The clock is always ticking!

Time is a precious resource in all types of business.  When it come to managing time when running a partime craft business there never seems to be enough of it.  With marketing, designing, listing, shipping, and so on on my plate time management  is a must. 

• Time Management Tip #1: Make it easy to do your job.

As a jewelry artist, the key to successful time management revolves around creating new items for my shop on Etsy. To make that easier, I decided the expense of a dedicated studio space in our townhouse was well worth it. I juggle a professional project management career and running a small partime business.  My creative time would be far less if I didn’t have a work space set-up all the time.  Whenever I have a few minutes to be creative I can just sit down at the workbench and create without having to drag all the supplies to the kitchen table. My time is spent creating, not setting up a work space. This is how I make it easier to be creative.

• Time Management Tip #2: Break things down into smaller tasks.

I simply cannot predict when and how much time I'll have to work on jewelry.  Because of unpredictable business interruptions and family obligations, I have to do my Esty tasks in small chunks. This allows me some small chance of completing things in one go rather than having whatever it was that I was doing interrupted. I set time for marketing, designing, photographing, listing, shipping, etc. as separate small tasks throughout the week.  I get a feeling of accomplishment when I complete each of the small tasks toward the end goal.

No matter how hard I work at my time management skills, there is always room for improvement. Working from home, having an online business, being on the computer all day, make it way too easy to get distracted and loose my entire day answering emails and convos, chatting on twitter, checking your shop etc, and I am guilty of all these things.  To be successful and make money, I had to learn to buckle down and be productive. I'm still working on this but the steps above have been a step in the right direction...