As a mom entrepreneur you’re so busy with cooking, cleaning, kids and of course, running your business – that it feels like you’ll never get to the bottom of your to-do list.
To be productive and balanced, you need a method to your madness.
Fortunately there are some unique time saving techniques that can add more time to your day.
The ABCs of Saving Time and Increasing Productivity
Automation:
Automation is great for those recurring monthly, weekly and daily tasks on your to-do list. You know, like paying bills, updating your social networks with blog posts and depositing money into the bank. I’ve been able to automate all my bills by having them charged directly to my credit card, leaving me with just one check to write each month. Third party applications like Hootsuite are wonderful for automating your social networks.
For those tasks that can’t be automated, consider hiring a virtual assistant. Virtual Assistants can answer emails, upload blog posts, edit documents, arrange appointments, send out your monthly newsletter and so much more.
Batching:
Ever since I read Tim Ferriss’s book, The 4 Hour Work Week I’ve been fascinated with the idea of batching. In his book Tim talks about “batching” tasks like doing laundry, checking email and making phone calls. For example: he only does laundry once a month, saving him time to focus on other activities he enjoys more.
Of course batching laundry once a month is not realistic for most moms, but I have found other ways to apply batching techniques to my life. Tasks like running errands once a week, house cleaning once a month, cooking in bulk and then freezing portions have helped me save loads of time.
Crowd Sourcing:
Have you ever heard of the saying, “two heads are better than one”? That is the idea behind crowd sourcing – using a collective intelligence to deliver faster and more efficient results.
Many bloggers and business owners use this technique when blogging. They will put out a query for a specific question and then get a variety of business owners to reply to the question with their own unique answer. The end result is a blog post with a variety of tips from a wide range of respondents – thus saving the blog owner time by not having to write a whole blog post from scratch. There is also the mutually beneficial aspect of greater exposure for both parties.
Crowd sourcing can be used in a variety of ways to save time, such as collaborating on a project, getting valuable feedback and securing financial funding.
By integrating these “ABCs” into your daily and weekly routine, you will save time and increase productivity. Now doesn’t that sound good?
What time saving techniques do you use to add more time to your day?
Heather Allard
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Great post! My friend and I have a laundry service from our homes, and are just getting started with the blogging world. Any tips on how to generate more visitors to our blog? We are new at this and you seem to have a few tricks up your sleve.
Seattle Laundry Care
Learn about the ABC’s of time management and #productivity from TMM contributor @holly_hanna http://ow.ly/689uz
The ABCs of Saving Time & Increasing Productivity – http://bit.ly/oW2zW3 via @HeathALL
The ABCs of Saving Time + Increasing Productivity http://t.co/3GoWQZk
Easy as 123? : The ABCs of saving time and increasing productivity | @HeathAll
After reading your tip about batching and Tim Ferriss’s book, I’m definitely going to have to look for it at the library.
As a mom that struggled for a year with a home-based business while raising 5 kids, I think daycare/preschool can be a good option, and each mom has to figure out what works for them. My biggest frustration was making phone calls with customers and potential customers and having a 2 year old and 4 year old arguing in the back ground. If I could have had blocks of time with no kids at home or a babysitter running block, I might not have given up so soon.
I haven’t given up entirely since I have continued to blog which I’ve been doing since 2007. It works with the time I have, and as I have more time during the day as the kids get older, then I can expand my blogging.
I could brush up on these ABC’s of time saving via @hollyhanna and @mogulmom: http://ow.ly/5y7wX
I am always trying to figure out how to do it all…The Mogul Mom says:The ABCs of Saving Time + Increasing Productivity http://t.co/PIzf11k
Outsourcing time-consuming tasks to virtual assistants has been such a lifesaver. I also sub-contract out tasks to trusted freelancers so that I can concentrate all my time and energy on the things that require my personal touch.
On a personal level, I resisted putting my children in any sort of daycare arrangement – after all, the mom part of being a WAHM is pretty important to me! What I’m finding though is having several hours of uninterrupted time to work is not only more efficient for me, it also allows me to really enjoy my time with my kids and focus completely on them.
Great point, Tracy! I’ve never put my kids in any kind of daycare and always felt (feel) scattered when trying to focus on my work.
By outsourcing tasks and finding childcare, we’re better at both work AND motherhood. 🙂
Thanks for sharing.
Heather
I’m excited about this fall when I can outsource housework and laundry! I think the best part about working for myself is that I can be very flexible about how much childcare I use – last year, when my 3 year old first started, we only did 10 hours a week at a Parent’s Day Out program and that was perfect. There is no reason to feel guilty about using high quality child care if that will help you achieve balance in your life.
And if you want to know a little secret – sometimes I sneak off for a couple of hours of me time during the week now! Sometimes taking a break is the key to being able to focus and work efficiently for the rest of your working hours.
Me time is nearly extinct for most mom entrepreneurs – I’m hoping to change that for myself and others soon. 😉
Thanks again for sharing, Tracy.
Heather