Well, first of all, you OBVIOUSLY wrote the article during the evening. I believe I counted 6 product plugs (WindowBlinds, DesktopX, ObjectBar, SkinStudio, IconPackager, and WindowFX) as well as 6 teasers for beta or other future products (IconX, new Component Manager, beta of Galactic Civilizations, ThinkDESK, ObjectDock, and a new ObjectBar ). Not a bad piece of Guerrilla Marketing.
But seriously...I own a small (4 person) computer consulting firm http://www.bbsi.com. As such, my time is very regimented. About 5 or 6 years ago I took a Time Management seminar that (among other things) discussed the topic of actual hours vs. work hours. One thing that they did was to have us keep a log. It's something I still do every now and then to keep me focused. The last time I did it (March 3-9, 2002) it looked like this:
Client Time (Billable): 24 Hours
Client Time (Non Billable): 6.5 Hours
Office Management: 14 Hours
Marketing: 16 Hours
Time With Family: 29 Hours
Meals: 12 Hours
Personal Tasks: 6 hours
Sleep: 44.5 Hours
SUBTOTAL: 152 Hours
UNACCOUNTED TIME: 16 Hours
TOTAL: 168 Hours
It's the 16 hours that are important because they are 'wasted' (or so they say). My personal opinion is that those 16 hours are what keeps me sane. It's the time that I spend online, playing computer games, customizing my PC, listening to the radio (usually with my eyes closed), reading a book, or otherwise forgetting that I own a business, have a wife and 4 year old son, a mortgage, etc. The time is spread out throughout the day and for me, those mini-vacations are more helpful than taking a day off.
I require that my employees keep a timesheet that lists ALL of their daily activities. Some of it is for billing purposes, but it is also important to keep them focused. I have a line item for Personal Time and another for Unaccounted Time. I try to have them keep the total of both of those items under (but close to) 7 hours a week (1 business day). As I explain to them, I want them to have some down time during the day, but too much wastes MY money.
Dave
