Here at Avenue Z, I strive to be as green as possible. I use recycled paper — both sides of each sheet, reduce my plug load, work from home, recycle all I can and — unfortunately — frequently wear the same clothes a couple days in a row (saves on laundry? yeah, well).

But questions linger regarding environmental best practices. Here are a few things I discovered:

1. At a light, should you idle or turn off the car?
   According to this article, turning off your car will save gas if you’re stopping for more than 6 seconds. Better alternative: use your bike.
2. Paper or plastic?
   According to the National Resources Defense Council, the answer depends on where you live. “Plastic bags threaten wildlife along the coasts, so if that’s where you call home, [NRDC's Allen] Hershkowitz says the choice should be paper. In the heartland, he says it’s plastic.” Better alternative: bring your own bags.
3. Should you flush tissue or toss?
   Most tissue doesn’t make it to a treatment center, says Lisa Boynton, senior communications advisor for Toronto Water. But the 5 percent that survives causes trouble. Better alternative: compost your toilet tissue and switch to hankies for sneezes.
4. Handwash dishes or buy a dishwasher?
   Dishwashers use about the same amount of energy, but handwashing uses much more water. Best alternative: make  sure you have an energy-efficient dishwasher and use eco-friendly detergent.
5. Drive to the bank to deposit a check or send it in the mail?
   Executive Chairman Mike Critilli on the Pitney Bowes blog says one 3.3 mile trip in a medium-sized car is the equivalent of receiving 40 letters. A trip to my bank is 6.4 miles, but I usually combine it with the trip to the post office box, which is pretty much across the street from my bank. Guess mine’s almost a wash, unless I ride my bike.

I think the biggest danger for small business owner burnout is when a business starts to take off but right before it’s actually a self-perpetuating machine. It’s when you’re working long, hard hours and still not really making enough money to relax. You’re on the cusp of success, but you have to keep pushing really hard to make sure you don’t fall to the wrong side of the precipice.

I’m there, and my legs are starting to cramp from balancing on this tightrope. My sister called from her vacation yesterday, and I actually shed tears when I talked to D.J. last night about how much I long for real time off. My last real vacation was in 2002 when my parents and I went to Alaska, a few months after my husband left. My phone had no reception, and I sat all day and read books on the 11-person boat. I explored shores where a thousand colored starfish clung to rocks in crystal-clear water. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was and how relaxed I became.

The rest of the days off I’ve taken have been spent with the family in Denver — holiday breaks that are fun and chaotic and drive me a little bonkers. I sneak a day off here and there, but I’m never truly off — when the BlackBerry blinks red, I’m on again.

These days I’m either working or worrying about working 16-18 hours a day. My mind doesn’t take many breaks. I generally manage to not sit down at the computer to work on Saturdays, mainly because I run hard in the morning then need a nap in the afternoon, then do something social Saturday evening. I work almost every Sunday for at least 4 hours. And during the week, I sit here from about 7 to 7, usually stopping too close to sundown and cursing myself for having to take an hour-long run in the dark. I’m usually back by 9 or so, then I bathe, sleep, and start again.

Like I’ve written before … how can I take a vacation? Call it poor money management or poor planning or whatever — the truth is I still live month to month. I have a buffer and a little cache of ready cash should my business blow up completely, but not much. To take a vacation, I’d not only have to have the money to go, but I’d also have to have the money to cover not making money. And that’s not the case.

So I’m burning and churning. Today I received notes from two clients about little things and big things I need to get done for them. I have a deadline for an article for another client, who also sent a new project yesterday. I just received an update from a fourth client, and I have to get into something there as well. And that doesn’t count a couple of other folks, plus some clients who have gotten quiet, meaning I need to find out when they will need me again.

Well, this post has taken me 45 minutes to write, so I guess I better start making a living (I’m keeping track of my every activity to analyze where I waste the most time).

By the way — even as I write this, I’m cringing, hoping that I don’t sound too whiny or ungrateful. I LOVE my job. I LOVE my clients. I LOVE being helpful and giving them content they need. I don’t mean to complain or to say that my life sucks. I’m one lucky woman, and I know it. I just get tired sometimes.

About five minutes ago I felt my desk wobble. At first I thought it was the cat, but the floor moved, too.

Earthquake. No, really.

A strong earthquake just hit near Los Angeles, and I felt it here in San Diego.

Wow. This is a first.

All is fine here.

Since I’ve really become serious about running, I’ve developed what I consider to be killer biceps. I’m happy, but my coach is not. My biceps are an indication that I’m a seriously inefficient runner.

After Coach James’ explanation of how much energy I was wasting by pumping my arms, my thoughts turned to my business. How much energy am I wasting by being an inefficient business owner? What can I do to streamline my processes and tasks to give me more time to work on billable projects?

I’m on a tear now to do two things this fall: finish a marathon in under 5 hours without killing myself and increase my income 25 percent without killing myself. Both of these goals are challenging, and they both require planning that I need to implement right now.

Here are the questions I’m using to try to identify my inefficient business practices:

1. When are my most productive times? Least productive?
   I wake up early every day, but I don’t seem to start billing hours for projects until 2 p.m. or later, when I’m actually getting a little distracted and looking forward to my run. What do I do in the morning? How can I rechannel that energy into billable projects?
2. What can I outsource?
   Which of my daily tasks do *I* have to do? What can someone else take care of? Right now I’m the only one who bills hours, thus I’m the only one who can make money for Avenue Z. So what can I give to my new assistant?
3. What can I abandon?
   Once I take stock of all the little things I do that take up time, I need to look at the list and figure out if each and every item is essential to advancing my company. If something I do is not getting me where I want to be, I need to consciously drop it.
4. Where and when am I marketing?
   I think because I haven’t created a marketing plan with clear outlines of my target audiences, I tend to just kind of jump into any marketing opportunity I see. For example, I receive requests for lunch meetings to discuss ideas with potential partners. I like lunch, of course, but is the partnership really something that would help me? I need to decide before I order appetizers.
5. How can I manage my distractions?
   Email, the stat page on my blog, IMs from friends, my cat, the cupcake vendor across the street…. all these things tend to keep me from getting actual work done. How can I identify them as distractions and figure out where and when I can indulge?

As I read through these questions, the most obvious way to begin to increase my efficiency is to monitor my work habits for three days or so. Starting tomorrow (Wednesday, July 30), I’m going to write down every little thing I do, no matter how small, silly or potentially embarrassing (so sometimes I throw a coat of nail polish on my toes during work hours — doesn’t everybody?). I’m not starting today because I have 3 appointments out of the office all afternoon, which is a little unusual.

I should be able to post the results of my little productivity experiment by Monday…. unless I get distracted.

A few resources:

• 25 Tips to Become More Productive and Happy at Work
• Top 10 Productivity Hacks from zenhabits
• And in case you’re more interested in becoming a better runner: Running Efficiently from Men’s Health