seems like the answer should be a resounding, “no.” With no one to see me, whatever clothes I put on were just for me, and whatever neighbor could see me through my home-office window. As far as I could tell, there was no practical reason to put on my office drag when nobody would see me. I could stay in my pajamas all day if I wanted.
But while idea of perfect, 24-hour comfort is appealing, what a person wears can affect the way they feel, which in turn can affect job performance. Maybe I really was going to have to wear smart shoes and an uncomfortable bra to successfully monitor Twitter and conduct Skype calls. The only way to know for sure was to play Goldilocks and try all my options to see which ones worked best.

Office ClothesMy experiment began with the full Office Lady outfit, which was a complete non-starter. I made it about 10 minutes before realizing high heels do not work at a standing desk and kicked them off. (That’s also right about when I realized that standing on my yoga mat made my standing desk experience much more pleasant.) Pantyhose and a pencil skirt always seemed perfectly comfortable at the office, but in my apartment they suddenly felt distractingly uncomfortable. That outfit was supposed to get a week of testing, but I gave it up after a day and a half.

PajamasWorking in pajamas was much more fun, but it did make me wish I had more sets of cute, matching pajamas like Zooey Deschanel on The New Girl. As long as I was clean and tidy, I did not notice an appreciable decrease in productivity between wearing pajamas and wearing my office garb. Personally, I think I was more productive because I wasn't fussing with tights or wandering skirts all day.
I didn't like wearing the pajamas I had slept in, though; that was just a step too far into sloppiness for me. Getting up and putting on a new set of pajamas for work was much better. I highly recommend it.

Casual ClothesBetween those two is the middle option of wearing comfortable, casual clothes like jeans and a comfy sweater. That was pretty much as comfortable and productive as wearing pajamas, with the added benefit of not being embarrassing on the rare occasions someone dropped by.
Having committed myself to wearing either regular house clothes or clean pajamas during work, I asked some other work-from-home types about their preferred options. I expected the answers to run the gamut, but of the eight home-office workers who responded, all but two said they wore pajamas or pajama-type clothes to work unless they expected to have to meet people. Of the two holdouts, one wore jeans and a hoodie, and the other said he started the day in pajamas and changed to jeans and a T-shirt around lunchtime. Nobody wore shoes.
When you do your job from home, do you find that what you wear makes a difference in your work?

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/does-what-you-wear-matter-when-you-work-from-home-197194

How to Productively Work From Home

With the internet allowing modern age business owners to run their operations from just about anywhere in the world, many are choosing to run their business entirely out of their house. Those who choose to forego the office and instead work from the comforts of home need to learn to manage their daily schedules in a manner that will keep productivity at a maximum.
Organize an At-Home Office
Aside from the tax benefits that some at-home business owners are entitled to, creating a space in your home that is specifically for work has advantages for your mental health as well. Creating a space in your home that can function as your office will allow your brain to transition into work mode and allow you to focus without the distractions of the television and other domestic chores that may call your name when spending time at home. While it may seem tempting, simply waking up and pulling your lap top into bed with you is not the recipe for a productive work day.
Set Your Daily Work Hours
It’s important to make a distinction between the time you spend working at home and your personal time at home. Making sure that you stop dealing with work and start spending time with your friends and family during the evenings is beneficial for your own mental health. By setting specific daily work hours, your associates will know which times they can contact you via phone or email. Putting down your laptop at 5pm and leaving it until the next morning will ultimately make you more productive during your set work hours.
Take Advantage of LinkedIn
Being active on LinkedIn is a great way to make sure that your face is recognizable to your business associates as they will not be seeing you around the office.  LinkedIn is the preferred social network for business networking as it is a strictly professional network where experts share articles with others in their industry. Unless you’ve built a personal relationship with a business associate, connecting on LinkedIn is the most appropriate social network to use that can still keep your personal and professional life separate.
By Brendon Pack.

http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=182405#.UnvIgttFDIU

10 Tips On Choosing A Good home business

 

1.            Are you convinced with the product that you will have to sell with the business opportunity? If not, there is no reason you should go ahead with it.

2.            Are you convinced of their business plan? Most importantly, have you understood it thoroughly and will you be able to explain it to others in the same way your business representative does it for you? If the business plan is complicated or if you think you will not be able to explain it to others, you can give this one a miss.

 

3.            Do they insist on some unreasonable membership fee? Most home businesses are low investment opportunities. If you have to spend more than $200 to be a part of the activity, drop it.

4.            You must get a complete kit when you join. It should contain a detailed instruction manual and a manual about the product you will be selling too. It should have several things that can help you promote the product such as stickers, buttons and pins, etc.

5.            How are your immediate upline members? Your leader, the one who explains the business to you when you join, must be friendly and even charismatic. He or she must be able to help you initially in convincing people to join.

6.            Does the business hold seminars to induct more people frequently? Remember that without such contact programs, it will become difficult to bring more members to the network. The physical approach is unbeatable. Also, leaders must be present at these seminars to speak to the people and convince them.

 7.            Does the business have an online presence? Without that, you can give all hopes of earning good money. The best way to bring in more people is through the Internet. The business should use these opportunities to the maximum extent.

8.            Do you have enough people to back you and support you, at least initially? Are you a social person? Such things help in getting the initial members. It is a good idea to speak to some people in your immediate circle to find out whether they will support you by joining the network themselves.

9.            Do you have time for the activity? Remember that a business venture is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You have to put in effort. If you cannot, no such activity will work for you.

10.          What is the reputation of the company? This is highly important. The products will be sold faster if the company has some reputation. It is difficult to join newbie companies that no one has heard of, unless they have some highly innovative products that people would love to interest themselves in.