As I write this article I'm sitting here with a desk that even a bulldozer couldn't save, a stack of e-mails to respond to that soon will surely topple 6 figures, and a to-do list that's turned into the size of a manual. But ... that's okay ... I achieved a couple goals this summer. I had a fantastic summer with my kids and as a home-based mom, that's one of the most important things. I landed several new authors to do their publicity for, and I finished one of the books I was writing. Now that's not half-bad!

In order to make time management a better friend for me, I needed to get better rewards from it. Try these and see if they work for you.

1. Think of Time as Money: Sounds pretty basic and overdone I know, but try applying it to your business. The next time you spend that extra 15 minutes on an instant message or phone call, apply a cash figure to it. Let's say, you make $40 an hour, that call was $10.00. Was it worth it?

2. Write it down: What? Everything. Thoughts for your next business promotion. Thoughts on how to "wow" your new client with additional services you provide they might not know about. Notes you just received on the phone about pick-up times for the kids, etc. I have a spiral notebook right by me and it saves me hours looking for a little piece paper that I used to write things on. Also, write a separate To-Do List. A Goals List. A Motivation List. And utilize your Daytimer for all appointments. As a writer, you can imagine how key this is for me.

3. Put Your Thoughts In the Right Place/Focus: Now that you've written them down, schedule a time each week or every other week to put them in the appropriate place. Do you realize how much time you spend dreaming and planning. This is part of being a business owner and I encourage it fully! Never stop dreaming!! But dream at the right scheduled time. Believe me you can develop this habit, but it takes practice. When you have work to be done, you need to stay focused on the job at hand. By jotting down your ideas, knowing you will get back to them, you save time now, and also later by not taking up time thinking .. what was that great idea I had last week?

4. Reward yourself often. I'm too good at this. Iced coffee for me. Find something for you. When you have successfully kept your desk organized, your time managed, your clients happy and your kids fed, smile and say, "Hey I did it." You'll find you'll want to get that feeling again, so you'll hard the next day to accomplish things again.

Diana Ennen, author, publicist, book marketer and mentor. She has written numerous books on operating a home-based business including Virtual Assistant: the Series and is president of Virtual Word Publishing www.virtualwordpublishing.com and www.Publicity-VA.com.