When Everything Goes Wrong: How to Effectively Manage the Rest of Your Day

Your workday will likely suffer if your water heater bursts and floods your home or office but you don’t have to lose the entire day when less serious interruptions occur.  Although it is tempting to tell yourself something like, “well, half the day is already gone so why worry about the other half,” most of the time it’s worth trying to salvage what you can of the rest of the day so you can keep your business on track.  When you practice effective time management skills, unforeseen circumstances don’t have to spell disaster.

Discipline, Discipline, Discipline!

Imagine for a moment that you have a boss.  (You may have many; they are called clients or customers.)  When you have a boss looking over your shoulder, though, you are expected to get right back to work after a break. You can’t just blow off the rest of the day because your best friend just called about a terrific sale.  Remember, most events and situations, short of real emergencies, can be managed and planned for ahead of time. Even one-day sales are often advertised ahead of time and if you plan for them ahead of time, you can save time and money.

If you’re a serious Internet marketer, you should already be screening your phone calls and taking personal calls only when you’re not working.  Sure, kids get sick and things come up but unless it is really necessary to take the rest of the day off, take care of the situation at hand and then get back to work!  Successful Internet marketers utilize time management skills to plan for distractions, manage them, and then get back to work!

Administrative Duties

Set aside a certain amount of time each week to take care of administrative duties.  This is also when you should make your own schedule and check over any lists you may need to make or adjust for the following week.  Also, check your supplies during this time so that you do not have to rush out to purchase ink or toner or any other critical supplies during the middle of your workday.  

You probably already know how hard it is to get back to work after you leave your office in the middle of the day to run a “quick errand,” especially if the weather is nice.  It’s too easy to stop for lunch, drop off the dry cleaning, and pick up dinner while you’re out.  Before you know it, the day is shot and the rest of the family is home and demanding your attention.  Smart entrepreneurs set aside time to do the shopping and errands and leave work time to grow their business.  It  may take a while to develop effective time management skills, but by practicing simple tips and techniques and by being self-disciplined, your time and your business can be managed effectively.