Here I am, sitting in the car dealership’s office working (happily) along while my car is being serviced. I almost walked out of the house this morning without my laptop. I didn’t think I’d be away from my (home) office that long and I could do some work when I got back home. I’m glad I re-thought that idea and grabbed all of my work stuff before I left home. It turns out that the service department is slammed today and there’s about a three to four hour wait per person. I’m also glad that I’ve learned the art and importance of multi-tasking so that at the end of this long, expensive car-service episode, I can say that I’ve had a productive day (I hope). So, this whole thing sparked the post idea of sharing with our readers the importance of multi-tasking in your everyday lives…no matter where you are!

As women (and some of us as moms), we know the good, the bad, the pros and cons of being multi-taskers. Some experts agree with the idea of multi-tasking and think it’s a wonderful concept while other experts will warn you that multi-tasking can create other problems and be more of a distraction. This great article that I found on Oprah gives some tips on how to multi-task without “losing your mind.” Although I can’t say that I’ve ever felt that I would lose my mind when I multi-tasked, I have been faced with the problem of trying to decide which tasks I’d work on and which one would be the primary task and which would be the secondary task.

Multi-Mom
When I’m at home and doing the wife-mom thing, I multi-task pretty efficently, cranking out a three-course dinner while washing a load of clothes and helping my first-grader with his homework. It’s not a problem for me at all, mainly because I’ve been doing it for a loooong time and have found some great ways to be productive with a busy life and an active family. But since this blog isn’t about homemaking…

As a freelancer, I absolutely love the flexibility that this career offers. You can work when you want, where you want and as much as you want. Sort of. I still have to organize my day and write out my to-do lists. I still do have to get my work done and meet deadlines and keep clients satisfied. So I really have to multi-task and be pretty good at it, as do some of you. Deb has a great article today on her blog about this very topic of working from home, freelancing and disciplining yourself. A good read! Anyway, whether you’re home-based or in a corporate environment, multi-tasking is easy to do and can be adapted to most any situation.

Home Telecommuter
If most of your work is computer-based, invest in a laptop (if you don’t already have one) and take it with you everywhere you go. This has proved to be invaluable to me. I am at a ball field with at least one of my kids two to three times a week. Since practices can last 1 1/2 to 2 hours, there is a lot of sitting, waiting, and more sitting. (Now that almost made me lose my mind, Oprah!) Anyway, I’d sit there for hours and still have my work to do when I got home and back to my desktop. After a while, I got sick of all that sitting, so I started taking my work with me and cranking out material and still be there for my kids. This helps me to be in a better mood later because I don’t have so much work waiting on me for later. Also, for that laptop, make sure it’s WiFi accessible and with a good connect plan to boot.

Minus a laptop and still with tasks to do, you can still multi-task and be productive. Sometimes, I take my paper-based planner and my PDA planner and sync the both up while I’m, again, at a ball practice ( I DO watch the kids sometimes!). I can plan my week, flesh out an article or write out an outline (PDA’s come with word processing documents too.) Minus the PDA, I can still use my paper-based planner to plan my week or even a couple of weeks out.

Business, etc.
Now if you’re home-based with your business, there are ways that you can multi-task too and still be productive. One thing to note is that multi-tasking doesn’t always have to be done simultaneously. In other words, you don’t have to do two or more things at the same time. For instance: if you’re about to go out and do a beauty product demonstration, you can fire off some contact emails before you leave, fax off your product order or return a few phone calls. Things don’t always have to be done all at once or at the same time. The idea with effective multi-tasking is to complete some things while starting or completing other things and being as productive as can be.

Corporate women take heart! I used to be in corporate America too and believe me, they ARE busier than freelancers! There is very little room for flexibility because of their rigid schedules and most of their responsibilities have to be done on a stringent schedule. However, there are ways. When I worked as a staff accountant, there were monthly reports that I had to have done by month end. During the month, I would compile the figures and plug them into an Excel spreadsheet as the figures became available. By month’s end, not only did I have complete figures, but I was also able to get my reports printed and collated before the other pencil-pushers crowded the print room to get their reports out too.

Another tip that corporate biz-chicker’s can try involves those endless meetings she has to attend on a daily basis. If you have a laptop, this is ideal but paper-based planners work as well. Here you go:

Take meticulous notes during any meeting and transfer them directly into an Excel spreadsheet. Create an action list or a to-do list during the meeting. Make FULL use of your time spent there.

What are some other business multi-tasking skills that you have found that work for you? How do you do multiple things at once as a Biz-Chicker?

