Like many of you, I have read Stephen Covey’s books on time management and I even have his quadrants on a chart on my wall to remind me to spend a good chunk of time each week on things that are not urgent but are very important which can include goal setting and visioning for my business.  Surfing the web has always been  in the category of not important and not urgent and has been considered a time waster. My friend would call this  “doodling” around.

However, website optimization and social networking has added a whole new challenge to time management. Some stuff that can seem like doodling is actually very important. My business has an international market and as long as someone understands English I can help them.  Marketing my business on the web is extremely important and not urgent, (plus I enjoy it as a side benefit). The challenge is that it is something that never gets done. The more I do the more I want to do. I am dipping into the world of Squidoo right now.  Squidoo allows you to create infinite number of separate “lens” pages on any topic you want. You can easily add books from Amazon, u-tube videos etc and Google loves Squidoo for a reason that my non-techy brain cannot  quite explain.

To solve this time management issue I have now set aside two half days a week for online marketing. This includes creating new  Squidoo,  hubpages,  Sumbleupon, Facebook Groups, Twittering and updating my own website to name a few.

I imagine there could be a whole new book on how to manage your time on online marketing. Any ideas??

Sometimes I wish I could take my clock and bury it forever. I remember when I was little the days seemed endless, playing with friends and more playing after dinner. Now my whole day is filled with deadlines, stuff to get done, business meetings, appointments etc.etc. I don’t know about you but it feels  a bit frustrating sometimes. I love it when I manage to get a whole day free of any scheduled things and I can go sit in a cafe and write all day.  It is delicious. Today isn’t one of those days. I have two article deadlines, bills to pay, clients to call, people to call back and of course, things to file and put away.

I now take one day every week and keep it free from appointments. I call that my writing day and I protect that time like gold.  Doing that keeps me sane. I would love to hear what other people do to deal with this challenge.

What I love about  running a small business is the variety and creativity and it also requires self discipline and impeccable organization. I guess I am stuck with that darn clock!

I don’t know about you but Twitter drove me up the wall at first. I signed up to follow a bunch of people and then I was deluged with the worst kind of chatter and small talk. Not only that but people seemed to be responding to someone else’s tweet and I had no idea what they had said so it was like only getting half of a conversation. I almost quit but then I consulted with my Twitter expert and this is what he said:

• If you want to use Twitter for business only follow people who you feel you can learn something from or people you want to  hear from from.

•  When you put in a tweet add a link to your blog or some interesting article to send people to.

•  Only look at it when you feel like it. Don’t let it take over your time. If is important to look at how it can help your business.

That changed everything. I quit following some people and added a few new ones.  Now the tweets are much more interesting.   Does any one have any other suggestions on how to use Twitter for business benefit?

The most important thing in overcoming any business obstacle is your attitude. I have an attitude angel that lives with me and reminds me that I have the power to change anything and it’s all about taking the right steps.

One thing she taught me is to find three things I can do all the time, like a mantra, and when I do all three, things change and I can move mountains.

My three things:

1. Keep my article deadlines first and before anything else.

2. Put money in my financial freedom jar everyday.

3. Every Sunday do a plan for the week.

What are your three things? Writing them down and  sharing will make them even more solid!

I was surprised to learn that over 70% of all businesses in the USA are micro business.  Wow- all the the  carpet cleaners, massage therapists, artists, writers,and other indy folks  need to unite.  Our present government offers very little support to us and it’s not because we are a small group! We are huge and could just possibly make a big difference in the overall economy. The important thing is for all of us to stay strong, become more prosperous and make a bigger  splash! You agree? How can we do this? Learn more about how to be better entrepreneurs,  join together in mastermind groups and become more abundant so we can help others.  Any other ideas? The important thing is to work together, help each other and not be afraid to admit what we need help with.