I'm looking for ideas on how to manage my time better as I go into mystery shopping on a full time basis. At the moment, I see mystery shopping as having three main tasks.

1. Pre-shop tasks which would include finding, scheduling, and planning your driving route for the shops.
2. Performing the shops, which includes driving there, in the field tasks, and stopping to take notes afterward.
3. Post-shop tasks, which would include filling out the reports and updating your own records of the shop, (which company it was, how much you expect to be paid, etc.)

How do others here split their time between the tasks?

Somehow it never feels that structured. I know roughly when to check the job boards of the companies I most frequently work with and do check the boards fairly frequently by pulling them up from my bookmarks.

My spreadsheet is the first thing I open when I turn on the computer and the last thing I turn off, so it is constantly available if/when there is a shop of interest to be scheduled.

I rarely do routes anymore because there aren't enough shops I am willing to perform and report on for the fee offered, even if I am driving right by the location.

When I accept a job I immediately take a quick read through the instructions to make sure they have not changed in some manner which has made the shop unacceptable. That way if I need/want to cancel for cause, I can do it almost immediately.

Tomorrow I have A, B and C shops, so tonight I will review the guidelines more closely if needed and take any notes, including any special equipment I need to remember to take along.

I rarely stop to take notes afterwards. If I didn't do a note scribble during the shop I have my notes on my DVR and may record some final observations as I am getting my seat belt clicked and the car started.

I get home, turn on the computer I use to scan receipts, change clothes, start the coffee pot, upload my DVR notes to the appropriate MSP's folder, scan the receipts to the appropriate MSP folder, do any quick review of the DVR notes that may be appropriate and start writing reports. As the reports get finished, the spreadsheet gets marked with date done and reported, mileage and what the actual reimbursement should be.

When my reports are all done I go through the day's mail and pull any checks to be deposited. I mark my spreadsheet with dates and amounts paid and do mobile deposit of them. When I check to make sure the deposits went through, I also look for any direct deposits that may have hit to go record them on my spreadsheet and check Paypal for any payments that may have come in there that need recording and forwarding on to my bank.

Thanks for that Flash!! That's a huge help. I was looking at the spreadsheets and looking through the forums and just adding to my to-do list. Now I may be able to add some rhyme and reason to it too. lol.

What I have found is that any job has a sequence of things that need to be done and if I do them as I have the information, I don't need to think about them further until the next task that needs doing. So dinner may be cooking and the washing machine running and I save in the middle of a report to go feed the goats, but when I'm back from that it is time to check on dinner, see if it is time to hang the laundry and then get back to the report. I always thought retirement would offer lots of free time . . .

In any event, if I am systematic and treat each job as a separate event with necessary time gaps between steps from beginning and end (acceptance and final payment), I don't go into crazy land feeling I am letting something slip by the wayside. My spreadsheet absolutely keeps me organized. I can't accept a job on that day because of a doc appointment (yes it is on the calendar part of the spreadsheet but will disappear before the print of business expenses for IRS purposes), or that afternoon because my sisters will be returning from their trip. I have a choice of the 20th, 21st or 22nd for that shop and can see I will be in that part of town on the 21st so accept the job for that day. I have grocery shops scheduled for the 18th so on the 17th I need to get my coupons together after reviewing the sales flyer (because yes, the grocery shop allows coupons).