Do you wish you could decode the magic of time management?

Do you want a formula for completing all your projects and assignments on time while being your own boss?
There’s no magic in this world to manage your time, especially when you are your own boss. The “own boss factor” simply comes along when you start on your venture – how big or small it may be. Naturally there are some real positives with being the master, but there are a number of negatives, too. Setting your own hours is the most critical parameter to manage when you drive your own business. Let’s look at some pros and cons of being the master of your time.

The Positives
Becoming your own boss is a dream of many. The appeal seems obvious; you tend to have complete freedom over how you organize your time. You are answerable to only yourself. You become responsible for your output, not your hours. You have full empowerment to manage your team.
We often talk about owning the job as a key to job satisfaction; and when you’re the boss, you own it. Not having to ask anybody can mean a great deal. You are brimming with excitement to steer the wheel all by yourself. What else can be as tempting and satisfying than this?

The Challenges
However, “Living the dream” of running a business which is home based has its own challenges. Working from home clearly has major impediments, some of them are:

 Self-discipline is not as easy as it may sound
 There is no safety net on delivery time
 Balancing work from home is a hard nut to crack
 A high chance of becoming ‘the house slave’

The Solution
It takes lot of discipline and serious time management skills to make it work. To help one get control of these obstructions, here are some of the best tips that can help to improve the work time when you are your own boss.

Optimize Time Pockets to strike a balance
Research says that every 11th minute you are disrupted by either a ping on your chat window or a beep on your Smartphone. Use ‘Pomodoro Technique’ of time management when you need to finish your task at hand. Resist the urge to get interrupted. Handle personal affairs after work hours. Don’t multi-task, it compromises the attention you can give to each task, and this often results in less than ideal work.

Choose the most productive & less chaotic hours
Do you have a specific daily routine that prepares you for work? Have you noticed that there’s a particular time of the day, which gives the maximum productivity?
Different individual have different “active part of the day”. Some prefers to start early and for some, late nights are the most productive hours where they complete their work. Use this to your benefit and choose the less chaotic time of the day.

Stop distractions – No Facebook , You Tube , Whatsapp or Social Media
Such distractions are visible in every work space and have taken a toll on productivity and the well being of people around. And if you work from a home office, it’s very easy to get distracted. According to TeamLease World of Work Report, an average of 2.35 hours is spent accessing social media at work every day and 13 per cent of the total productivity is lost due to the social media indulgence alone. Learn to say no to social media during your work hours.

Email watching – Limit it
That little pop up thing appearing on your screen every time an email comes really breaks the thought process. Don’t get temped by an intriguing subject line. Schedule a time to check and answer email. Limit yourself to checking your emails twice or just three times a day. You can then get on with your task more efficiently.

Daily to-do list
It is a must, the most important way of solving the problem of managing your time and managing your work. Plan ahead and add it in the to-do-list. This habit will make sure that nothing slips through the next.
Carry a schedule and note down the time spent in conversations and activities. You’ll be amazed to see how much time you actually have spent producing result and how much time is wasted on unproductive thoughts, conversations and actions.

You’re at the wheel. You need to make the right decision all by yourself.