Oct
19
Time Management for Home Business: What Do You Have To Give?
Six years ago today, I gave birth to a baby boy for a couple who weren’t able to have kids of their own. The parents and I did had a baby-share arrangement for the first five months of his life so that Colin would have a chance to still be breastfed. At the time, I had no money. I mean really, no money. There really wasn’t a whole lot I felt I had to give, but I did have time on my hands and a womb that seemed to be constantly finding itself an occupant. Being a surrogate mother seemed like a good idea.
Now, I have money but no time. I am starting a really exciting new project, as if this website wasn’t exciting enough, and I have a one-year-old who is, um, busy. I found myself lamenting the fact that I didn’t have time to volunteer anymore. (Quick aside: you really don’t want to hear me lament. It’s a long, arduous, whiny and argumentative process. I’m not absolutely certain why my husband married me, but it probably has something to do with penance for past sins.)
Finally, after a whole lot of listening to me bitch, Jamie asked a quiet question:
“If you don’t have time, what do you have?”
And I call myself the brains behind this operation. Thinking about it, and I’ll make this one short because it’s Friday, there are always things that you can give. You can make an extra sandwich when you’re making your kids’ lunches and give it to a homeless person. You can adopt a child from Africa. You can do anything in between. The only thing you shouldn’t be doing is nothing. Here are some starting points:
At some point, you should think about getting fit. Sitting in front of a computer all day does not a svelte person make. If you’re going to be doing something physical, why not do it for a good cause? If this dude is willing to swim in a river in New York, for God’s sake, I’m sure you or I could manage a walk-a-thon or two. The comments on this post are pretty cool, too.
You probably watch TV. Can you do something worthwhile at the same time? Do not think this is about dolls. This is far bigger than dolls. This is about comfort and caring and nurturing and something far too big for any of us to really understand. Children with AIDS are getting buried with these dolls, people. It’s a pretty big deal.
Odds are, credit card companies are throwing themselves at you in a vile and embarrassing fashion. Why not put your shiny new card to good use instead of buying yet another pair of uncomfortable shoes? Two hundred and fifty bucks gives a child surgery that will stop them from starving to death from not being able to physically eat. Is that a cool way to die? Personally, I don’t want that on my head.
(Note: The last two links are from Sonia Simone’s blog, Remarkable Communication. Sonia’s blog is also the place where Seth Godin told me, directly and by name, that I while I would likely get probation for not reading his new book, The Meatball Sundae, but I probably wouldn’t be arrested. Because of this, even if she becomes a gun-toting, gas-guzzling Republican, Sonia’s blog will always hold a very special place in my heart.)
The bottom line is, there is no excuse for not contributing something. I don’t know if I believe in God or not. What I do know is that if there is a God, I don’t want to be stuck at the Pearly Gates saying I would have given more, but CSI was on and I heard Grissom was going to propose to Sarah. Not cool.
Thank you, everybody, for joining me in the first week of IttyBiz’s home business tutorial. And happy birthday, Colin. I hope six is better than you could have ever imagined.
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Gun-totin’, gas-guzzlin’ Republican? I think if I met someone who could guzzle gas, I’d keep as far away from them as I possibly could….though I might offer them a light, just to see what happens…
You’re quite right, Bill. Gas guzzlers are probably best avoided, Republican or otherwise.
Let me know if you ever get a chance to offer a light to one of them, though. I’d like to know how that turns out. :)
Thanks for the post, Naomi!
I’ve been thinking a lot about how being constantly busy is affecting my life. And one thing I have realized lately is that the fact that I’m too busy makes me less interested in other people… That’s a scary thought.
In the latest edition of Escape Adulthood Magazine, Jason Kotecki said something related to this:
“And in the busy life – just like on the merry-goround – the tendency is to become very self-absorbed. The main objective is to hold on tight, which is fine, because it’s awfully hard to carry on a conversation with someone when you’re threatening to break the sound barrier.”
Your post brings a good alternative to the thought. Maybe if I can’t slow down in my life (although I seriously have to try), I can force myself to think about others by following your tips.
Let’s see how things go. Thanks for giving me something to think about!
Hi Jarkko, thanks for stopping by! (For those of you who don’t know Jarkko, the tagline on his blog is “Insanely Interested in Everything”. If he gets too busy to be interested in other people, that means he’s out of a job!) I seriously need to read that magazine – I keep meaning to. In fact, I’m going to do it right now before I get a chance to forget.
Good luck in your efforts to slow down. I know it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world to do. :) Make sure to keep me posted!
Wow, great post. I´m very impressed that you were a surrogate . . . I could never do that (after the whole pregnancy/childbirth thing, I want to keep the baby.:D), but it is great that there are people like you who are willing to help out.
As for the rest . . . well, now I´m feeling guilty that I only work on stuff for my kids while I watch Supernatural. You bring up some very good points. Time or not, there is always a way to help someone else. Personally, I like KIVA, they give small business loans to women in developing countries. You get paid back and can reinvest the money in someone else.
Hi Genesis – I’ll definitely be taking a look at KIVA – that looks really cool. And yes, re: surrogacy… kinda like donating bone marrow. Rewarding and a good idea, yes. A delightful experience I’m in a rush to repeat, not exactly. :)
Wow, what a post. That really hit home. I have a tendency not to do anything because it isn’t big enough or “right” enough or … whatever. Which basically means instead of doing something that I have been doing nothing.
Thanks for the motivation!
Hey Michael, it’s great to see you. I fall into that trap, too – I find it’s something I have to be really conscious about or a whole bunch of uselessness gets in the way of doing something important and worthwhile.
Thanks for coming!
Love this post! Especially all the incredibly good links. (append smileys as needed . . . )
By the way, although I have fired a gun and I have, in the past, driven a great big old vintage Dodge that consumed the approximate oil production of Kuwait, I would not vote Republican if Siddhartha Buddha himself was on the ticket.
And a very happy birthday to fine Colin! I am sure he is glorious. They all start out glorious, it’s keeping them that way that’s the trick.
Sonia, your comment was delightful. All I can think about right now is, “I wonder what Siddharta Buddha’s campaign platform would be? Who would be his running partner? His Holiness the Dalai Lama? Maybe Thich Nhat Hanh? What is their position on welfare reform?”