Internet Marketing WAHT

I’ve been an [tag-tec]Internet marketer[/tag-tec] for over eight years, I’ve been working from home for the last six years. It’s great, I’ve been a stay at home dad for my sons entire life. That doesn’t mean it’s all wonderful. Working at home has its share of challanges. Here’s some of the most important [tag-tec]Work At Home[/tag-tec] Topics (WAHT) I’ve dealt with.

My son is older now and started kindergarten this year, so he is out of the house for about seven hours a day during the week. This is nice, as it obviously gives me the opportunity to get work done without the pitter patter of little feet (not to mention, the crash clang of his soccer ball against the wall or the tug-tug of “daddy please come play with me”). Anyway, over the last six years I’ve had to develop some strategies for getting things done. Here’s a few of my favorite:

Set yourself up to succeed
I used to get frustrated with all the interruptions as soon as I started to work. So what did I do? I realized that there are 24 hours in a day and that even though I was used to working 9 to 5 in my old job, I could make my own hours now that I’m working from home –let’s face it, most of my job as an Internet Marketer is solitary work that can be done at any time. So, I decided to give my son as much of my time as I could, and did my work during his “down time”. This allowed me to really bond with my son in a way that most men don’t get to. When he was napping or in bed for the night, I did my work.

Use a notebook computer and go wireless
When my son was about three years old, we decided to take a family vacation to Florida. To that point I used strictly desktop computers, however since I knew we would be away for over two weeks, I decided to take the plunge and purchase a portable computer that I could take with me so I could at least keep up with things while we were away. Well, I’ve been using notebook computers ever since (I’m on my second one now). Combine the portability of a notebook computer with the convenience of a wireless network and I can work from any room in the house. Also, at times when I just have to get something done at a “noisy time” in the house, I can simply pack up and go work at my local Starbucks –most now offer wireless access.

Get organized to Keep Focused
When you’re self-employed you face the challenge of having too much freedom. It’s very easy to get lazy and put unpleasant tasks off even though you know they’re important. I find that working from a priority list helps me get the things I need to do done. I recommend that you take a work day and simply clean your desk (or work space). Get rid of any unnecessary documents, file anything that needs to be saved, hold on to anything that may require some action. Next, go through your emails; answer any that will require a quick response, save any that require some kind of actual work (RFP requests, new client projects etc). Next, go through whatever is left on your desk and your email inbox, note each separately on a sheet of paper (paper lists are better for this). Once this is done, prioritize each task based. Now make a separate list of any tasks that need to be accomplished on a dialy, weekly, monthly basis – prioritize each task based on how crucial it is to your business.

Now with your two lists in place, finish cleaning your desk – be brutal, get rid of anything that is not absolutely necessary. Once your desk is clean, you can get back to work.

Going forward you’ll be working from your lists, your lists should always be near by. As projects are completed cross them off the list, as new once come in –add them to your lists. Doing this quickly becomes a habit and you’ll soon find that you’re getting more done then ever before.

[tags]affiliate marketing, waht, internet marketing[/tags]

Well that’s it for now, hope these tips have helped you –if you have any to add feel free let us know in the comments section of this post.