Starting your own Internet home based business can be the best career move you ever make. No other occupation, self-employed or otherwise, can give you the freedom and flexibility you get when you work at home online. You can relax and enjoy working at home in peace managing your time to suit yourself and just concentrate on the important goal of earning money.

Anyone who works at home online will tell you that even though you might spend all your working time completely on your own without even speaking to another human being, you will still encounter enemies who will do their utmost to steal your most valuable commodity: time. There are two particular villains you need to watch out for, they are procrastination and loss of focus. If you let either one of them into your life, you will find time vanishing with nothing left to show for the lost hours.

Most people will admit to allowing procrastination to steer them off course at times. If you know you have to perform a task you don't enjoy, it is only human to wish to postpone it and do something more enjoyable. The Internet is full of enjoyable distractions just a click away from where you are working. If you want to succeed with your Internet home based business, you can't afford to give in to the temptation to procrastinate. The unwavering exercise of self discipline is essential for effective time management.

You can strengthen your self discipline by creating a protective force field around yourself. This is done by making a list of each task you need to complete during the day. Tick off each task as you complete it and allow yourself a small reward in the form of a coffee break or exercise break or even just an imagined congratulatory pat on the back. Then continue with the next task. As long as you stay on the list, the force field will remain intact and procrastination will be unable to attack you or influence you in any way. If you set one foot off the list, the force field will be breached and that old thief, procrastination, will grab you by the ankle and drag you off into the deep dark Internet forest in less time than it takes to blink.

Procrastination is pretty easy to spot but loss of focus is sneaky. Loss of focus pops out from behind trees and beckons you to make a detour from your planned route. Loss of focus wears many disguises ranging from irresistibly friendly to impressively businesslike. If you manage to catch the bandit and strip away the disguise, you will see the ugly little gremlin for what it really is. If you let loss of focus lead you off the path, you will find yourself miles from home without a trail of breadcrumbs to help you retrace your steps. The minutes will seem to flash by in fast forward and you might even hear a faint gremlin chuckle as your working day is devoured.

There is one sure weapon that will keep you safe from the loss of focus gremlins. It isn't really a stun gun, but it acts like one against these gremlins. Fortunately, the weapon is free and you will already have it in your possession - it is the bookmark button on your computer. Never make eye-contact or try to negotiate with loss of focus. Immediately he pops up, just zap him with the bookmark button and he will disappear from your working hours. Better still, he will be held captive until you have finished your work and are ready to deal with him at a time of your choice. Don't be afraid to zap loss of focus any time he puts in an appearance, it won't hurt him and you will sometimes find that this enemy has been transformed into a useful ally through a few hours confinement in your bookmarks folder.

There is no substitute for self discipline in time management when you are trying to earn a living online but backing it up with a couple of free weapons, will help to keep self discipline strong.