To start your Time Plan first write down at the top of the page the number of hours you have decided to spend on developing and working on your business and put a big circle around it.

Next within each day write down any regular weekly events which are immovable. These will include things like doing the school run; being at work if you are developing your business around a full time job; regular commitments required by your business (running a course; coaching a client).

Now decide where you are going to place every other event which has to occur at some point every week and add them in. These could be doing the housework or shopping ' anything that is not time spent on your business. Block out the rough amount of time these events take up.

Now block out some extra time to allow for things which don't come up every week but which do need to be done every now and then ' a contingency time if you like where you can fit in mowing the lawn if it needs it.

Next you need to make sure you block out the right amount of time for you and your family. Remember that work/life balance!

When you've come up with everything that you must spend time on each week, look at your plan so far. Ask yourself:

* Where can I realistically fit in the hours I want to work on my business?

* What could I do to fit them in?

* What else could I do?

Once again always ensure that you keep a healthy work/life balance! If you cannot do this without exhausting yourself then re-visit some things on your plan:

* Do all these things really have to be done every week?

* Is there anything I could drop or do fortnightly?

* Are the number of hours I've chosen to work on my business necessary and are they realistic at this time?

Once you have completed your time plan, pin it up where you will see it every day ' AND STICK TO IT. Ok if it's not working then by all means re-visit it and make some changes, but if it does work then NO EXCUSES!

There is one last thing that is absolutely vital! When you are in one of your allocated work times ' YOU ARE AT WORK. Treat that time as sacrosanct. Behave as though you are employed and the boss is looking. Make sure you will not be disturbed by anything or anyone unrelated to your business. Do not be tempted to think 'I'll just empty the washing machine' or 'That lawn really does need mowing'. Everything is accounted for and has its own place in the Time Plan. YOU ARE AT WORK.

When you follow these guidelines it's amazing how much you can suddenly get done; it's amazing how your motivation to work on your business (even those things you've procrastinating over) suddenly shoots through the roof; it's amazing how much you move forward!

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