Here's another great article from the Craft::Boom website, and it's part of their interview series. In this interview, Lisa Lam talks to Akhila from Akhila Handbag about the difficulty of time management in running a craft business while being a full-time “mum”. In the article, Akhila explains her strategies for getting work done without skimping on mommy time.
Some other ideas for time management for your craft business include:
- Create a “to-do” list to manage your tasks, and to keep from forgetting them. You can do this in a number of different ways – either with paper and pencil or electronically. In fact, there are a number of online tools including Backpack from 37signals.com.
- Make sure to break major projects into smaller tasks – chunk it down. For example, setting up a craft business web site can be a huge project, and a bit overwhelming. But if you break it down into a few different tasks, all of which can be accomplished fairly quickly, then the task doesn't seem as overwhelming.
- Be realistic about what you can accomplish. For many people, mothers especially, the tendency is to try and do everything. This can easily set you up for failure, and burn you out about your craft business. You started doing crafts for the enjoyment. Don't turn your craft business into drudgery. Make sure you set realistic goals, and work toward increasing your productivity and work your way towards a full-time business.
- Remove the distractions. There are a lot of things that can get in the way of completing your tasks – phone calls, television, interruptions from family members, boredom, etc. Make sure you set yourself up in a space without distractions, and let family members know that your time in this space is to be uninterrupted.
I hope these tips help you out, and be sure to check out Avhila's interview on Craft::Boom.
Happy Crafting!
Jennifer
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the US (and beyond).
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