Self-Employed - how to structure time?? (tips, work, lending, business)

[projectmaximus]

Just wondering if anyone has thoughts about this:

Self-employed proprietor expecting to work on my main business only about 20 hours a week moving forward. Looking to become more structured as I'm hoping to do A LOT MORE with my time these days (i.e., starting several other new ventures/projects). As such, instead of just blending work/life and working whenever something comes up from dawn til after midnight as I've been doing for many years now, I would like to be more structured and, hopefully, far more efficient.

Primary thing I'm considering is setting up office hours, which is when I will do the majority of my work. I'm hoping that forces me to be more focused when I am working and to stop procrastinating on certain tasks that I tend to put off. Of course 4 or 5 hours worth of work each week will just come up whenever it comes up and won't fit neatly into my office hours box, but at least minimizing the unstructured times should lead to more balance in my life and make me more efficient.

Does anyone have experience with this? Anyone in a similar position? Anyone super effective and want to share tips? Am I just overanalyzing and being ridiculous? Thanks!!

(Yes I started a similar thread earlier today but after I decided to edit that insanely long post and simplify my question I realized I am not allowed to modify/delete it)

[tommy64]

When I quit working I had big trouble structuring my time. I had a similar to yours self-employed gig but could never get off the couch with any regularity. I was miserable. So I went back to work, part-time, 20 hrs week. It gave me a schedule and badly needed structure (not to mention free medical).

I still have time for my self-employed gig. You mentioned 4-5 hrs worth of work each week whenever it comes up. You could cover that easily in between a part-time job.

My 'experiment' taught me that time doesn't have much value unless it's in demand.

[jenniferg72nc]

I've owned my own freelance writing business for the last 10 years and the key is figuring out a schedule that works for your life and your peak productivity. I think you need to have some base office hours as well as make sure you take certain times off or you will find yourself working a lot. My office hours are 8 to 2 pm each day and then sometimes again after the kids get home and sometimes on the weekend. Having a routine really helps.