Domainer Time Management

As a domainer, I used to find myself wasting the majority of the day trying to buy and sell domain names. I had no concept of time and spent 6 – 8 hours on the computer checking email as often as possible, browsing forums, bidding on auctions and just plain wasting a great deal of the day. I can remember days where I would actually work all day and the majority of the night! There were times where I would even forget to eat important meals, because I felt the urgency of having to get projects completed. Well, this did more to hamper my progress on projects then it did to help complete them! Only until recently did I realize what I was doing. Working these long hours effected my mood and the quality of life I was living. I neglected the importance of “Time Management” and didn’t realize that even a domainer needs to have some sort of plan to follow through out the day.

Once I realized that the problem was not having a schedule or any concept of managing my time, I decided to analyze exactly what I was doing on the Internet. While researching some tools which could keep track of my activity, I ran into a program which keeps track of your Internet activity. The tool I found for this task is called RescueTime and the basic edition is free! RescueTime is a program which you install on your computer that runs in the background. It keeps track of the websites you visit and the amount of time you spend on the websites. After it has logged enough data it then plots this data onto a graph similar to that of the one used in Google Analytics. You can view all of your activity with great accuracy and precision. So where do you view all this information? Whelp they have created an account area for the users of RescueTime. All of your data is displayed in this area and can be viewed using a number of different arrangements. I won’t get into too much detail in regards to the tool, but it truly will help you determine whether you are being productive or not. Here is a screenshot of what my activity looks like in the tool:

All of the graphs are very informative, right when I log into my online account I can see that I have been spending a great deal of time on DNPimping.com and Gmail. Although I don’t mind the time that I am spending on my blog, I do mind the fact that I am averaging just over three hours a day on checking my email. This data lets me know that I am not using my time efficiently. I’ve noticed a trend with myself, which involves checking email even when I have already checked it within a 20 minute range. I’ll check my email, so frequently that there is nothing to check! Meaning there are no new emails that require my attention. If someone needs me or is interested in purchasing a domain name of mine, I am sure they can find a way to reach me by phone. People that are in the market to purchase a specific domain name for there brand will do more than just email you about it. This is another reason why I no longer use the email feature on my BlackBerry, constantly checking my email is a bad habit for me and it is one that I am working extremely hard to kick. The other activity that I tend to spend a fair amount of time on is browsing facebook. I actually look at this as being a positive, because I am normally promoting my blog or conducting business with my domaining associates.

In an effort to curve my addicition to checking email, I have decided to plot out two times a day to check my email. I have granted myself with time to check my email in the morning and in the afternoon. There is no reason for me to check my email at night as that would be purely a waste of time! After using this tool, I have come up with the following sample schedule.

5:30 – 6:00 - Wakeup

6:00 – 7:00 - Excercise, by running or walking around the neighborhood.

7:00 – 8:00 – Get ready for the day. Shower and eat breakfast.

8:00 – 8:30 – Check email and write responses.

8:30 – 9:00 – Make or return phone calls.

9:00 – 10:00 – Write blog entries and respond to comments. Post entry to different sites.

10:00 – 12:00 – Check dropped lists, auction sites, post domains for sale, register domains.

12:00 – 1:00 – Take lunch away from the house or office.

1:00 – 3:00 – Focus on Eight Motives business, which includes computer repair, web design and print.

3:00-3:30 – Check email and write responses.

3:30 – 4:00 – Check financial accounts.

4:00 – 6:00 - Run any errands needed personal or business wise. If there are no errands take this time to go to the gym or golf course.

6:00 – End any business activity for the day, settle down and eat dinner. After you have relaxed read and then fall asleep.

I am still in the process of fine-tuning this schedule. There will be a number of changes to what I have set for myself. The important thing is that I have taken control of my time and am now able to effectively manage it! We’ll see how this works out for me for the next few days. I am now looking forward to completing all of the tasks I have scheduled for myself on dailybasis. If you are a domainer with time management issues, I suggest you look into using RescueTime for yourself and create a schedule that you can stick to.