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| © Andrew Finegan |
One of the
first things I had to learn was time-management skills. Making a to do list everyday just didn’t cut
it. I found I would work like crazy and
still have a number of things left on the list, leaving me feeling incredibly
frustrated. I have since learned that
every part of my day needs to be purposeful and I need to work smarter, not
harder. Here are some time management
tips to consider if you’re currently working or planning to work form home:
1. Set Priorities
This may seem like a given, but I found it very easy to loose sight of
my priorities while working from home. Many
people choose to work from home because it is one way to stay home with their
kids and still make an income. Sometimes
I feel my priorities of work and family are at war with each other. What helped me was physically writing down
all my responsibilities (e.g., home, family, work projects, volunteer commitments)
and then organizing them numerically in order of importance. This is also very helpful when juggling
multiple projects. I keep the list on a
sticky note above my desk and rearrange it frequently when my priorities
change. It’s a constant reminder of what
comes first. This way I devote adequate
time to my priorities.
2. Write Down Routines
Setting routines for regular responsibilities is essential; it allows
you to save your mental energy for more important tasks. It may seem a little daunting at first, but
once you actually write down your daily and weekly routines it takes the guesswork
out of accomplishing them. I got started
with routines a couple years ago by following FlyLady
for a couple of months. Now I have
routines set up for getting up in the morning, housework, afterschool, after
supper, getting ready for bed, etc. I have
even created simple routines for my young kids using pictures to help them remember
what they need to do at different times of the day, encouraging their
independence. Scheduling when these
routines are going to happen allows time for undistracted office hours.
3. Maintain To-Do Lists
I imagine the to-do list is probably the oldest time-management
technique available. I’ve read lots of
ways to write such lists and accomplish them.
I like Penelope
Trunk's approach to doing daily tasks while still accomplishing long term
goals. Lately I’ve been using a free
online tool called Wunderlist to
organize to-do lists for several different projects. I sit down at the beginning of the week and
write down everything I can think of that needs to get accomplished. I group like tasks and then schedule a day
and time to get it done. I track all of
this through Wunderlist. It’s also handy
when I need to figure out all the tasks I’ve accomplished in the last month for
invoicing purposes.
4. Minimize Distractions
When I first started working from home I found it very difficult to get
anything done. I would sit down at the
computer and would get called away by a crying baby, a load of laundry, or
phone calls. It took me a while to
figure out the best time of day to work without external interruptions. Then I had to set consistent daily office
hours, alleviating the pressure to be on the computer 24/7 checking for emails
and replying immediately while trying to juggle my home and kids. I could also confidently tell others, “Sorry
I have to work at that time.” If you
take your work seriously enough to have office hours, others will begin to
respect your time.
Office hours do not have to be the traditional 9 – 5. You may find your best office hours could be
early in the morning, during nap time (if you have kids), or in the evening
after everyone else is in bed. Figuring
out the best time with the least external distractions is only half the
problem, eliminating the internal distracting thoughts is harder. I finally found a great time-management
system called the Pomodoro Technique.
It helps me organize my time to minimize
internal distractions and accomplish tasks one chunk at a time.
5. Create a Schedule
Take your daily and weekly routines, your office hours, and other
regular tasks, and put them onto a schedule. Many self-employed people like to chunk their
time. “Chunking” is the opposite of
multi-tasking; focusing on one task at a time so you can finish it faster and
better. Be sure to chunk in time to
maintain your work life balance, including adequate sleep, healthy eating,
exercise, relaxing activities, and time with family and friends. Going hard on a project may seem heroic, but
you’ll regret it when you feel burnt out with no energy to give to other
projects or people. Some find it handy to keep their schedule on
them in a day planner or personal electronic device. I spend most of my time at home, so I use a
large magnetic fridge calendar and a pencil to organize everyone’s activities,
appointments, and commitments. The
weekly schedule is also printed and hanging next to it.
6. Schedule White Space
Leave margins in your schedule!
If you fill up every space with a task there is no time to deal with the
unexpected, such as doctors appointments, pressing phone calls, and other
opportunities. Don’t leave yourself
boxed in with no room for choices. Be
sure to leave some white space in your day for when “life” happens. Remember you cannot add to an already full
life. When something new comes up you
may have to let go of other responsibilities to make room.
7. Be Realistic
When you see everything you expect of yourself in black and white then
you can determine if your expectations are realistic. Try out your new schedule for a couple of
weeks and see if it works. A few things
may require some creative solutions. You’ll
find as the seasons change your schedule will need updating as well as you add
in new activities and projects and take away old ones.
8. Try Outsourcing
If you realize you are not a superhero after all and you can’t do it all,
then outsourcing
may be for you. It’s very difficult to
juggle every task and responsibility while working from home. It’s very important that every person in your
family be on board with your plan to get everything done. Take a look at some of your responsibilities
and see if you can relieve the pressure by having family members assume some of
the household chores or by outsourcing some tasks.
As my life and responsibilities
change so does the time management techniques that I
employ. I’m always on the lookout for
new ideas and tools to help me accomplish more.
What tips help you juggle working from home?
Miranda Vande Kuyt is a self-employed project and communications consultant. She is the facilitator of the “Look Before You Leap: Self-Employment Survival Strategies” online course through www.lifestrategies.ca.