With the busy lifestyles everyone has today, time management becomes a concern for all direct sales professionals. Juggling family, activities and business while keeping your priorities in order can be a challenge. Many party plan or direct selling professionals joined their home business company for the purpose of creating income without taking away from family time. Now they may find themselves in a dilemma on how to do both effectively.

• Manage your personal commitments.
• Manage Your Email
• Use proven systems

Personal Time Management

We all have a tendency to over-schedule our personal time and then have difficulty squeezing in our business activities. One thing is certain and that is that you cannot manage time. You can only manage your commitments. Most direct sellers and their families would benefit from fewer personal commitments. Studies have proven that children are feeling stress due to over-committed families. One sport or two activities is good, but several are too many for the average child. When there are several children in the household, the running from commitment to commitment produces stress for Moms, Dads and kids alike. The whole family will have a better quality of life and improved productivity when everyone learns to say no to over- committing to personal activities.

Email Time Management Help

You can free up some of your time by learning how to manage your email inbox. For starters the time spent on checking emails will go more quickly when you check it every day. Systematically checking your email reduces the enormity of it and generates income for your business. If you are in business to make money, then check your email daily.

Delete-Delete-Delete
Delete all irrelevant messages before beginning the review process. When you first open your email, start at the top, and highlight the first message in the list that is to be deleted. Holding the control button down, go down the column and highlight each one to be deleted. When you hold the control button down, you can just go down the column and touch everyone that you want to delete. You should be able to tell by the subject bar which ones those are. Do not mess with forwarded email, spam, social games or any rubbish. This is a really quick process, just hold the control button down and touch each one to be highlighted. You will have a column of blue highlighted emails, then just push delete. And wham! They are all gone!

Deal With It And Move It
Deal with each email as you have the time. After it is taken care of, responded to, printed out, etc. you can either file it or delete it. If it is an email that you want to save, move it to a folder that you have already set up on the side. You can have as many folders as you want under your inbox. Some examples: publicity, direct sales consultants, tech advisor, potential hosts, opportunity leads, etc. If you do not have time to take care of something, since it will take more time than you have at the moment, then just leave it in the inbox. Your inbox is only for incoming mail and mail not dealt with yet. What is in your inbox should all fit in one view pane at all times.

Did I say check your email every day?!

Proven Time Management Systems

There are hundreds of simple time management systems that will make good use of your time so that you can have balance between business and family.

Some systems may include:
• An accounting system for your finances (QuickBooks is good.)
• Data or contact management system
• Scheduling your hours
• Creating a business plan

Your direct selling company may include software for both financial management and data management with your submission process. Use it! The learning curve in the long run is worth it because they are designed to create efficiency.

Simple systems that make businesses efficient are what direct sales time management is all about. Frequently the home business owner needs only look to the corporate world to see what all successful businesses do and copy the same systems at home.

Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world in 2000 to enjoy life as a work from home business owner. In the first 9 months as a direct seller she built a sales team and show schedule which provided her with an income capable of replacing her corporate business salary of $80,000 per year. After 7 years of using direct sales as her total household income, Deb now teaches and trains direct sales professionals all across the US and Canada.

http://www.CreateACashFlowShow.com

Direct Sales Time Management

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach & professional speaker who empowers individuals to build businesses and achieve work/life brilliance™ through Schedule Makeovers™. Her empowerment coaching frees individuals from guilt, overwhelm, and frustration!

Discover how you can start enjoying your life TODAY! Look forward to talking with you!

Elizabeth has been featured in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and on NBC, and is happy to be interviewed for your broadcast or publication.

Here’s a great slide show on how to combat it. Enjoy!

Elizabeth

P.S.–Click on the “Full” button at the bottom of the slide show to see it in full screen version.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach & professional speaker who empowers individuals to build businesses and achieve work/life brilliance™ through Schedule Makeovers™. Her empowerment coaching frees individuals from guilt, overwhelm, and frustration!

Discover how you can start enjoying your life TODAY! Look forward to talking with you!

Elizabeth has been featured in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and on NBC, and is happy to be interviewed for your broadcast or publication.

Tamara Mickelson-Founder & CEO of Nannies Galore

Being a parent is a wonderful privilege and an incredible responsibility. Nannies Galore founder and CEO Tamara Mickelson shared these time management tips for succeeding as a working parent:

1.  Keep Lists! If you are like me, you keep a list for everything.  Grocery list, chores, bills that need to be paid, etc.  Lists seem trivial to some, but are a lifesaver to me. It is a habit that I formed years ago, and has proven to work over and over again. Crossing things off of my list gives me a sense of accomplishment, leading me right into my next task.  Keep a list!

