Today's #Blog4Biz challenge asks what does my business day look like. I don't have a typical business day. Since I work from home, I am always trying to juggle all my demands. So I'll tell you about my day today.7:30a. The alarm goes off. I quickly turn it off and pretend that I can get more sleep through osmosis. I turn over to grab my tablet and open the Bible app. I need to prepare mentally and spiritually for my day.
8:00a. I hear the pitter patter of 4 feet descending the stairs. They are up. Despite all my efforts on lessons on manners and privacy, my kids charge through the door asking "Mommy, is it time to get up yet?" They ask because if it before 8a I say no and send them back upstairs.
8:10a. Breakfast. At breakfast I'll check email, facebook, and other notifications. After breakfast, I spend time making decisions and graphics for the "Bravely Back At it Giveaway" that starts August 1. You could win a $50 gift card to Target. Be sure to visit my blog on August 1 to enter!
9:30a-11:15a. Small Business counselor meeting. Today I started meeting with a small business counselor/coach to help me set up my company in my new location. My business coach is a former CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Asia. He referenced Micheal E. Gerber, who I wrote about on Day 19, and I mentioned told him, I'd read that book. He then told me he worked on a 6 month project for him and wrote some material for him.
My coach and I hit it off very well. He is extremely knowledgeable. The best part is that his services are FREE!!! My tax dollars are helping pay his salary. I found him through the SBA.gov. If you are a small business, you need to check to see if they have Small Business Development Centers in your area.
My coach was very intrigued by my business. Of his 8,000+ contacts--I know because he showed them to me--he said he has never heard of anyone who does what I do in the way I do it!
After almost two hours, we set our next appointment. I left feeling both encouraged and drained. There is a lot of work to do but the good news is I have a person who is committed to walking me through every step.
In the meantime, my husband, who is on vacation for another day, is at home with the kids. I bring home lunch and he goes to get the car fixed.
12:30p. Lunch time. Today, I felt like chinese cuisine. My kids half eat Chic-fil-a and then comes my favorite time of day...
1:00p. Nap time. I fully believe in the power of naps. I think if people napped more, they'd be less cranky. Why can't Americans take siestas? My youngest is like me and loves to nap. My oldest is like my husband and resists napping. Napping is my break in the middle of the day. Even if I don't actually fall asleep, it is a designated time for everyone in my house to get quiet. Nothing is on!
3:00p. Afternoon stuff. Usually after nap and before dinner I can get a few things done online. This a free for all time for my kids. I let them play with whatever interests them as I make calls, respond to messages,
Between 5 and 6p. Dinner. Usually my husband is home from work by now. We strive to eat at least one meal together at the table and sometimes it happens it. After dinner, there is some daddy/son playtime and I can get away. He'll handle the bedtime routine.
After 7:00p. Varies. I would love to say that I work on post or business stuff during that time but I can't. If it is the second Thursday of the month I have a Toastmaster's meeting. If It is the First Thursday of the month I have Young Professionals Networking meeting. If it is Wednesday, I have to watch Royal Pains and Necessary Roughness on USA while tuning in live to the StepSisters Business Video on Youtube.
If I am in a crunch all of that goes out the window and I stay up as long as I can to meet my internal or external deadlines.
After 11:00p. I fall into bed and get ready to do it all over again.
The point of today's challenge is to visually view your schedule for ways to improve it. After reviewing my schedule for the day, there are TONS of ways I can improve.
My problem is since I work from home and my kids are home, I get mommy guilt. If I have an hour, do I try to knock out some business stuff or do I read to my kids? Each day I try to balance my time with my kids but it is hard.
Do you have any suggestions on how I could improve my work day...and get over my mommy guilt?
Word count 845
The Living BRAVE blog re-launches on Aug 1, 2013. During July, however, I accepted the #Blog4Biz daily business blogging challenge. This post is a part of that challenge. If you want to join the challenge, click here.
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