Budgeting Your Time And Talent

If you could put a price tag on your time, would you be selling yourself short or cashing in on what you are actually worth? Should we take the time to run the calculations, I would venture to guess that the majority of us would discover that we are definitely coming up on the short end when it comes to our time and talent. As entrepreneurs, it is important that we make wise use of our time and talents through carefully structuring a schedule, limiting activities, and putting our talents where they will best pay off.

The best place to start is by taking an assessment of your time from the moment you wake up each morning until you go to bed at night. What do you accomplish in your 24 hours? Granted, you spend a fair amount of time preparing for your day, managing your home and family, and possibly commuting, if your business requires you to be on the road. Even though these are necessary events in your daily schedule, there are ways to maximize your time by creating efficiency and better structure. This can be accomplished by developing a schedule you and your family can live with, and through learning to multi-task, or coordinate the efficient implementation of more than one event at a time.

A great example of multi-tasking would be to return telephone calls during the time you are traveling. Purchase a headset for your cell-phone and handle your calls while you are on the road. In doing so, always make sure you observe the laws within your state regarding cellular phone usage while driving, and manage this task in some way that will keep your hands free for steering. Another idea, while on the road, is to handle your dictation. Carry a small hand-held recorder along with you so that you can dictate correspondence, information about tasks that need to be accomplished, or to record a reminder to yourself. This is also a great idea while juggling household tasks. Keep your recorder handy. Often the best ideas come when you are away from your office environment.

Make sure you limit your extra-curricular activities to those things that are necessary and important to your life. They should consist of something that benefits you physically, emotionally, pleasurably, and professionally. Plan some type of exercise in your week to keep you physically and mentally fit. Incorporate an activity into your life that you enjoy such as quilting, scrapbooking, reading, stitching, etc. And do not forget about your business. Become involved in an organization, volunteer program, or other entity where you can promote your business and take advantage of the potential benefits it brings.

Certainly, if you have a family, you have to take into consideration special events and activities that are a part of your family members' lives. At times, this may call for creative juggling. While you would like to attend every event in their lives, there may be times when you have to pass up an activity. If you have more than one child, you may have to structure a schedule where you alternate attending events for each child.

Finally, you cannot be all things to all people. Discover areas in which your talents will best pay off. Often in business, we are granted opportunities that initially sound really great. Each may require only a small bit of time and talent, but the huge payoff would make it worthwhile in the long run. Many times the huge payoff never comes and much time and talent that can never be recovered have gone into the project. Don't jump on opportunities until you have taken ample time to review them from all perspectives and evaluate whether or not they are worth the amount of time and talent you will be required to put into them. You will want to give of yourself in areas where you have the best potential for a big payoff.

Budgeting your time and talent is not always easy. It requires a commitment and self-discipline. To make it work most efficiently and effectively, you must become accustomed to thinking in advance, scheduling, and planning. The key is to discover how much less of yourself you can give in order to reap the rewards of gaining more time and income for you and your family!

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--- Rozey Gean is the founder of the Marketing-Seek.com web site where writers, publishers, and online entrepreneurs are brought together in an easy-to-use, friendly, helpful interface.

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E-mail: mailto:rozey@marketing-seek.com

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