2.  Say No! When I started my own nanny website, it was pretty easy at first.  But as the weeks went on, businesses began calling and asking for favors, articles, money for advertising, events to host; basically asking for my time.  Working full time outside of the home, raising my daughter alone, and operating a website business are things that I need and like to do, but I have to structure my time to make it effective and harmonious. So, when it comes to scheduling parties, events, charities, etc, I just learned to say no (thank you) to those that I truly cannot commit to.  Say No!

3.  Breathe! If you are not in an exercise program yet – you need to be.  I understand that gyms and classes cost money and our economy has left most of us without any; however, you can do a lot of things at home.  You can run or jog around your neighborhood and even do yoga.  Just simple stretching to music that calms you will help tremendously – you can meditate at the same time.  Look for free downloads on the internet on exercise, yoga and meditation. Schedule time to breathe!

Tamara’s Web site is filled with nanny profiles from all over the United States so families can find quality childcare: Nannies Galore Check it out & read more about her story below.

To your work/life brilliance!

Elizabeth

A bit more on Tamara:
I am a single mother working full time and raising my child alone.  Due to unfortunate circumstances a few years ago, I found myself in desperate need of a live-in nanny for my one year old daughter. I logged onto a nanny website and was lucky to find one right away. She worked for me for 6 months. It was a wonderful experience and we still keep in touch.

Since then, I have been hiring my nannies and babysitters from websites just like this one.  Being a member of several nanny sites gave me plenty of choices when it came to the right care. As a parent, I like having choices when it comes to hiring someone I trust to take care of my child.  My daughter is now 4 years old, and we still have a live-in nanny.

In 2008, I developed a strong desire to create my own nanny website, so here I am! I will be hiring my next nanny and babysitter from nanniesgalore.com.  Will it be you?

Good luck with your search!

Nannies Galore is featured in the January 2010 issue of Sacramento Magazine ~get your copy at Starbucks or your local grocery store.

Here’s what one of the audience members had to say about what she learned:

Entrepreneurship Panel at Lake Erie College

I thought you might like an update on some of my recent travels!

“I loved Elizabeth’s energy & authenticity. She was able to share very well with both the students and professionals.”-Angela B.

“I absolutely loved the section about what you wear making a difference.”-Jennifer G.

Thank You again to all of the Fabulous organizers of the SWE event at UNC! (Also many thanks to Mya who took these photos.)

Gen Next: Do You Need a Schedule Makeover™?

Enjoy!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach & trainer who empowers individuals to build businesses and achieve work/life brilliance™ through Schedule Makeovers™. Her empowerment coaching frees individuals from guilt, overwhelm, and frustration!

Discover how you can start enjoying your life TODAY! Look forward to talking with you!

Elizabeth has been featured in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and on NBC, and is happy to be interviewed for your broadcast or publication.

I make the tough choices that I ask you to make.

I’m a time coach who aims to authentically live out my advice. That means I have to face the same challenges you do. Like this one…

Are you stuck and don’t know how to launch your enterprise?

Do you feel like your business has overtaken your life?

If you answered, “Yes!” to any one of these questions, I might have the solution for you.

This November, I’m offering a home study course so that you can FINALLY move forward on your business. You see as a time coach for individuals across the country and as someone who constantly looks to overcome my own time challenges, I’ve seen that Real Change happens when there’s not only information but also regular encouragement and accountability.

This course is aimed at people who are looking to start or build a new business that allows them to work their ideal schedule. (If that doesn’t apply to you–feel free to contact me at esaunders@RealLifeE.com about individual coaching or look for upcoming courses on different topics.)

To Help You Focus and Move Forward, You Receive:

• Four 60-minute Conference Calls on setting up a schedule, managing your work load, handling information overload, and doing business development
• Recordings of the Calls so you can listen to them at any time
• Four Action Guides that give you specific instructions on how to apply the information from the call to your life
• 30 days of E-mail Coaching where you can ask questions about the material or any challenge that comes up

This level of coaching typically costs around $1,000 but when you sign up for this course, you get all of this information, encouragement, and accountability for much less. See below for details…

“I cut 15 hours from my monthly activities that now go into relaxation pot. My other tasks/social activities and events were condensed into something more productive which now allows me to pursue my freelance PR consultancy. Thanks, Elizabeth. When life seems to be too hectic, she shows you have to take a step back and evaluate all that you do. I would highly recommend Real Life E® to anyone who is in self-employed or thinking about it.”

If you’re tired of saying you’re going to start a business and want to Just Do It…

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by where to begin so you don’t move forward…

If you want to create a business where you don’t have to sacrifice your life…

This course could be for you.

