“What are you doing after dinner?”

Is this a simple question or is Dr. Bob getting fresh on this blog? (wink wink).

Actually, it's neither.

I have a beautiful and loving wife, so no I'm certainly not getting fresh.

But neither is this a simple question because it involves one of the most difficult transitions for a Part Time Marketer to make.

It's the transition from coming home from working at your full time job to working on your online business.

Obviously here I'm talking about those Part Time Online Marketers that have a full time job, but this same transition can apply to the person who stays at home with the children, offers home care for elderly parents, or otherwise has extensive obligations that puts them into the category of a “Part Time Marketer.”

So what makes this transition so difficult?

My Achilles Heel

As many of you  know, I'm a great planner.  I schedule my time, make lists and do everything I can do to be more productive.

But I find that making the transition from my full time job to working on my business at night to be my achilles heel.

[Note:  If you aren't familiar with the term “Achilles heel”, this is a phrase that generally refers to a weak point or a place where you are most vulnerable.  For me, this transition time was the weak link in my productivity plan.]

So what makes this transition so hard for me?

See if any of this sounds familiar:

  • I get up early, work all day, commute home and arrive around 6pm, eat dinner, sit and relax for a few minutes before starting on my business, and then….. SNORE!
  • My dinner kicks in, my body begins to relax from the stress of the day and I fall asleep.  Not for long, usually.  But it's enough to disrupt my momentum.
  • Sometimes I just want to be a couch potato!

And then there are all the other minutia of life that takes hold as well… the need to take out the garbage, talk to my brother or sister, do the laundry, help my kids with a problem, clean up.  Most of these things could and should be planned for different times while I transition to work on my business, but sometimes life just isn't that clean, is it?

So in the end, it would be 8 or even 9pm before I would start working on my business.  Since I try to sleep around 10pm, this wasn't enough time to see much forward movement in my business.

5 Practical Tips to Help You Transition From Your Job to Your Online Business

Here are some things that helped me better transition from my job to my online business.  You may find them useful.

1.  Share your plan

I've said this before, but having a plan and sharing it with your family will help get everyone on the same page.  I told my wife that the hour for dinner is our time, no exceptions.  We use that time to talk about our day, our family and whatever else interests us.  But she knows that after that hour, I'm going to get serious about creating our fortune.  She likes that idea!  🙂

Tell your friends and family that you cannot be disturbed during your work-at-home hours, barring extreme emergencies.  That especially means no phone calls or text messages.  This usually works for me.

2.  Find What Motivates You

For me, listening to some inspirational music will help me get motivated to work on my online business.  For you, it might be some motivational reading or watching videos that pump you up.  It doesn't matter — find what works for you and have it available during that critical transition from job to working on your business.

3.  Take Care of Yourself

I mentioned that one of my problems was actually falling asleep after dinner.  As one of my coaches pointed out, maybe I should get more sleep at night…. duh!

So I tried getting to bed an hour earlier and so far it's working.  I feel less tired when I get home and, as an added benefit, I find I'm much more productive!

Get the rest you need, exercise regularly, and eat right.  Take care of yourself and the rest will follow.

4.   Make Your List the Right Way

In a previous post, I wrote about the benefits of creating 2 lists for your business — one a “To Do” list  and another “What I Accomplished” list.  Head back over to that post for more details.

Making a To Do list is truly important for keeping track of what needs to get done, but be sure you prioritize that list.

If you only have a couple of hours to work on your business at night, be sure to put the MOST IMPORTANT tasks first on the list.  These are the ones that will give you the most benefit by completing them.

If you're not sure which task on your list is most important, ask yourself, “How much will completion of this task help move my business forward?”

If you can't answer this question, it's probably not that important a task.

5.  Be Singular in Focus

In one of my earlier posts, I asked you to perform a time audit, to give you an idea of where your time is going.

You should also do a Distractions Audit.  

Figure out what your biggest distractions are and then get rid of them, at least between the hours you plan to work on your business.

  • Turn off email and put your phone on vibrate (or turn it off if you feel comfortable with that).
  • If you need to be online to work, have only 1 browser window open — the one you are working on.
  • No Facebook, no Twitter, no social networking, unless your task involves these social sites.

Be singular in focus.

Your Turn

What problems do you have transitioning from your life to working on your business?  What has worked for you to make this transition easier?

Join the the discussion below by LEAVING A COMMENT.

    16 replies to "So what are you doing after dinner?"

