I think this will sound familiar to a lot of working mothers/mumpreneurs (and dadpreneurs too!) but I’ve really begun struggling with time and my best use of it! A nice problem to have when your business starts to take off but you still have other commitments (kids, day job, life LOL), but still a problem nonetheless.

After a long break, while my youngest grew up, I felt 2016 was the time to recommit to my business.  A decision made in 2015 on the advice of a good friend to find an alternative to my day job unfortunately just proved to be even more hard work than the day job.  Whilst if that was all I was looking for I would have pursued harder, it wasn’t, it was meant as a different day job to give me time to focus on Henry, Fred and Felicity.  I was taking valuable time that should have been spent crafting and building my business and spending it on building another.  What I have learnt in the last year though has been invaluable in terms of confidence and networking skills, and I know that was required for me to be able to take it to the level of business rather than a hobby.

Over the past two months, I’ve spent a lot of time building my business, developing my brand identity and networking to increase my visibility, it’s worked and this is where in lies the problem (I don’t deny it’s a good problem!)…

I’ve so much to do now that I simply can’t seem to fit it in; between rebuilding a new website (Move over to WordPress they said, it’ll be easy they said…), rebuilding my Etsy Shop (tags, titles and images, need I say more), customer orders (the best bit), social media (is it possible to do without becoming totally distracted?!) and developing new lines; I’m really struggling to give any decent time to anything.  I find myself distracted by Facebook, or too busy finishing an order and then nothing seems to get done. So I’ve decided I need to get strict!

My time is valuable and I need to ensure I use it wisely, and I know that you guys want to too! So what do we do, well here are the Top 3 Tips from Nicola Laurie a.k.a MsTidy Owl:

1. Always plan your work ahead on a Sunday, and always WRITE IT DOWN! Do not do it in your head.  You will feel more in control if you plan and it will add time to your day.
2. Make daily tasks part of your routine.  For example, log your expenses and/or mileage just before you check your social media or emails. Make it a habit and soon it will become an automatic action you don’t even think about.
3. Don’t waste time by doing things that aren’t a priority.  If you have limited time make sure you block time out in your day and focus on the tasks that will add value and results to your business.

and believe me, she knows exactly what she is talking about.  Nicola trains people on how to structure, measure and utilise their business information for profit and growth. Want helpful advice and tips on time management, then following her is a must!

As multi-taskers, we need to be clever with our time and if any of you are like me then we need to swallow our pride and realise we can’t do it all and that accepting help isn’t a sign of weakness but actually downright common sense and strength.  So I for one have spent the last half hour (okay 2 hours including children) planning out my weeks going forward.  This will keep me on track and ensure that everything important gets done timely, rather than achieving nothing quickly.

I hope this makes you realise you are not alone, we all have struggles and there are people out there who want to help and not always at a cost.  So come on, in the words of a famous brand #LetsDoThis

Do you have any particular struggles or stresses, let me know and let’s see if between us all we can’t find a solution…

Fay x