When bootstrapping a business the number 1 way of saving money is to do it yourself. Sometimes we as bootstrappers become strapped for time more then money. In my business I not only do the main development work I also have to take care of answering customer service emails and phone calls, accounting, and any sales that needs to be done. Juggling all that can be a nightmare and I have a wife and 3 kids on top of all that! Here are some of the ways that I do to create 25 hours in a day.
- Adopt it – Whether you GTD or First Things First, Pickle Jar or Pancake jar it you have got to have a system. Go to Barnes and Noble and pick up a few books in the self-help section on time management and read about the various systems. You will eventually find one that suits your needs.
- Batch It – The Internet is one big distraction, You can be killed by the ones-twosies of email, IM, and youtube. Don’t be afraid to use the Busy status on Gtalk or MSN or to turn off all email notifications and deal with them in batch. The best thing is to designate times during the day when you will answer emails and vmail. I use the Dr. Pepper method and do 10 am, 2 pm and 4 pm. For me that is about 3-4 hours into my day, 2 hours after lunch and right before I am ready to go home. Timothy Ferriss in the 4 Hour Work Week talks about how you should train people to only call you on your land line (or GrandCentral number) and a select few individuals have your mobile number and they know to call you only if it is am emergency. He even goes as far to inform people that he doesn’t answer vmail or email but once a week and to expect an answer at that time. Don’t be afraid to let people talk to the voicemail.
- Separate It – To maintain sanity you have to make sure that work time and personal time have their own space in your schedule. I make sure that between the hours of 4-8 pm I am totally in family mode. This is the time that my wife takes a breather after being home with the kids all day and I get to spend time with them. I usually cook dinner, bath the kids and get them in bed by 7:30 then decide if the wife wants to watch a movie or some TV otherwise I am back to the office for what I call the night shift. This is a time for me to get some things done without the distraction of the day. It also allows me to maximize my time because the people I love the most are occupied and I can get in a couple of hours of work prior to bed. Creating boundaries is one of the best ways to be able to make sure that your sanity is sustained and work doesn’t become your life.
- “Intention” It – Be intentional with your time. Steven Covey in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People talks about putting “First Things First” Take the things that matter the most to you and put them first and everything else will start to fall in line. If you are really wanting to get that product feature completed then you need to make that the priority and then make everything else fall in around it.
There you go, 4 things that will help you be a better business person and to make your goal of bootstrapping your business even closer!
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Guest poster J.J. Merrick lives in Nashville TN with his wife and 3 lovely children. During the day he runs Panos Communications and in his spare time roots for the Nashville Predators and the Tennessee Titans. You can check out his blog at http://jeremiahx.com
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