What keeping time really means is...being on time!
You know, there was once a upon a time when my friends or my husband's friends invite us for dinner or a gathering, they would expect us to be late by half-an-hour. They would be totally prepared if we were late and come in with unironed clothes, grouchy kids and soup stains all over our jeans and shirts. But whenever we appeared earlier or ON TIME, they would all start writing down numbers to buy lottery the next day!!
I never really realized how important timing is until a client woke me up. I didn't really piss him off but he subtly reminded me that being on time would bring me more customers and also more referrals. Coincidentally, that was also the time that I was looking through a book about being organized and becoming a more successful home-preneur.
My husband is a fanatic about time - so, my disregard towards timing makes him ill - really, really ill. Sometimes so ill that he would promise to throw the whole idea of going out together out the window.
Then it occurred to me - if it was so important to my husband, imagine what it would be like for my clients. Imagine what it would be like for them to have to wait for me all the time when THEY ARE PAYING ME TO DO WHATEVER THEY HAVE ASSIGNED FOR ME!
Thinking about it and mentally reversing the situation made me really sit up and think. And today, I am no longer as late as I used to be. I can be an occassional much-too-laidback or lackadaisical or procrastinator...whatever you call it.....person but, all in all, timing is now more important to me.
It's very important for us, home business owners, to be timely than for others. If, for example, a sales person from Braun is late for an appointment, you'd just sit back and wait cause they're BRAUN, you know what I mean. They must have about 100 appointments a day. But when a home business owner is late about handing up a project, the client would automatically think one thing - this person is not serious about his/her business. And it's bad to work with someone who's not serious about his/her work. And you know, you'll just lose the business this way - much too easily.
So, take my advice. If there was one thing you have to change. it's your timing.
Everything else, you can change tomorrow.....no pun intended here. :-)
Marsha Maung is a freelance work at home graphic designer and writer who resides in Selangor, Malaysia with her husband, Peter and 2 kids, Joshua and Jared. She is the author or "Raising Little Magicians" and other work at home books. For more information, please visit http://www.marshamaung.com
limousine Ackley .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HarePerhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More
The concept of Mercury Retrograde is very well known even... Read More
When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More
Last week I attended a presentation from Parenting Expert and... Read More
Years ago when I started in this business, it seemed... Read More
A new client recently admitted to me sheepishly that she... Read More
Microsoft wanted to know how individuals around the world were... Read More
To work smarter all you need is the consciousness of... Read More
As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More
Sometime ago, my lovely wife woke me up in the... Read More
Want to improve your time management?Edward W. Smith, motivational speaker,... Read More
Time and money are both very important in business. Yet,... Read More
I have worked with so many people over the years... Read More
Work more efficiently and be more productive using these time-management... Read More
Here's some time management tips to try:1) Set strict office... Read More
Any habit of mind or body that interferes with taking... Read More
"Time is what we need the most and what we... Read More
Our daily lives are inundated with a crammed to-do list.... Read More
I am an ordinary man - A middle class high... Read More
The biggest time management mistake you can ever make is... Read More
Time is inelastic. Despite what some of us persist in... Read More
Do your dishes really need to be dried, or could... Read More
If you can regularly ask yourself "Am I regularly and... Read More
What does it mean to practice self care? It's creating... Read More
Time, time, time. It seems there is never enough of... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare Alexander ..Nowhere is the line drawn more clearly between 'Industrial brains'... Read More
Time management consultant Stephen Young claims that the average time... Read More
I would like to touch upon a subject that it... Read More
The ability to be able to set priorities and deal... Read More
An appointment is simply a mutual agreement to meet with... Read More
Despite the best of intentions, most of us don't use... Read More
Most of us know how to manage our time. It... Read More
As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More
Recently I've experienced a barrage of time wasters. Everything you... Read More
Sounds too good to be true?It really isn't!In fact, studies... Read More
So What Then Is The Opposite Of Procrastination? Urgency is... Read More
We all know the harmful effects of overwork. People get... Read More
Many of you have expressed the challenge of not having... Read More
How many times have you remarked to someone that there... Read More
I keep a fossil on my desk at all times.... Read More
Zak is my three-year old godson. He is the apple... Read More
As mothers we play so many different roles and most... Read More
A year and a half ago I was introduced to... Read More
Show me, O Lord, my life's end and the number... Read More
If you're like most people, you want to get better... Read More
Time, time, time. It seems there is never enough of... Read More
From Potential to PerformanceOne of the great things about life... Read More
Do you believe that the best way to deal with... Read More
As a small business owner, does the following paragraph sound... Read More
Are you obsessed with getting everything just right? Do you... Read More
Time Management |