Online business productivity is serious business. After all, anything that costs you time – also costs you money! That’s why we want to look at the two most common time drains in your online business.
A Time Drain is something that takes more time than it should. It’s often a task that started small, but continued to expand. Now you’ve just accepted it as part of your everyday routine.
If you’ve ever heard yourself say “it’s just too much!” then you understand the importance of identifying and eliminating time drains in your online business. There are two major categories that generally account for many of your time drains: sites and tools.
Time Drain #1 – Too Many Websites
It starts small. You buy a domain. You set up hosting for it. You add a blog. You add a few plugins. You add some content.
You buy another domain. You add hosting, a blog, a few plugins, some content.
You repeat this a few more times. Or a few hundred more times.
An update for WordPress comes out – and you have to update all of your blogs!
A plugin announces a “fix” with an update – and you have to update the plugin on all of your sites
Yes, Plugin Dashboard can help! But you still need to log in, run the update, then check to be sure everything is okay, then go to the next blog.
Meanwhile, there are comments to be approved or rejected and/or responded to. There are passwords to change.
Here’s Fix #1:
Using the process outlined in Online Asset Inventory, make a list of every domain. Next to it add the purpose for that domain. And in the next column the revenue generated from that domain.
If it’s not selling a product, building a list, or generating revenue – why do you have it?
If you’ve decided go get rid of it, remove it from your server now so that it saves the time and hassle of updates.
If you’re not sure you’re ready to get rid of it, at least go to your domain registrar and turn off automatic renewal. That way you will have another chance to look at it as renewal comes due.
Fix #2:
As you receive those renewal notices from your registrar, review each domain name. Are you using it? If not, get rid of it.
I know. It’s painful. Because it’s not just saying goodbye to the domain name, but it’s also saying goodbye to the “great idea” that was the reason you bought the domain.
But consider this – it’s costing you money to procrastinate. If you haven’t taken action on that idea until now, what are the chances you will take action in the coming year?
Time Drain #2 – Too Many Tools
In a related article you took inventory of your Online Assets – specifically your tools. Now that you’ve looked at them, you can probably see that you have too many.
For each tool you use you spend time learning it, figuring out how best to use it in your business, and keeping it updated. You’ve invested time and money in that tool.
Look for ways you can pare down the number of tools you use. Not only will you save the money buying the tools, but you’ll save time learning them and time staying up-to-date with the tools.
When you pay attention to these two major time drains and take the actions necessary to reduce them, you’ll find a corresponding amount of time and energy you can add to your online business. Reduce YOUR Time Drains today!
I did this exercise a year ago. Yes, it was difficult to let go but instead of closing my website down, I sold it on flippa.com.
I have never regretted this decision – getting a few dollars for it also was a bonus.
Smart idea, Fran. I didn’t think to mention that. And I agree – when you get PAID to get rid of it, it’s extra incentive!
Hi Jeanette,
I was just going through all my domains and need to get rid of some. What are my options if I already have content on the site? Some have traffic and some don’t.
Mimi – I’d use Fran’s idea and “flip” them on Flippa, particularly if they already have content on them. You could also use one of the domain sales places, such as Sedo.com, but they want a minimum fee that pretty much takes all of your profit on a lower-priced domain. So check Flippa first.
This was a great article Dr. Jeanette, it made me take a look at the 16 “great ideas” I had purchased a domain for and never put into action. Maybe I can generate a little income from them after all by putting them on the auction block. Thank you.
Glad it got you to thinking, Don. Like you, I have “great ideas” – and too many domains. I have whole “families” of domain names – in case I get around to it. So I understand the disease of domainitis. 🙂
Those are 2 big time wasters. Thank you for a great article. I needed to read that.
Here are some others for me. I get so many ideas and I am not so great at getting them out. I get bogged down in the details. Then I get frustrated and foggy thinking and procrastinate. I am outsourcing more. I am just trying it, but so far, it is taking some big burdens off my back. Yes it costs money, but my time is money.
Emails…. big time waster.
Working from home… well, let me throw the laundry in, it will just take a second… yada, yada, yada. 🙂
Mary Pat – I was just thinking about how many people are prone to laundry – and will be writing an article on it. Thanks for confirming that perspective for me.
And SO glad you’re outsourcing! Yes, it seems expensive at first, but when you realize the cost of NOT getting it done – it’s much more affordable to outsource.
I do have a few domain’s to get rid of. My other drain is Face book and email. I check my mail to often during the day. I have started removing people that keep trying to sell me a program two or three times a day, every day. There are some big name people out there that just beat you to death. And they have their offers set up in affiliate programs so all their many friends keep trying to get you to attend the latest webinar. If I listen to them I would be on webinars from the time I get up until I am ready for bed at night.
Good point, William. Email can be a drain. I’ve tried to unsubscribe from all the emails I keep “meaning” to read. If I don’t read them as they arrive, I unsubscribe. I can always rejoin later.
Like you I’ve gotten picky about the webinars I watch. Generally if they don’t offer a replay I can watch on my schedule, I don’t sign up. The live event is great – if you have time. But after more than 10 years of all of my evenings tied up with teaching or taking webinars – I’m reclaiming my evenings and watching replays.
Well, Facebook – try a timer. Set it for 10 min. Then log out. Don’t just close the page – that’s too tempting. Just flat out log out so it makes it harder to just “drop by for a minute.”
We’ll continue to uncover and recover these time drains!
Love the idea to go through domains! (love it and hate it!) I have about 300 fun and awesome ideas to go through! Often times I’ll use my domains to FW to an affiliate product or offer to help them pay for themselves and it beats using the affiliate links I get for promotions.
Social media can get out of hand, but setting a timer helps and I am clear before I log in what my purpose is and if it is more personal or more for business. I use my ‘wall’ for both and I find it helpful to know ahead of time what the agenda is.
For me, a common time waster is listening to audio (teleseminar or webinar) replays. I justify that I am continuing my education and staying on top of trends, but really, more times than not, they are keeping me from moving my own projects forward. Uggg!
On that same line, trainings and class work that I have the best intentions for, don’t get the attention they need and deserve and I feel bad about myself and this ends up being a time drain in and of itself. I guess this has a lot to do with clarity of commitments and being organized.
Thanks for the awesome and excellent article Jeanette! You are always so good and making complicated easy!!
xoxo
HelenRappy