5 Time Management Tips For Working From Home Without Losing Your Mind
Many people dream of the day they can leave the rat race behind and start their own work from home business.
But… yes, there’s a but, while not having a boss to answer to may sound like heaven, it’s important to be honest with yourself about how well you can stay on task without any oversight. Learning to manage your time is an important skill to master as you transition from employee to boss.
Here are 5 easy tips to help you stay productive during your day:
Create A Work Schedule – And Stick To It
One of the first things you need to do is decide when your work day starts and ends, as well as what days of the week will be work days.
Depending on your business you may have a lot of flexibility on the days and times you work. But, some businesses have to deal with other businesses so the schedule is more restrictive.
Whichever category you fall into, make a schedule for your work times and stick with it.
Also, if you have kids at home during your work hours, make sure they, or their babysitter, know not to disturb you during work hours unless someone is bleeding!
Timers Can Be Lifesavers
One of the best tricks to time management I’ve ever come across is to set a timer before I start a certain task.
For example, before I sat down to create this blog post I set a timer for 1 hour. When the timer went off, I took a short break even though I wasn’t finished. Keep doing this throughout your work day. And when I say “break” I mean a very short stretch or trip to the bathroom, then right back at it.
This approach works so well because with the timer running you are naturally inclined to be ultra focused on the task at hand. Being focused can help you get a lot more done in a much shorter period of time.
Breaks Have Limits
And, speaking of breaks, decide how many breaks you’ll allow yourself during the day, including lunch, and how long they’ll be.
Then stick to them and afterward get right back to work.
As important as it is to stick to a specific amount of time for your break, it’s also vitally important to not skip your breaks. Don’t think you can power through your day without a little downtime. If you try, you’ll get burned out very quickly.
No Distractions
For many work from home people, one of the biggest time wasters and distractions is social media. If you tend to go down the rabbit hole and spend hours on social media every time you visit, don’t even start.
Don’t turn on the t.v., start reading emails, check in on Facebook or anything else during your work times if you tend to get sucked in.
If you need to go to social media for your work, or check your email, set aside a specific time to do it and set your timer. It takes discipline but don’t allow yourself to get distracted, just check in on the things you need for your work.
Everything else can wait until after work.
End Of Day To Do List
To be even more efficient when you come into your office in the morning, finish each day createing a “to do” list for the next day.
That way you won’t waste time in the morning getting up to speed and trying to figure out what you need to do.
You can be off to a fast start!
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