Sometimes I wonder how shop owners who also work a full-time job find the time to get more shop work done than I do. It's not that they have more time. We all have the same number of hours in a day. They just know how to manage time. In addition to my Ruby Lane shop, I also have a part-time bookkeeping job. But I have the luxury of working from home. The biggest challenge for me is time management.

None of what I do has to be done by a certain time. I have no supervisor looking over my shoulder. This makes it especially important that I supervise myself. There are days, that I am so unproductive that I want to fire myself. Other days, I am a firecracker, getting an amazing amount accomplished.

There are dozens of theories on time management. You have to find the one that works for you. My husband also works from home. An accountant by trade, he is very organized and methodical. He lives by lists and schedules his time. I want to be organized, I really do. I love to make lists and I could spend hours shopping for calendars, index cards, notebooks and other time management tools. But they just don't work for me. I am too easily distracted.

This morning I started this blog, got through one paragraph and my coffee was cold. On the way to the kitchen I saw that the humming bird feeder needed refilling. While cleaning it out, I grabbed a dish cloth to wipe up a spill and realized that I hadn't started any laundry. On the way to the laundry room, I passed my packing area, and recalled that I needed to order supplies. But first the dog wants to be let out and then... Oh. So it's going to be one of those days.

It's not always like that for me. Some days I get up, eat breakfast, get dressed, make a list and mentally "go to the office", even though it's just down the hall. On those days I work in batch mode. I sort my recent auction buys, set some aside for research, photograph the rest. I edit all the photos at once. Then I sit down and write all my descriptions. There! That wasn't so hard was it?

Now it's time for lunch and not much is accomplished. But at least I have finished this blog. I can now check it off my list. Anyone know where I put my list?

Donnah Brnger
Mainely Glass on Ruby Lane
http://www.mainelyglass.rubylane.com