If you are self-employed or run a business from home, here are some helpful tips on how to maximize your time and have more energy at the end of your day and week:

These tips come from a man named Travis:

Good morning! Good to be hanging out
with you again.

How are your project(s) going?

Well...I hope!

You are doing at least one right?

If you are GREAT!

If not, listen, no scolding from me. I
know how hard it is to find the time & energy.

And when and if you get a few moments...
you want to spend them on yourself...yeah?

I know! I battled this for years.

So this week's project is about MAKING TIME
and finding ENERGY.

Now...don't boo me! Please. If you can make
an extra 2 hours a week and GET A PROJECT
done. Then you've just added to your income
just as much if I gave you another "do this do that"
project details...

Right?

And please know...if you haven't done any
of the projects yet...

THIS may be the MOST important project YET!

Okay?

Cool!

So...

Here's the BIG question.

Where can you find the time to squeeze in these
projects into your schedule?

...and sometimes more importantly how can you
find the energy and motivation?

(Now I could just say wake up earlier and
watch less tv, but we all know that is like
trying to stay on a diet. It works great. But
not long term.)

Now...I am no "time expert" and didn't go
to business school but these are the ways
I was able to free up enough time to work
on my business despite working 60 to 70 hours
a week for my boss...and finally find
my freedom.

See, Freedom is like a rocket that
expends most of its fuel(time) & energy getting off
the launching pad and breaking through the earths
atmosphere.

So here's my tips for getting off the
launching pad. They worked for me and...

I pray they work as well for you too.

1. Hire it out! Sometimes I really think
my gardener is responsible for my
success.

Seriously. I started having success once
I started spending the time I used to spend
on mowing, raking, trimming, and all other
outside chores... on my business.

Even better...

It has the DOUBLE BENEFIT of leaving
you with EXTRA ENERGY!

My gardener costs roughly $100 a month. That
is ONE PROJECT. Think about that!

And since the projects are residual. Once
you have done the one project. Your "gardener
is paid for" and you are still free to
do more and more projects.

(It's like you are getting your lawn mowed
free now.)

I can say it is truly AMAZING how much
I got done and how much better my frame of
mind was/is after I got that monkey off my
back.

So what is your biggest "time monkey"?

Can you hire it out?

I BET YOU CAN!

And yes. I know you have to be concerned
about affordability.

Obviously...some things like hiring out
the cooking...would be quite expensive.

...and if that is a big time monkey...you
might have to wait until you have a few
projects under your belt:-)

But, I bet there is at least one or two
monkeys that you CAN get off your back
RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!

Imagine if you just didn't have to do the
laundry? Don't just say you can't afford it
okay? Do some calling around, get some estimates,
you will probably be quite SURPRISED.

You can hire a book keeper to pay the bills
or have them all debited electronically.

If you REALLY can't afford to hire the
whole house cleaned. Have just the bathrooms
and kitchen done...or just the vacuuming.

Did you know most towns, even my tiny town
has errand services. Yes! You can hire someone
to take your dry cleaning in or pick it up. Take
fido to the vets...etc...for like $10 an hour!

There is a wonderful benefit to this too,
that I think can only be believed when you
experience the phenomenon...

And that is the feeling that you "start to
see some light at the end of the tunnel"
which gives you even more energy!...more time
and accelerates you faster to becoming the
SUCCESS that you have dreamed of for so long.

You can actually see the launching pad BELOW
YOU NOW! And can start seeing the blue sky ahead.

Then with the momentum. You get more monkeys off your back.
And become what people think is like this "human
dynamo".

Now, a WORD OF WARNING!

Do NOT try and hire family members or
just delegate to family members.

Maybe your family is different than mine.

I love them dearly, but I tried to have Eric
mow the lawn and it caused way MORE problems,
MORE headaches and MORE stress.

He would forget. Wouldn't do his best work. Or
moan and complain the whole time.

Far easier to find a professional gardener
and PAY HIM...okay?...just believe me.

2. Get 20 minutes a day exercise! This one
is HUGE!

If you are not getting exercise already take
your first time savings and BEFORE you invest
that time in anything else. Invest it in focused
exercise.

