How To Manage Time Better When Working Online

Learning how to manage time is a significant factor in the success of any small business owners working online! The internet offers countless distractions, the list of which seems to grow daily, that can severely undermine your work efficiency! Most successful entrepreneurs working on the internet will tell you that their personal productivity is what helped them succeed!

Keeping your own productivity in mind, here are 3 potential 'pitfalls' most successful small business owners tend to avoid online!

Compulsive Email Checking

Email is one of the first 'marvels' the general public learned to appreciate upon getting themselves 'hooked up' online! The problem here is that whenever people simply turn on their computers, the 'compulsion' to continuously check for new messages can most definitely decrease work efficiency!Successful entrepreneurs have learned to discipline themselves by avoiding the temptation to repeatedly check for messages! Allow yourself time to open emails at the beginning and the end of each day unless you are awaiting something that is work related! Not only does excessive 'use' of email, whether you are composing a new message or reading what is in your in-box waste time but also disrupts your focus!

The Black Hole of Social Networking

I call social networking a 'black hole' primarily because once you engage in conversation at any of the sites, the time seem to vanish into thin air! Although these communities do serve a useful purpose for many small business owners online in terms of expanding your exposure, it always requires a bit of time! Another factor here that allows for the day or night to slip away quickly is that working on social networks can be a lot of fun! When you are enjoying yourself time does fly! Remember however you do have a business to run!

Non-Constructive Surfing

Research is very important for all small business owners on the internet since you need information for marketing purposes and to stay informed! What we're referring to insofar as 'non-constructive' surfing is 'aimlessly' floating around online to simply 'busy' yourself or to be entertained! Always ask yourself if what you are doing is something that will directly benefit your work objectives or are you simply wasting time? Successful entrepreneurs fully understand that if something needs to be done, it is up to them to do it which is why your work efficiency is such a priority and factor in your success!

The first step towards experiencing business success online is to learn how to manage time the best you can! Being that the internet is a 'bubbling' cauldron of activity and distractions small business owners MUST identify what contributes to and detracts from their own work efficiency! The discussion above talks about 3 common 'practices' that most successful entrepreneurs have discovered are counter-productive to their goals! Although each of these practices may serve a purpose in an online business, the time spent with any of them can only be justified if the benefits are significant enough!