For those of you who work from home

Nice. Wish I can take an hour nap daily

I tend to stray from schedule, i do try to search forums and buy other products, read reviews etc to get ideas and experience for product launches. Most of my "work" is learning. Though when a product is on sale i do give a couple hours a day to boost it.

I quit my day job but I mostly just do that same job freelance now (launch, blog, and email copy).

I'd be interested in more detail on how your list above breaks down across the 2 sites you work on each day, and how many sites are you actively maintaining with this schedule?

I'm trying to get into spreading my info to my own benefit vs. strictly for the people I write for, and I was thinking I need to have multiple sites. I'd love more insight if you care to share.

I tried in vain to come up with a schedule that worked. I put it into outlook as recurring events...made a little 3x5 card w/ schedule on it and taped it to the bottom of my monitor. It worked for about 3 weeks, then started to unravel. I really thought about why the routine was going south on me. This is what I came up with: Every day I learn a little more about Internet Marketing. Slowly my daily needs change and I might write articles for a whole day, if I'm on a roll. Another day, I might be kind of burned out on writing or absorbing any more information...so I'll just hit forums and see what others are doing. Another day might be a combination of back linking, studying keyword lists for something interesting, checking stats to see where my efforts are paying off, etc.

What I'm getting at is that this IM has to be fun and not so regimented that I can't change things up when I feel like it. I always try to keep my eye on the goal...but I don't let it control my life, either. If I want to go watch a Little League game..I do it. If there's nothing good on the tube Saturday night, I might spend 3-4 hours working.

I've been working 50 years (since I was 12), owned radio stations, a newspaper, and a real estate office. In that time, I've come to the conclusion that no 2 days are ever alike...so just keep a short list handy of the major tasks that bring success and keep at it every day. Build yourself a to-do list every morning and get as much done as you can.

The quickest way for me to burn out is to try and be too regimented every day.

I have 6 sites.

So when I say 2 blogs I do one for two of my sites on monday, then tuesday I do the same for 2 of my others sites, then wed is the same, then start over thursday and i do nothing sunday. So each site gets 2 new blogs a week, plenty of tweets and other back linking (squidoo,ezine, etc.) (I love SEnuke!) Sometimes ill throw a 3rd blog in at the end of the day.

I totally understand what some of you are saying. I just personally work better with a checklist of things to do with a time line to do them in. I of course switch it up here and there.

After spending some time living what I thought was the Internet Lifestyle after quitting my job, then getting to sleep late, working whenever I wanted to, staying up late at night knowing I didn't have any early commitments in the morning, etc.

I finally decided, that to be able to grow my business to another level, I needed to add a little more structure to my life. So I did. But, in a way that came very naturally to me and didn't seemed forced upon like it is when you have a job, go to school, and what not.

So here's my schedule (based on activity and recovery), maybe you'll find it works for you too...

8 - 10: 30 : Wake Up, Stretch/Breakfast, Read/Watch videos that help move me towards my goals, but also help get me into a creative/peak state.
10:45 - 11: Power Nap (no longer than 15 - 20 minutes)
11:30 - 1:45 : Creative Block 1, 15 min-BREAK/Time to disengage from work, Creative Block 2
1:45 - 2:30 : Lunch
2:30 - 4: Gym or Creative Block 3, followed by another Power Nap.
4 - 7 or 8: 3 Fulfillment/Content Blocks with 15 minute breaks in between.
7 or 8 - 12: Relax, catch up with family and friends, etc.
12 am: Back to sleep!

During the fulfillment or content blocks I'm either implementing traffic generation strategies, putting content I created in my creative blocks into a deliverable format, maintaining my sites and membership sites and so on. Just wanted to clear that up if it seemed confusing lol.

Hope this can be of some use to anyone looking for a schedule optimized for productivity and keeping your energy levels high through out the day :-)

Cheers!
Ethan

P.S. I personally am actively managing 1 membership site, 1 personal blog, 1 business site, and have my team managing the rest of our sites.

I spend 4-5 hours on internet marketing. For my time to be wisely spent, I read and research more on the relevant and important trends nowadays to double my income. For me, I should take a good look to what the people interest most. Time management is actually important and it's good to have like yours.

That is a great time schedule you got there! I wish I could do the same but then I would have to throw my wife out.....

