Well it’s the end of 2007 and my thoughts are on how I can improve my online work schedule and tune out distractions.

I have found online business to have a lot of advantages.  The first is the fact I work from an office in my own home so I save a bundle not buying gas to commute to a day job.

My wife and I love to travel being baby boomers and with our own online business we can just plain take it on the road with us, pretty darn cool. Well as long as we can get internet access when we need it. Sometimes we get in some pretty out of touch places when traveling.

As great as working from home or the road is there are a few pitfalls just like those real world jobs.

For me personally one of the biggest challenges I face is staying on task and focused.  I can get distracted so easily at times that hours just disappear with little or no results. I have to constantly tell myself how important it is not to let distractions affect my productivity.

NOTE: Even if you’re not getting paid by the hour, time is still money.

Set Hours and Stick to Them

Another great advantage to being your own boss is the ability to set your own hours. Setting your own hours can also be a double edged sword. It is easy to become a workaholic or too be a slacker and never get anything done. It’s important to set a schedule for work as routines are beneficial for the mind.
During designated work time, avoiding Internet use for non-work related activities is essential.  Here are some ways you can help yourself do that:

• Keep one email address for your personal emailing and then your business email address. This will help you sort your email using filters. You will be able to put your personal emails on hold until your work is done or you have a scheduled break time. Don’t take work time to catch up on personal stuff. That’s A Big NO NO.
• I always have a notepad beside me when I work so that as things pop into my head I can write them down and continue working. Then I can deal with what ever it was later, after my work day is complete.
• Write yourself a note reminding yourself that work time is for work only, or put up an “Open” sign.  It can serve as a gentle reminder that business is the only thing that should be taking place.
• Don’t be afraid to tell your friends and family you have a work schedule to maintain. They shouldn’t call or they can just call back later, after the work day is complete.

Use Flexibility Wisely

Another great thing about working as your own boss is the flexibility.  There are times when something comes up and you need to attend to it right away, you can drop what you’re doing and attend to it.  But it’s crucial to only use that privilege when absolutely necessary as your mind can come up with an endless list of urgent things that aren’t really urgent.

When you have an unexpected interruption, you lose working hours.  If you were working at a regular job, you would have to either take sick time, vacation time or lose pay.  When you work for yourself, you can make the hours up at a time that is convenient for you.  It is, however, important to make them up at some point.

An online business is one of the most convenient and flexible ways to work from home and make money online.  It also presents more opportunities for distraction than many people imagine.  Online business success requires a lot of discipline, but the rewards are many.

Happy New Year

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Like most hobbyists I have never had a problem spending money on my hobbies and I really enjoy buying new things for my hobbies. My beautiful and loving wife, Jennifer, says that my fishing buddies and I actually go out looking for things to spend money on. There may just be some truth to that, after all we wouldn’t want to miss the latest and greatest.

I will admit that over the years I have spent at least one or two small fortunes on my hobbies. As do so many others.

You know the story, if it’s not one thing it’s another

“I need new fishing line and of course new flies for fishing and some lures and and and….” Well the real truth is that I want new this and that.

“My guitar needs new strings…”

“Our gardening tools are all old and rusty, need new ones.”

See, I have no problem spending if it has anything to do with my hobbies, so trust me, there is great money to be made in hobbies.

Some of my hobbies and interests I make money online with.

Fishing is the hobby I have enjoyed the longest, about 40 years. It’s great fun, exercise and I get to make a lot of new like-minded friends.

For me fishing includes spin casting, bait-casting, fly fishing and float-tube fishing.

I like to buy new fly rods, spinning rods and bait casting rods every few years. Of course each type of rod needs it’s own equipment like reels and line.

I love buying new lures and I tie my own flies for fly fishing but that takes materials and hooks.

My chest waders and boots only last so long, especially because of some of the places I fish.

The list of things I love to spend money on goes on and on and will do so until I kick the bucket or can’t go fishing any longer.

Traveling is something we do as a family and at least once a year. We have mostly traveled to amusement parks in the U.S. as we live in Canada and can use our car to travel in. We don’t always travel by car we also travel by plane and spend a lot of money.

In the past I only spent money on traveling but now I also earn money by promoting a travel site blog and affiliate programs.

Playing guitar doesn’t cost me a lot at all but I have bought a few guitars and they all need strings now and then. The friends that have taken up guitar over the years could have made me money. Just in the past week two new friends have taken up guitar and will be spending hundreds of dollars each.

Backyard Gardening is new to us and costs money every year. We have friends that garden as well and they spend money every single years without fail.

These are some of my hobbies, I am sure you have your own hobbies that you spend money on. Use those hobbies to make money online and you may just find that you start taking up new hobbies.

I even have interests I don’t really want.

Two other areas I now have knowledge in, unfortunately are: Heart Attacks and How To Quit Smoking.

Speaking of New Hobbies: Cameras and Photography

Blogs and websites tend to look better with images but in the past I have had to buy graphics because I shake so bad that any time I take a picture it is out of focus. But now we have cameras that compensate for shaky hands like mine.

My wife and I will be able to document our activities now so that we can have images and possibly even some videos that will fit right into our hobby blogs.

Remember there is gold in them thar hobbies…

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As your own boss and being a one person operation who do you delegate tasks to? In most large businesses, employees perform specialized functions.  Secretaries handle all of the filing and related tasks.  Marketing people handle the advertising and public relations.  Accountants keep the books.  Salespeople make the sales.

Many small businesses do not have the luxury of being able to hire employees.  So the business owner must handle everything herself.  While this may work out reasonably well in the initial stages, as the business grows it gets more difficult to keep up with it all.  There are some compelling reasons that business owners should consider outsourcing.

1. You can’t learn everything.  No matter how smart you are, you simply can’t.  Even if you could, learning takes time, and there are only a set number of hours in a day.  If you try to learn every minute aspect of the things that need to be done for your business, you’re going to end up disappointed and frustrated.
2. You have a life outside of your business.  Everyone needs time to spend with family and friends, even if they’re running a business.  If we try to tackle everything ourselves, we won’t have time to enjoy the finer things in life.
3. The stress of trying to do it all can adversely affect your health.  There are enough stressors in life that we don’t need to add to them unnecessarily.  But if we put pressure on ourselves to run a business on our own with no help at all, it can really stress us out.  Besides affecting our state of mind, too much stress can cause high blood pressure and put us at risk for many other ailments.
4. People who are trained well in their fields may be able to do a better job.  If you barely know HTML, it would take you quite a while to learn how to make a good-looking and functional website.  An experienced web designer could have your entire website up and running before you were finished learning what you need to know.  In situations such as this, it makes more sense to outsource than to try to do it yourself.
5. Outsourcing can save you money.  Some tasks require special equipment or software.  If you’re not going to need these things in the future, it doesn’t make much sense to buy them for one project.  Hiring someone else that already has what is needed to get the job done is usually more economical.

In many cases, outsourcing makes good business sense.  It allows us to concentrate on the things we’re best at, and it can save us time and money.  So the next time you find yourself with an overabundance of work, consider outsourcing.

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