Registration closes on 11-1 but you’ll want to sign up ASAP to take advantage of the best deals:

Before November 1: Single installment of $358

After November 1: Look for new course offers in the future or contact me at esaunders@RealLifeE.com about individual coaching.

Click here to register: Yes! I want to move forward on my business and my life.

Do you really want to put this off any longer? Make a commitment to yourself to move forward on your business and get control of your life today.

I look forward to you joining me in November!

Elizabeth

P.S.-Tell your friends! Not only will they be much less stressed after this course but also you receive a $20 Starbucks gift card as my thank you if they sign up.

P.P.S.-If you have any questions about the course, please let me know. You can e-mail them to me at esaunders@RealLifeE.com or let me know what day and time you would like to set up a 10- to 15-minute call. I only want you to sign up if this is the right solution for you.

“Coaching with Elizabeth has had a great impact on my life. I’ve worked on trying to improve my time management and organization for years, but going through a coaching series with her helped me actually get more of what I “know” into practice. It’s not so much about what you should do (if it were, no one would struggle with weight loss, because all you need to do is “eat right and exercise”); it’s about actually getting it into practice.

It’s not like I was incapable of getting through a day; I was already quite successful by many measures. But adopting better time management practices and seeing tangible progress in a matter of weeks has enabled me to have greater confidence about managing my time, to be more peaceful, to feel like I am in more control. This has given me a clearer mind for decision-making, a greater ability to rest, a greater ability to focus and produce results.”

Internal business consultant, Fortune 100 company

Before you invest another minute in your business or career, listen in to this FREE teleseminar to make sure you are on the right track:

Building a Business (or a Career) That Fits Your Ideal Schedule:

Tuesday, October 6 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT/6 p.m. PT

Anyone can participate: Phone: 712-432-0600, Code: 775908#

Find out how to start and build a business that will help you to achieve work/life brilliance™ instead of keeping you from the people and activities that matter most to you. Coaching clients will receive a recording (Contact me at esaunders@RealLifeE.com to find out how you can start time coaching today!) Plus I will release details on Schedule Makeover™: To Build a Business: a four-week course that will lead you step-by-step through the process of setting your schedule to start or build a business. You don’t have to do this alone!

Elizabeth Grace Saunders does Schedule Makeover™ coaching with clients throughout the country. If you’re struggling to stay focused and motivated, contact Elizabeth at esaunders@RealLifeE.com to get help today!

Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to offer you tips on savvy scheduling and time management for work/life balance. You can sign up for more info at http://www.RealLifeE.com/coaching or http://www.ScheduleMakeover.com

I stayed focused over the past month so I could visit my cousins in Ohio, attend an Opportunity International conference on eliminating poverty, and spend time with my parents. Why do you need to stay focused?

I wrote this guest post for Chic Entrepreneur — a great resource (by another great Elizabeth ;o) for women looking to start a business.

Although having a flexible schedule can seem like a dream, it can soon turn into a nightmare! That’s why as a time coach and trainer, I help people take back control of their time and then channel it toward their personal and professional goals.

Here’s how to time block your schedule to stay focused and motivated:

• Decide on Start and Stop Times: Not only will setting your hours keep you from feeling guilty, but also it will keep you focused when you are working because you have established a time when you are free to stop.
• Set Your Top Goals: Each week, Review your top priorities and write them at the top of your weekly calendar or put them in a visible place on your digital calendar. This will keep you thinking about what’s most important.
• Time Block Your Projects: To keep moving forward on your goals each week, “soft schedule” blocks of time when you will complete projects or devote time to certain activities. For instance you could block out two hours on Wednesday to write up a proposal or set aside one hour each morning to answer e-mail.
• Plan Your Day: Each morning, make a quick list of your meetings and your top tasks. Number your activities in order of importance and write down how long you think it will take you to do each one. Then start moving through your day, moving from one project to the next in number order. If a project is taking longer than you expected, reevaluate whether you should continue with it or move on to the next task on your list.

Time blocking is so effective because it:

• Gives you a clear outline of what needs to get done and when you can complete it so that you feel less overwhelmed.
• Keeps you moving forward on key priorities on “autopilot” instead of procrastinating and stressing out about big projects at the last minute.
• Turns your days into quick sprints of work instead of never-ending marathons.
• Allows you to feel good about what you accomplished
• Helps you realize when you’ve overcommitted and need to scale back.
• Gets you back on track quickly when unexpected activities arise.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders does Schedule Makeover coaching with clients throughout the country. If you’re struggling to stay focused and motivated, contact Elizabeth at esaunders@RealLifeE.com to get help today!

Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to offer you tips on savvy scheduling and time management for work/life balance. You can sign up for more info at http://www.RealLifeE.com/coaching or http://www.ScheduleMakeover.com