Hhhhhhmmmmm....I wonder.....

So did you start this thread while you were asleep?

Really great that way. Here is mine:

8 - wake up
8-9 - coffee, cigarettes and breakfast
9-20 - work (break for smoking, eating and seinfeld)

From where I stand, it seem that you are a little lazy.
For me, it is really not easy to find time for a short nap.

I have over 100 sites. I've been working for myself for over 10 years and never had a "schedule" of sorts. I get up early and start working either building content for my sites, checking out what's going on here , building a new site or product, etc.

I frequently take a few hour break in the afternoon and read or garden and then work a few more hours in the evening.

I don't have set days off. I take off when I want to. Nothing scientific or structured about the way I work.

I work many more hours now then I ever did at a regular offline job. It is much more enjoyable for me though so the time goes by so fast! I probably work too many hours.

I don't stick to a rigid schedule because it seems like there are always unforseen issues that demand my attention. I am slower at computer, security, web page building and other tech issues. I am faster at writing, marketing etc and get much more done when I can concentrate on those.

I would love to get to the point when I could hire or outsource for my weaker areas. I could develop a much better daily schedule and be more focused on my stronger areas.

This is all so motivating guys...yet makes me very jealous!

I can't wait for the day I can start living free like yous can,

I love writing value added content. So most of my daily time goes for content writing for my own sites... I mostly spend 6-7 hours on Writing, Publishing and on keyword research.

I have over 50 sites, building up to double that number.

I've worked from home for years before IM. What I like about IM is no clients, no billing, no deadlines.

I'm a bit of a workaholic and I don't require a lot of sleep. My children are grown and I only have 1 adult child still living here (low maintenance!).

I get up early, usually around 6 a.m., and start working on my daily caffeine intake. I switch on the computer, check e-mail, check social networks, read the forums.

Then I check the site stats and start working. From about 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 or 5:00, I'm working on existing sites, article writing, site promotion, or prepping a new site for launch. During breaks, I might do some housework or some baking. By about 5:00, I'm fried. I switch off the computer and fix dinner and don't go back to the computer unless there's nothing to read and/or nothing on TV. If I work late in the evening, it's doing stuff that's fairly mindless. I've learned from years of experience that I'm most productive in the mornings, so that's when I do things like article writing and keyword research.

Sometimes I work in the house. Sometimes I work by the pool. Sometimes I take a couple days off and go play blackjack. I enjoy what I do so it doesn't feel like "work." I probably work just as hard as I did in my other home-based business, only I don't feel the pressure because I have no clients to please and no deadlines. I'm happy to put in 12-hours doing something I love that's low stress.

Hi theemperor,

I'm not sure if you're basing that on the post timestamp, but unless I'm mistaken it changes based on the timezone settings you have chosen in your control panel.

Hi duia,

I find this interesting. Obviously, I don't know your circumstances, so no offence intended. The way I see it is that even the busiest person in the world can find time for a nap - as long as they want it enough (and they are not enslaved) and are willing to make the necessary sacrifices.

A big part of freedom for me is freedom of thought/the mind/the will - the freedom to totally cast off any external recommendations about 'how life should be lived' - if one so wishes. It's taken me some time to understand this concept, but now I never 'waste' any time.

If I am staring into space, I am in deep contemplation and I appreciate the value of that activity.

If I'm reading (or writing, like now) I'm learning and increasing the value of my 'head-real-estate' and possibly increasing my hourly rate.

If I am watching a spider build a web outside my window, I am analysing that creature's life and actively looking for comparisons and lessons. Sometimes, these simple activities can inspire a new article or a new way of looking at something - sometimes even a business breakthrough.

If I am driving on a long journey, it's no longer a hassle. It's free time where I can safely sing to my favourite songs without anyone hearing the awful noise. It's a chance to take in different surroundings and benefit from 'a change is as good as a rest'.

I could waffle on, but my point is that in the past I was conditioned to think in a certain way that involved regularly cursing my luck, having a blinkered, rigid view of the world, my place in it, my choices about my time, my activities and my way of life - and most importantly a rigid perspective, similar to 'the masses' that made me a typical consumer, a prime target for global marketers way more savvy than me.

