By Bettye Zoller

• If you are answering the phone just because it rings, even when it interrupts your money-making - or even your nap (those are important sometimes too!) ...
• If you spend an hour going to the Post Office to buy stamps instead of having them on hand before they're needed OR HAVING THEM DELIVERED ...
• If children dash into your recording studio at will, instead of knowing when you're recording and knowing they must not enter it willy-nilly ...
• If children are not informed about when they may make noise in your studio, or have friends visiting ...

1. Establish daily recording hours and try to record while children are at school. Take advantage of before- and after-school options, as valuable enrichment for your children.

2. When kids are in the house, state clearly your needs and rules about being quiet. It's a good time to study or to watch TV or play computer games with earphones.

3. Offer bonus prizes to children who help keep these rules. These are not bribes. They are REWARDS.

1. Book appointments (doctors, dentists, pedicures, your vet) on one or two days (more if needed). That way, part of another day or whole days of the week are free.

2. Schedule returning phone calls during an appointed hour of the day. Do all of these at one time.

3. Do not answer the phone whenever it rings. Let it go to voicemail. Always listen to messages and return calls promptly unless they are spam. Block callers unimportant to you or sales calls.

4. Repairmen and other visitors to your home of a non-social nature should be scheduled at your convenience, not theirs.

5. Keep your datebook current and consult it daily

We live in a new world where everything from toiletries to groceries to gourmet restaurant foods can be delivered to your door at very reasonable fees.

Cut down the time spent on driving, cooking, grocery shopping, finding a parking spot, subway rides, gasoline costs, and order home deliveries! Find your 'favs' and order from them often. You'll start to get premium service.

1. All Work and No Play is a Bummer! Do it, but schedule it. This includes TV time! Include personal appointments such as beauty and barbershop and shopping for clothing, visiting the playground with young ones. Everything should be in your day book during the work week.

2. Saving time and using time wisely will pay off. Try it! You'll like it! Take note of where you saved yourself time each week. You'll want to repeat this.

3. Take notes of those with whom you spoke, what they said and what you said. This makes following up easy. Spell names correctly! Do this immediately after a meeting. Later, you may not recall everything.

4. Make lists of people you want to meet, former clients you need to phone or email, detailed lists of business "to do" items. Have a list of bright ideas, new innovations - and do this when it's fresh in your mind. Number these items with "one" being most important each day.  

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