    • Jacs Henderson

      Bob, I really identify with the 2 job (at least) issue, and you’ve been generous sharing your strategies to stay awake and move your business forward, thanks 🙂
      Jacs

    • Audrey Ross

      I can imagine how difficult it is to move the mindset into work-mode, to relaxation mode, then back to work mode again. It can be really tedious. Sleep is, more often than not, that thing that we usually get to sacrifice. Yet again, we need to rest in order to be productive. Planning is necessary but what’s more important is the commitment to stick to that plan. One has got to remind himself constantly the motivation behind doing such a task. I’m afraid that without motivation, all the planning and rest will never be enough to accomplish things.

    • Hans Schoff

      Hey Bob, really appreciate how you relate to your readers in your blog posts using personal stories – very effective! I sometimes find myself in the same situation after dinner, especially on a really long day and when I didn’t get much sleep the night before. But all those strategies you list are great ways to counteract that from happening; I’ll have to try turning on inspirational music – it usually does the trick on my runs. Great stuff.

    • alicia

      I enjoy your post tremendously. Time management is my weakness, I am always trying to be more discipline about having a balance life. Sometimes, I dedicate too many hours to my network marketing business; I am so passionate about it and forget about the rest of the world. Thanks so much for your strategis and tips !

    • Rick

      Good post, and very easy to relate to. I have still kept at my full-time job, so at first I found it hard to get used to juggle what little free time I had alongside working at home. Like you said, it’s definitely a must to set fixed hours and abide by them to make it all work properly. It has made me a more disciplined person overall as I manage every minute of my time as perfectly as possible.

      • Bob

        Hi Rick,

        Sounds like you have yourself a plan that works for you. That’s the key. I provide a framework for how you COULD set up your working atmosphere, but everyone must work out their own details. What works for one may not work for another. Glad that you’ve found a system that keeps you productive!

    • Mamie

      After dinner, I really want to sit and relax while watching television or a movie with my son. But I can’t do that, after dinner I still have to work. Life is very busy! Thanks for sharing those points Bob.

      • Bob

        Hi Mamie,

        I think we can still do these kind of things, just not all the time. Perhaps you can save one or two nights a week to kick back and enjoy a movie with your son. It’s always best to have a balance.

        Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences, Mamie.

    • Troy

      Regarding to your article. it is really nice and Interesting, actually i have a lot of things to do in the Whole day. but after dinner i just only do the very special thing, just like making some love quotes Love quotes is my Achilles Heel. it gives me a Energy before i start my work. thanks to this site. I learn some info about this. I’m Looking forward to your next article. 🙂

      • Bob

        Whatever in your life relaxes you and helps you refocus and reenergize yourself, then go for it.

        It is different for everyone.

        Thanks for sharing your experiences, Troy!

    • Kristina L.

      Hi there, Dr Bob!
      I already taught my friends not to disturb me while I am working, so they try to respect my rule as much as they can, with an occasional disruption that might come in text messaging…but, ok, I understand nothing can be perfect and smooth.
      I also like listening to some inspirational music while I work-some find listening to music to be disturbing and not letting them focus, but for me it is the best background I can have when working. It relaxes me and even makes me concentrate better.
      I guess we all have our ways in making the transitional part easier…in this case, my ways are quite similar to yours.

      • Bob

        Sounds like you have a great system, Kristina.

        You’re right — everyone should come up with a system to focus their efforts that works for them.

        Thanks for sharing your experiences here!

    • Karen

      Per usual, more great tips. I really appreciate the distraction audit… it’s really hard to make sure that you’re weeding out unnecessary distractions but not ignoring things that are interesting to you.

      Thanks for sharing!

      • Bob

        No system is perfect, Karen but you need to weed out those distractions as much as possible. That’s why I think the distraction audit is so powerful. It forces us to spend time examining the details of our life, especially as it pertains to work.

    • Meg

      Awesome post.

      And the reason is that the 5 practical tips which you have mentioned are very much true and basic and I am sure many folks are passing through this same situation but they don’t know how to make and manage and take control over such situation which is their achilles heels and turn such situation in to successing steps toward their desired goals.

      Say for e.g. take very first point -“Share your Plan”–as you have shared with your family that while having dinner you have all free time and you do whatever you family expect from you like -talking, helping, etc..
      But after dinner you have told that you are get back to your works and now no one can disturb me at any cost as its your and your family fortune matter. And you also try to avoid all other distraction like phone, msg etc.

      Thus this first point is common for all but only few can able to turn it in strict rule and get manage their works and family also.

      So thanks a lot Bob for sharing such a points which really helps us lot in achieve our desired goal by taking control on it completely.

      • Bob

        You’re welcome, Meg. Sharing your intentions with others in the house is so important. It cuts down on the surprise requests! 🙂

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