I decided that they were not going to continue to win this battle with my mind, thus shaping my thoughts, my actions and my life. It was then that I found a new type of freedom I didn't truly know existed (freedom of the mind and the will).

With this new perspective I see things way differently than I did before and I see many who are still blissfully ignorant, like I was before (no offence to anyone intended).

Each day of my life is now a personal development adventure and the main beauty of it is that I have no idea where it is leading me, except that it gets better every day. Work is a part of that, but it is of secondary importance and it's main purpose is to pay for necessities and sometimes luxuries in order to sustain the primary purpose. I find this approach way more healthy on every level. I need and desire much less, but get more. Envy is a rare occurrence. I want for nothing because I am rich in time and philosophical about the rest.

I have met many people who probably think that my perspective on this is a bit 'out there'. But to be honest those people tend to be the sort who typically get agitated if they miss an episode of their favourite soap opera, even though they have read the week's plot in advance in the weekly magazine. They surreptitiously start believing that 'real' life is what they have seen presented in the soaps - which in truth is a figment of one writer's imagination.

These same people get their kicks playing the lottery - discussing 'what they would do if they won' then cursing their 'luck' when they don't win (again). They rush to spend all of their available money on the latest must-have gadgets in a never ending game of oneupmanship, yet constantly moan about their lives and their lack of control over it and lack of time and satisfaction - yet they interrupt their conversation with me to check who their latest text message is from (usually it's a 'false alarm' sales message from the phone company).

I think that they're a bit 'out there'. :rolleyes:

They don't appear to have the time to pay attention to anything. Perhaps it's easier that way?

Hi Darthtoon,

Obviously, I totally agree with the 'BS' part of that. As for the 'unsociable' aspect, possibly not so much.

I did struggle with it at first and did/do spend a lot of time alone, but that was my default preference right from the start and I'm happier in my own space than anyone I have met. I'm never alone though - I have the spiders outside my window and the birds singing for me

In general though, I don't find socialising a problem when called upon. The only problem I have is that most people I know are living in a slightly different world to me, so their idea of 'good socialising' is somewhat different to mine and my enjoyment of my own company tends to mess with other peoples' brains a bit. It annoys me to get unwanted sympathy off people at certain traditional 'family' times of the year, because if they could understand my perspective a little, they would see that in fact I pity them for their lack of control over their time and environment and therefore their sympathy is truly ironic.

Sorry to waffle, but I find it interesting. I don't mean to dominate or 'turn' the thread or suggest that those (like the OP) who have set timetables are any better or worse off. I just find it interesting - fascinating, actually.

I have to be honest.

When I first started, I used a schedule, and it kept me on task.

But now I am living proof of Parkinson's Law.

All the best,
Michael

I have some sort of schedule, although I change it if I don't feel like working at a certainn time or need to do other things


4am: wake up, take care of breakfast and lunch Ludo
5am and 6.30am: housework. I don't like doing housework in the evening, so I do it when he's gone to work and before the kids get up.
6.30am and 8am: shower and then wake up the kids and get them ready for school.
8am-8.30am: bring kids to school and enjoy my morning for a bit
8.30am - 11.55am: work
11.55am - 1.10pm: kid are home for lunch hour
1.10pm - 1.20pm: bring kids back to school
1.20pm - 3.20pm: work
after that I enjoy my kids, have dinner (which my husband made, he likes cooking I don't) and when the kids are in bed I either get back to work or browse around on the internet seeing as my husband will go to bed around the same time as the kids. Usually I'll be in bed between 1am and 2am.

Leslie

Hi Roger,

I don't sleep much during the week, but I get to sleep in during the weekend as Ludo (my husband) can't sleep in. He always wakes up early.

And when I said "take care of breakfast and lunch Ludo" it means I make sure that he eats a decent breakfast and that his lunch is ready to take with him to work. If I don't he spends too much money on junk food.

Leslie

I get up earlyish (8am) because I don't want to waste the day, but then I end up staying awake till the early hours of the morning because that's when the US comes alive (Im in Australia)

As for a schedule, I have a giant wall-sized white board full of stuff to do, then I just do whatever is most urgent and least overdue Launches, content for monthly subscribers, getting stuff up on elance, giving work to my indian and filipino friends etc

Then every hour or so I go outside and shoot some hoops so I dont get RSI!