How 3 Simple

Time scarcity is one of the top struggles of the home-based entrepreneur.

With work, family, social, household and community commitments, you wonder how anyone can make progress these days in building a home business.

We all have the same 24 hours and the same seven days a week, yet some entrepreneurs seem to cover more ground than others at a much faster pace.

It's not because they don't have children or because they're not working a 40-hour week at a j-o-b. If these business owners were like most other people, they'd have that same time filled with other non-business related obligations and activities.

What sets the movers and shakers apart from the slow and often unsteady is how they manage their events, not their time.

You cannot manage time because it will continue to tick away -- one second at a time. You can't put it on hold or save it for later. Time is beyond your control.

What you can control, however, is the events you say 'yes' to within each minute of every day.

Before you read any further, I'd like you to list three things you absolutely dislike doing ... maybe even HATE doing.

There's no one watching over your shoulder to scold you or shake their head in judgment, so be more honest than you've ever been in your life.

Do you have them listed?

Good.

Now …

Stop doing them.

You heard me right. Stop doing them.

What's the first thought that statement brings to your mind?

"You're nuts."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

"Yeah right, maybe in your fairytale world."

If you were able to clearly state three things you don't love to do, there's absolutely no reason why they can't be removed or at the very least, dramatically reduced in your life.

The only thing keeping you tied to those activities is your belief that they HAVE to be done by you. There are always options, however, you can't see them, even when right under your nose.

What's the roadblock?

Your beliefs.

You believe you're the only one that can do them.

It's your responsibility, no one else's.

It's your role in the family/relationship/community.

Your mother did it, grandma did it and great-grandma did it, so you have to do it.

It would go against the role you're expected to play in society.

I remember when I made the list of three things I detested doing:

1. cooking

2. grocery shopping

3. personal shopping

I believed I couldn't stop doing them because they were my responsibility. I was groomed to perform these tasks from a young age and was expected to perform them as an adult.

The problem was, they made me miserable and ate up hours of time that could have been spent doing what I loved, building my business.

I hated doing them. They depleted my energy. And I would get upset at the smallest little thing that stole one precious second of the hour or two a night I was left with to work on my business.

When I announced I was no longer going to perform these tasks on a regular basis, you'd think I'd told the family I was joining a cult.

What's wrong with you? What kind of a woman are you, not cooking for your man?

It wasn't a pretty sight in the beginning, but I held firm. Fortunately, my partner was one hundred percent behind me because the very first day we met, I told him I detested cooking. He never minded preparing meals and even grew to love it. In time, my family warmed to the idea because love and attention was put into the meals and they could buy him neat kitchen gadgets and he'd be excited to try them out.

When they bought me kitchen gadgets I'd put them in a drawer and they'd see them in a box for charity the next summer with the tag still on them.

Because my mother loves to shop, I asked her if she'd be my personal shopper. Again, it turned out to be a win for both of us. She got more of what she loved and so did I.

Although my partner doesn't love grocery shopping, he took on the task after some smart negotiations. He hates paying bills or having anything to do with banking or investing, so I gladly assumed the entire responsibility. It didn't add much in the line of work for me, yet took what he considered a burden off his shoulders. Again, win/win.

As you examine your list, start exploring options. If you can't come up with any creative solutions on your own, bring it to a group of friends you trust. Two, three or four minds are always better than one and generate the loftiest of ideas.

Once you've found your solutions, implement them and stick to them. If others need to adjust, they will. Just make sure to create a solution that creates a win for everyone and takes away from no one.

Eventually, you'll be able to make your next list of three things you'd rather not do, then repeat the process.

During the course of your lifetime, you'll be presented with many responsibilities and tasks, and through time, they add up. The good news is, you have the right to pick and choose what you no longer want to participate in, and if you think this practice is selfish, let me remind you of what "selfish" really means...

Selfish is not doing what YOU want to do ... it's expecting others to do what you want them to do.

Stop doing things you don't like and start with your top three. If your beliefs tell you it isn't possible, put them under a microscope because they're not being honest with you. Challenge them, prove them wrong, and change them.

You have it in you.

2008 © Laurie Hayes - The HBB Source