We had to buy a new car recently. My wife’s car was 16 years old, and keeping it running was costing us almost as much as an entire car payment. It was definitely time to say goodbye, which created another problem—shopping for a new car. 


Our previous purchase was simple: we called the Auto Club and told them which car we wanted. They gave us the negotiated price and referred us to a dealer. We called the dealer to confirm stock, and the dealer told us it was in transit. About a week later, the dealer called to tell us the car was ready, and we picked it up. Simple. 


This time around, the process took way too long, sucking up hour after hour. We could not find the car we wanted in the color we wanted, and the Auto Club was no help. Every time we found a car, someone else bought it before we could get to the dealer. Dealers’ belief that their customers only wanted black, white or gray SUVs made the search harder. What happened to red, green or blue?


The point of all this is the effect it had on my work day. Some of the time that the search consumed was time taken away from my office responsibilities, and of course, the car search always seemed to demand time just when I needed to be taking care of business. To meet bid dates, I had to start working late and on weekends, which is something I would rather not do. Working too late is a great way to make mistakes. It is hard to perform our trade while sleeping.


It doesn’t matter if you are self-employed, an employee or an owner. Sooner or later, personal business will intrude on your schedule, and you will have to work out a way to deal with it that is fair to your job. As my career advanced, the management of time seemed to become more difficult. However, I was fortunate enough to have a number of opportunities to learn more about time management. The information came from several sources, including magazines, seminars and employers. For readers who work from a home office, there are other sources that offer help. The one that came up most often during my recent searches was www.entrepreneur.com.


As estimators, we must meet our bid deadlines, and counting on a last-­minute postponement is a not a good way to manage your schedule. For us, bid deadlines must take precedence over personal business, except in the most dire circumstances.


While home offices have many advantages, interruptions can be maddening. A typical day can have kids or grandkids dropping by, babies screaming, dogs barking, phones constantly ringing and salesmen knocking on the door. However, working at a traditional office has similar challenges, including interruptions from co-workers, telephones, screaming bosses, and pesky emails demanding instant responses. 


I came up with a solution that (most of the time) works well for me. When my door is closed, it means I am working and not to be disturbed. I also will not answer the phone unless the receptionist or caller ID lets me know it is someone I need to talk to. This strategy can be used at traditional and home offices, and, in both cases, you should come up for air every hour or so. I try to stop at the top of every hour to stand up, stretch, get my circulation going and take care of important interruptions. Then, it’s back to work for another 50 minutes or so. Another method I use is to come in early and not answer the phone. I usually start the day at 6 a.m. but do not answer the phone until 9 a.m. I often get more done in that three-hour period than during the rest of the day.


Now for the biggest interruption of them all: the Internet. Sixty-four percent of employees visit non-work-related websites every day. With deadlines looming, estimators cannot afford to be part of this statistic. Even work-related Internet use must be curtailed when bid dates are close. I keep an eye on several Internet sources of estimating topics as often as I can. However, I may not check them for a couple of weeks if the bid board is overloaded. Spending half the day checking social media and then doing a sloppy rush job on the estimate that’s due tomorrow morning is not acceptable. Our employers and customers deserve better.

When my door is closed, I am working and not to be disturbed. I also will not answer the phone unless the receptionist or caller ID lets me know it is someone 
I need to talk to.