Managing time with a home business

Working at home provides flexibility and freedom, but discipline is necessary to complete the work required.  Proverbs 6:10-11 notes “A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

The following ten tips will help with managing a home business.

1. Start each day by dedicating it to the Lord. Our time each day is given to us by God: “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Before the workday begins, dedicate it to the Lord. Ask Him for guidance and for help in using the time He has given, as He wants and as He sees fit.
2. Schedule time for business paperwork and accounting. Set aside a certain time each day or week (depending on the size of the home-based business) to do paperwork. This would include filing receipts, invoicing clients, balancing accounts, and paying bills.
3. Plan time—don’t fragment it. Divide the day into similar things by category. Group all phone calls (mornings are best for phone calls), projects, and errands to be done at the same time. Finish one category before shifting to another.
4. Be productive—don’t procrastinate. Procrastination is probably one of the primary reasons why goals are not accomplished. By determining when is the most productive time, you can limit procrastination. Strive to work during peak performance periods if it doesn’t conflict with family time or the family routine. Home-based businesses must conform to the family routine, not the reverse.
5. Establish a routine that is acceptable. Home-based businesses do not have to be limited to a 9-to-5 routine. However some type of routine should be established—one that can maximize production without sacrificing family. You might;
   1. commit a certain number of hours per day to the business, or
   2. certain full days to the business and take full days off—perhaps working with the business every other day.
6. Know when to say No! If you commit to friends, projects, or jobs, you must honour those commitments. Before any commitment is made, be sure to determine how that commitment will affect your family, business, deadlines, or other commitments. If accepting the obligation will negatively affect any of these, the answer to the request should be, “No!” Or at the very least, “Not at this time.”
7. Organize commitments. List all things that need to be accomplished or commitments that have been made. Then list the time that it will take to accomplish or finish each task. Divide the steps necessary to meet each goal or accomplish each task into daily assignments. Maintain these assignments until the project is complete.
8. Schedule extra time. When making schedules, make sure that there is enough flextime. Pad all appointments and activities with a few extra minutes in anticipation of unforeseen delays or unexpected circumstances.
9. Evaluate the importance of all meetings and appointments. Many meetings and appointments waste time that can be used for more productive things. Some business can be conducted quickly by phone, online meeting, or e-mail, rather than scheduling a meeting to do it. Don’t hesitate to set a length to meetings and end meetings that become non-productive.
10. Have family co-operation. Business schedules and routines should not interfere with quality family time, but the family should understand and support an agreed upon business and work schedule. Family time is a priority, but the family needs to understand the value of being a good steward and maintaining good work ethics.

Conclusion

When God provides an opportunity for people to operate a home-based business, they need to organize that business and operate it with the highest level of work ethics if they expect it to be productive.

If God controls the business and if good time management is used there’s more likelihood the home-based business will be successful.

Useful links:

Should I start a business?

Sample Business Plan

Business by the Book

Business by the Book workshop

Business by the Book bible study

Peter Crawford          crown@crown.org.nz