______________________________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

Frideas: How To Multi-Task With ANY Business

In this YouTube video from an interview with Sarah Palin when she was being considered as a candidate for the position of Vice-President, she sprinkles her interview with a few “ya know’s” and “kewl”, much to the amusement of the interviewer. I’m sooo disappointed, needless to say, in Mrs. Palin’s presentation. I’ve been somewhat brewing since the announcement on Thursday and have had to re-work my post on it several times, which is why it STILL hasn’t been posted. You know the old adage, “if you don’t have something nice to say…”

Kewl.

________________________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

Oh Boy – We’re Really In Trouble If Palin Doesn’t Know What She’s Doing

I work from home as a freelancer, and have been trying to get to the four-day work week for about a year now. No dice.

In order for me to get to that coveted four-day work week, I’d have to go up on my rates and work more hours of course during the other four days. With kids in school, activities and other outside family interests, it may not be possible to slide in extended days for the enjoyment of one extra day. But for the trade-off, I’m willing to give it a shot.

I figured I could work four nine hour days and still get the bulk of the work that I need done in that time to get that extra day. If I could get family and situations to be compliant with my idea, it should work. In theory, of course.

As a business person, do you think the four-hour work week is something viable for the type of business you’re in? Is there someone to take up the slack for you in case you can’t meet all of your deadlines or commitments? What would you do with the extra day off?
_____________________________________________________
Copyright 2008 – Bridget Wright

Post from: EveryJoe

The Four-Day Work Week – - It Might Actually Work

“I am a woman who came from the cotton fields of the South. From there I was promoted to the washtub. From there I was promoted to the cook kitchen. And from there I promoted myself into the business of manufacturing hair goods and preparations…I have built my own factory on my own ground.”
Madam C.J. Walker
Natioal Negro Business League Convention1912

Madame C.J. Walker’s rise to notariety was the first Black female millionaire who started an empire in hair care for Black women. Her life is certainly an inspiration to women in business, regardless of their race or culture and is an example of what great ideas can do for you. Her story shows us that we can rise to unimaginable heights, if we just focus and set our sights high.

The hair care business in the African-American culture is very lucrative, very competitive and is a significant part of the heritage in Black society. Walker started with nothing more than a “straightening” comb and hair care products that were designed to help Black women manage their hair better. Her immediate rise to millionaire status came as a result of the transformation that Madame Walker’s hair care products did for women of color. She basically saw a need, filled a need and reaped the benefits of her ideas. But, Walker’s fame doesn’t stop there. She is also known for generous nature as a philanthropist:

“Walker was also known for her philanthropy, leaving two-thirds of her estate to educational institutions and charities including the NAACP, the Tuskegee Institute and Bethune-Cookman College. In 1919, her $5,000 pledge to the NAACP’s anti-lynching campaign was the largest gift the organization had ever received.”

In honor of February’s Black history month, I want to challenge women, all women – - women of color, whether they are African-American or not. I want to challenge you today to see something in Madame CJ Walker that you can perhaps mimic in the way she did business. The one trait that I know that I will be using is the gift of giving. I think that we are not truly successful unless we can share that wealth and success with others. I believe that if I share what I have; money, time and information, that I will be successful as well. Not just in reaping money, but in the satisfaction of knowing that I have made my corner of the world, my culture and someone else’s life richer for having shared.

Thank you Madame Walker for being our example.

Post from: EveryJoe

BCR Leading Ladies: Madam C.J. Walker

Keyshia Cole the R&B singer, the soul singer, the rapper, the artist, the businesswoman. The twenty-something Oakland, California native grew up on the hard side of the track but let that rough beginning make her the woman she is today. Keyshia is a serious businesswoman who launched her own record company with one rapper who she firmly believed in and sold her idea to her producer. When Keyshia was asked how was it that she could juggle all of the things she’s got going on and be so successful, she replied in a matter-of-fact fashion that she was “just doing what I gotta do because as a woman, for me to be taken seriously, I gotta do business the way a man would do it.”

The business world has long been primarily a man’s world where very few women could play and be taken seriously. Women were relegated to the office of secretary or errand girl. Being a CEO of a company was something that was considered absurd for females. Nowadays, women are CEO’s, CFO’s, corporate president’s and entrepreneurs. Women are definitely making their marks in the businessworld. Keyshia, like many other professional businesswomen, is signing contracts, making deals, hiring and firing staff all while producing and maintaining a product (or service) that keeps revenue coming in and investors happy.

Businesswomen are definitely a force to be reckoned with, but the question is…do you have to do business the way a man does just to be taken seriously? What do you think?

Come back tomorrow. I’ll tell you what I think.

Post from: EveryJoe

Keyshia Cole – - Doing Business In A Man’s World