This past weekend I attended a seminar about keeping a business venture on track during this new economy (http://thenextgeneration.us/). As a business owner, I attend many such seminars and presentations, but for whatever reason, this one really resonated with me. The first speaker suggested doing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis on the business and then crafting 30-, 60-, and 90-day action plans. Well, I did it right there. And one of the biggest things on my agenda was time management.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a horrible procrastinator. I have a to-do list daily, but I end up on Facebook. Twitter, checking e-mail, or basically doing just about anything else to avoid said list. This puts me behind, which makes my deliverables fall short of the promised date. Of course, that means I am leaving a bad taste in the mouths of my clients. Who’s going to refer someone when I can’t follow through on deadlines? I know I wouldn’t.

So, since I knew this was my downfall, I tackled it first. I decided to block out time on my PDA: one hour for work following by 30 minutes of play. Each section had tasks assigned. Since I’m a writer, the work block could be a résumé, revisions, editing, or copywriting. The play time consisted of e-mail, phone calls, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I even blocked out gym time and when I would pick up my son from daycare. Then I got out my timer.

I don’t multitask nearly as much anymore, but that’s okay. In fact, I close the e-mail browser, Facebook, and Tweetdeck during my working hour. I find I’m more on task and, most importantly, I’m finishing everything! I’m able to juggle working ON the business with working IN the business, which is a weight off my mind. So far, on day four, I’m right on task and have gotten a ton done.

So buy yourself a timer (or look one up online) and get working. It’ll do wonders.

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