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You might be surprised that the tip I am sharing with you this week
came from a speaker at the internet
marketing conference this past
weekend.
Yes, it does apply to homeschool moms as you prioritize
all you need to do. Jim Edwards, an e-book expert, shares how he
uses the Two Golden Hours of each day to
complete products.
What are the Two
Golden Hours?
The Two Golden Hours are two hours you use
every day to complete
projects.
The first hour is the creative hour and the second hour is the
mechanical hour. The creative hour is the time you spend on activities
that involve more thinking and/or creativity. In business this is outlining
books, writing ads, writing books; in homeschool,
this hour is spent
studying for lessons with the kids,
creating activities to reinforce
concepts, reading great books and so
on.
The
mechanical hour includes activities that need to be done, but
don’t require as much thinking to complete
them. In business, this
may be filling out forms, posting to
websites/blogs; in homeschool,
this includes folding laundry, emptying
the dishwasher, cleaning the
bathtub or balancing the checkbook.
How do I apply the Two
Golden Hours?
Lately, my Two Golden Hours are the first two hours of the day.
If I really want to get something done, I
have to do it before anyone
else wakes up and needs my attention. I suspect that most moms
that get up early, have some quiet time
before the “clan” arises, unless
your kids are young. When mine were young, they automatically
knew when I got up early to get a special
project doneJ.
The first two hours of my day are begun
with my creative or thinking
hour.
This includes my Bible devotions and reading time. If I begin
my day with Bible reading, those ideas are
on the forefront of my
thoughts all day long. After reading my Bible, I spend time reading
the books my kids are reading or ones I
have on my personal reading
list.
This year, I am trying to read the Great Books and humanities
books that my daughters are reading.
The second hour is my mechanical or non-thinking hour. This
hour includes business projects (online
activities, planning my new
website, returning e-mail or checking
inventory), paying bills, or
walking/exercising.
Although
my activities don’t exactly match with the creative/mechanical
categories, the activities of my Two
Golden Hours are very important
to me.
If I don’t get them done first thing each morning, they just
don’t get done.
How can you have Two
Golden Hours?
Make
a list of those activities that are most important to you
(not what is most urgent). Have you ever heard of the “Tyranny of
the Urgent”? Be sure you list the important projects
because many
of us get wrapped up doing the urgent
instead of the important.
Look at your list and choose what you
should do every day and
what are projects that simply need
completion. Use this list to
determine how you will spend your Two
Golden Hours. If you spend
the first two hours of the day (after you are
really awake) working
on those projects and activities, you will
be surprised how much you
begin to accomplish.
One STRONG PIECE OF ADVICE…do not open
your e-mail until
after your Two Golden Hours. E-mail eats away so much time
these days. On those days that I open e-mail while the
coffee is
brewing, I tend to devour part of my
Golden Hours dealing with the
urgent instead of the important.
If you will spend two hours each day
working on projects, you will
be amazed how much reading, studying, and
other projects begin
to be completed.
If you have any other
ideas for completing projects, e-mail them
to me or post them on
my blog at
www.homeschoolblogger.com/LeadershipEducation
Kerry
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Kerry Beck
Kerry Beck, owner of Curriculum Connection, has published
books
on approaches to homeschooling and other homeschooling
topics.
If you want to jump-start your homeschool, go to
www.CurriculumConnection.net
to receive your fre.e report on
reasons to Homeschool.
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