Making a living as an Internet marketer working online is great. You have no boss breathing down your neck. You don’t have work hours, a time clock, or stupid office rules. Terrific I hear you say, certainly for myself that’s the goal we are heading for, but its all about discipline and commitment which I know sounds really boring and not what you want to hear, but believe me there’s more internet marketers ‘scratching’ a living because they find it too difficult to adhere to the rules, so ….
Yes this is truly a wonderful way to make a living – as long as you can stop playing XBox and watching YouTube videos long enough to get something done!
With no boss telling you to get off Facebook and get to work, how do you push yourself to get things done? Time management skills are essential when you’re your own boss, and especially when you’re online.
Get Goal Oriented
It’s important to start each day by making a list of tasks to be accomplished and goals to be reached. Put the highest-priority or most time-sensitive tasks at the top and work your way down. We need goals in order to stay on task, and it gives you a little reward when you cross these tasks off your to-do list.
And when it gets late in the day and your energy’s starting to wane, don’t be afraid to let a few things go until tomorrow. Don’t beat yourself up for letting things slide a little. Only burn the midnight oil when you really have to.
Stay Realistic
When making your daily plan, it’s important to be realistic. You can’t create a quality blog or website in 20 minutes, and you can’t write 75 articles in one day. Keep things reasonable or you’ll never feel like you’re getting things done.
But what if you don’t know how long these tasks take? If you don’t know, you can always time yourself. As you spend more time working at home, you’ll start getting a better feel for how long it takes to accomplish things.
Eliminate Distractions
Here is where most of us have trouble. When you’re working, shut down your email, your Skype, your Twitter and Facebook, and everything else that takes your mind off the task at hand.
In fact, a great time management technique is to actually schedule these distractions just like you schedule work. Designate a set amount of time each day for forums, social media and email. You can use these to break up your day.
The 30/30-Minute Work Cycle
There’s a method called the 30/30 Minute Work Cycle – you work for 30 minutes with intense concentration, and then relax, slack or do something else for 30 minutes. The idea is that only working 30 minutes at a stretch keeps you focused and all of those breaks help you recharge.
Develop a system like this that works for you. 30/30 is pretty generous with the slacking time. I’d recommend something more like an hour of work followed by 20 minutes of break. Experiment with it and see what works for you.
The Timer Method
Whether you do something like the 30/30 cycle or not, use a timer for your work time. Even if you don’t care how much time you’re working, just the action of setting a timer psychologically gets you on task. When the timer goes off, you’re on break.
Take Lots Of Breaks
No matter what kind of schedule you create, make sure there are plenty of breaks. During these breaks get away from the computer and rest, walk around or do something physical. It gives your eyes a rest and keeps you from burning out before you’re done with everything.
Finally, reward yourself often. Whenever you complete a task or when the day is done, give yourself something nice to day, ‘you did a good job today.’ Believe me it works!!
Cheers
Tony
