Time wasters can be extremely detrimental to your overall time management and business success. It is so easy to procrastinate over to do lists, meet up with clients for lunch or to find yourself social networking for hours on end! If you could limit the amount of time you waste on various unproductive tasks, you could find yourself with hours to spare!

Emails

Don’t leave your inbox open all the time: you will easily get distracted. Schedule just two or three dedicated time slots throughout the day to read and action e-mail correspondence.

Phone Calls

Do you spend the first twenty...

Congratulate yourself for everything you have accomplished in 2011! If you’re unsure why you deserve such praise, read on!

As a busy mum (and let’s face it you are!) you should be able to acknowledge and feel proud about everything you do for your family. Whether you’re expecting a baby, raising a young family or you are now a bit of a pro with a brood of teenagers, you will undoubtedly be giving your very best to your children and it is for this you should feel immensely proud. Recognise how much you do to enrich the lives of your family.

If you take some time to reflect...

At Christmas time, we at Empowering Mums try to put all our great techniques and tips into action: being as organised as possible, using our time effectively and enjoying quality time with our families. We simply cannot achieve all this without the help of our Christmas Checklist and this year we’d like to share it with you!

Make A List, Check It Twice!
List all the jobs you need to get done and all the things that must be bought for the big day. Not only will it free up some room for non-Christmas thoughts, it will give you a quick reference guide to refer to. Try to prioritise your...

November’s issue of Empower documented the achievements of two of our fantastic mums and what they believed to be their biggest accomplishments of 2011. We encourage you all to reflect on the goals or resolutions you made for 2011 and how they have been realised. It is just as important now to look ahead and start planning your goals for 2012. This is especially significant if you feel stuck in a rut, without direction or a general unhappiness about your life. Create a plan to get your life back on track by identifying and planning ways to achieve lifelong goals. Here are eight rules...

If your to-do list appears to be never ending, then allocating deadlines could drive real results. Goals and deadlines work to motivate you towards accomplishment and success.

Deadlines are not only set by the super-organised, ruthless project manager. They are used by people who need to schedule tasks in a timely manner to ensure the job gets done. Deadlines keep you driven towards completion.

Deadlines encourage you to focus on your goals. And, when set realistically, can offer an amazing sense of achievement when a task has reached its completion.

Additionally, deadlines counteract...

Life as a busy mumpreneur can be hectic, daunting and downright stressful. However, there is one solution to keeping abreast of your various roles and responsibilities, keeping ahead of the competition and keeping you sane! It’s good time management. Here are some tips to support you, your business and your life!

Maintain a to-do list at all times. Not only will this keep you on track, it will motivate you to finish every task. It’s a great way to put down on paper (or an electronic scheduling device!) everything you have to do, and it will help you to prioritise as well.

Set...

As busy mums, it is likely you’ve little time to address the issue of clutter in your home. We’re not talking about the odd messy room that you are continually tidying, it’s all the ‘stuff’ you hoard on shelves, in wardrobes, in the garage or in your attic. Have you ever considered how much money you could make by selling off unwanted or unused possessions?

The first thing to consider here is how you feel about all the unwanted items that are cluttering up your home. Are you shocked by all the things you have amassed, do you feel guilty about the money...

Having a clear vision for the development of your business is essential to its success and longevity. In order to maintain this vision you need a well-mapped business plan that you can refer to and develop at any time.

What plans do you have to develop your business over the next twelve months? Can you document further strategies to support a five-year plan? In order to drive the success of your business, you must know what it is you want to achieve and have a plan of action that will enable you to do so.

Developing a sound business plan, which includes financial projections and long-term...

Effective targeted marketing and tailored campaigns really can drive the success of your enterprise. Are you aware of all the many marketing channels available to you and your business? Here is an outline of some marketing methods that you may be able to utilise to drive the growth of your business now and in the future.

Effective Branding

A brand is the symbol of a company that communicates a distinct set of values such as reliability and credibility. It inspires trust, which is essential, not only from the perspective of your suppliers but also from your customers. With the help of a...

Living on a budget helps you to make more of your money long term. If you like the sound of this, we hope we can share some great ideas to help you to budget more effectively now and in the future.    

Track your income and expenditure. Identify how much money you have coming in against how much you spend each month. Analyse where you could instantly save money. Could you reduce your phone and Internet tariffs? Are you paying too much for insurance premiums? Do you utilise your monthly gym membership effectively? You can easily resolve these questions by calling up your...