Home Based Business vs. Family Time
Copyright 2005 Ron LeBlanc
Ironically, most of us got into the home based business
world because we wanted to have more time with family. So
how is it that we sometimes have less time? Let’s take a
look and see what can be done about it.
The promise of having more time with family is one of the
major attractions for a home based business, but time has
to be carefully managed and guarded. If you are in a
regular job working at least 40 hours per week, it can be
tough. One thing that must be communicated to your family
is that there has to be a short term pain for a long term
gain.
You have a finite amount of hours available to you, but
here are some suggestions. If you have children at home
and it becomes chaos as soon as you get home, then one
possible strategy is to stay at work an extra hour later.
You can return quite a few phone calls in an hour and it
would probably be uninterrupted. A home based business can
have a remote office!
Another strategy is to take mass transit if you normally
drive. It may allow you an extra 30-60 minutes per day to
organize contacts, return phone calls, or listen to
training materials with your mp3 player. If your company
has training or motivational phone calls that are at a bad
time for you, it is possible to record them (check with
local laws on it).
I have recorded many calls to a $39 digital voice recorder
with a $15 connector that goes from my phone to the
recorder (available from Radio Shack). You are then free
to listen to the calls on your time.
I make it a priority to spend time with my kids when they
come home from school. I work from home full time, so I
take a break mid-afternoon to see how their school day was
and enjoy a snack together. I then head back to my home
office until dinner time.
I also have less need for sleep than the rest of my family
so I frequently take an hour or two at night or early
morning. This can be extremely productive time for a home
based business, but unfortunately does not usually allow
you to return phone calls. I used my lunch time at my old
workplace for that using a cell phone – my investment in
the large minute plan was worth it.
The exact solution for you has to be determined by you for
your particular home based business. However, my advice is
to plan ahead and block out the family time. Make sure you
clearly communicate with all family members about what time
you are blocking out for your business activity. As long
as you communicate well, you should be able to spend
anxiety-free time on your business.
With some good planning, you can be successful in being
good to your family and your home based business.
About the Author:
Ron LeBlanc, PE spent 20+ years in science and engineering
when woke up to his true potential and began working from
home. He lives in Boulder, CO and works out of his home.
He enjoys helping other people learn to do home based
businesses. Get his tip-filled newsletter and some special
offers at http://www.be-do-have.com
Copyright 2005 Ron LeBlanc
Ironically, most of us got into the home based business
world because we wanted to have more time with family. So
how is it that we sometimes have less time? Let’s take a
look and see what can be done about it.
The promise of having more time with family is one of the
major attractions for a home based business, but time has
to be carefully managed and guarded. If you are in a
regular job working at least 40 hours per week, it can be
tough. One thing that must be communicated to your family
is that there has to be a short term pain for a long term
gain.
You have a finite amount of hours available to you, but
here are some suggestions. If you have children at home
and it becomes chaos as soon as you get home, then one
possible strategy is to stay at work an extra hour later.
You can return quite a few phone calls in an hour and it
would probably be uninterrupted. A home based business can
have a remote office!
Another strategy is to take mass transit if you normally
drive. It may allow you an extra 30-60 minutes per day to
organize contacts, return phone calls, or listen to
training materials with your mp3 player. If your company
has training or motivational phone calls that are at a bad
time for you, it is possible to record them (check with
local laws on it).
I have recorded many calls to a $39 digital voice recorder
with a $15 connector that goes from my phone to the
recorder (available from Radio Shack). You are then free
to listen to the calls on your time.
I make it a priority to spend time with my kids when they
come home from school. I work from home full time, so I
take a break mid-afternoon to see how their school day was
and enjoy a snack together. I then head back to my home
office until dinner time.
I also have less need for sleep than the rest of my family
so I frequently take an hour or two at night or early
morning. This can be extremely productive time for a home
based business, but unfortunately does not usually allow
you to return phone calls. I used my lunch time at my old
workplace for that using a cell phone – my investment in
the large minute plan was worth it.
The exact solution for you has to be determined by you for
your particular home based business. However, my advice is
to plan ahead and block out the family time. Make sure you
clearly communicate with all family members about what time
you are blocking out for your business activity. As long
as you communicate well, you should be able to spend
anxiety-free time on your business.
With some good planning, you can be successful in being
good to your family and your home based business.
About the Author:
Ron LeBlanc, PE spent 20+ years in science and engineering
when woke up to his true potential and began working from
home. He lives in Boulder, CO and works out of his home.
He enjoys helping other people learn to do home based
businesses. Get his tip-filled newsletter and some special
offers at http://www.be-do-have.com
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