Running around doing errands or chasing kids
...does NOT count.

My exercise routine SAVED MY MARRIAGE
as well as gave me a ton of EXTRA TIME
and EXTRA ENERGY.

Here's why:

I was working myself to death mostly 70 hour
work weeks or more when you added my "on call"
time.

And I was sooooo grumpy...agitated and
sometimes just downright nasty to my
family.

I felt under so much pressure and stress.

Jeannie and I would argue about something
silly for nearly an hour or more a week.

I am so ashamed when I think about it now.

and...I knew...and thankfully Jeannie knew
that I was not my "happy go lucky" self.

One evening we decided to go out and play
some badminton in the yard...and we were
running around acting like fools and just
having a great time.

And afterwards...I just FELT so good...elated
even...

That's when it really hit me...that I had
completely abandoned all of my exercise.

So...I made a commitment to walk, run, do
tae bo, ANYTHING for at least 20 minutes
a day.

Not even for my health. Just because it put
me in a better frame of mind.

I became a NEW MAN (according to Jeannie)
. Really my old self. But...it made such a
dramatic difference in my outlook on life.

The way I treated my family improved dramatically.

And...

I also got a multitude of SIDE BENEFITS.

**Just NOT arguing over dumb stuff gave me
HOURS every month...and UNTOLD amounts of
energy. I don't know about you, but arguments
are completely energy draining for me.

**With a clearer mind, I made less mistakes
at work and at home that saved me many hours
of redoing or fixing mistakes. (I forgot the
electric bill once for example that wastes about
six hours!)

**My very best and most profitable ideas come
to me when I am exercising.

**and I could go on and on...

Where do you start?

With what you know...or what you think would
be fun.

Fast walking.
Getting the Pilates DVD you've been wanting
Taking that martial arts class
Getting back on that rusty bike
etc...

Just make sure there is aerobic benefit to
it.

When I started I could barely run a mile.

Today...I am running 15 miles a week and
weight training 3 days a week. Which I am
doing because I want to. And because by doing
1 and 2 above and using that time to build my business
...I now have the time!

3. I am sure you have heard of make a list
and put priorities on your list...etc...etc.

You know. That really works. When you do it.

I just can't do it consistently. I think
it has something to do with "taking my freedom"
away.

Weird huh?

Even though I made the list. When I go to
do it the next day...I feel like I am my
own slave!

I know I still have work to do in that area.

In the meantime...this really has helped me.

TIME CHUNKING.

If you break up your day...you usually have
only a few categories of stuff that you do.

Remember when you can to "hire out" any time
monkeys that you can.

But for example one of my big ones is "correspondence"...

For email I do this once in the morning and once in
the evening.

(I used to do it like 12 times a day)

I also have Private Messages from forums which
I am trying to answer once per week.

etc...

But the key is to think about...or even better
to write down what you do in a day...and categorize
it.

Then try to put them into continous blocks of time.

This is so much more efficient...and for me
doesn't have the same restrictions as writing a
priority list.

(I do use a list of stuff that I MIGHT forget that
is different from the norm of my day)

If you can use the priority list method, by all
means use it.

Otherwise...

This may be your alternative because you are
still forced to look at how you are spending
your time and can't help but notice that if
your main goal is to get more visitors to your
blog...that answering email ain't gonna help ya
a bit.

So...

Here's your project for the week (repeat as
necessary)

1. Get one time monkey off of your back!
2. Once you have that time monkey off...put
the first time savings into your EXERCISE PROGRAM.

***remember, this will make MORE TIME not less! it
is counter-intuitive************

DO IT THIS WEEK! okay?

After you have your exercise program in place.
Put that time into your PROJECTS. You should
not only have time now. But, feel invigorated,
refreshed and ready!

3. Chunk your time into similar activities. Don't
spend your precious business building time checking
sales statistics 15 times a day.

Okay? Cool?

I hope I didn't come off as a smart alec, or a
know it all during this project.

That certainly is not my intent. This is what
has worked for me. It has worked way better
than I could have ever imagined.

And I wanted, in my excitement, to share with you.