Time Management Tips for Working From Home

Hello, friends! Well, we've officially marked the one year mark since a State of Emergency was declared in most states. We all thought that things would just be shut down for a couple of weeks and here we are entering year two, still practicing social distancing, wearing a mask is the new norm and some are patiently waiting on the vaccine 😩😩. A lot of us were already working remotely and for some working remote is something you had to prep for and get use to. I'm sure it wasn't easy.....trying to find a workspace, a space for your kids to do virtual learning and just managing time.

There are so many distractions when working from home: your spouse, your children, your pets, lunch, snacks, all of these things can be competing for your attention. Many of us overcorrect for these distractions, we end up working longer and later into the night which leads to burnout.

Working from home is a wonderful opportunity, but time management can be a challenge. With so many demands on your time and attention, it can be difficult to balance it all. Here are 6 tips on how you can better manage your time while working from home. 💻⠀

📎Create a comfortable workspace - your workspace does not need to be a dedicated office and you don't need a fancy desk, but make it comfortable for you, there are so many ways to create a decent workspace even in small spaces. Avoid doing anything but work in this area.

📎Exceed Expectations - One issues that often arises when employers allow their employees to work from home is, "are employees abusing the system?" When you're in an office, there's that element of needing to go home, eat, sleep. The other side of concern when you're working from home you don't know how to show up, and show out. Sometimes you slack when you're home and as a result you work later hours to show your usefulness, that can cause burnout too. Be available during your regular business hours and work to have the focus be on results vs. visible time on the computer.

📎Be a good Leader - Don't be a micro-manager, Nobody likes that! Employees do not like their supervisor riding their coat tail every minute of the day. If you’re a supervisor, it’s easy to get obsessed on whether your team are taking advantage of this time at home or actually working. These are some very stressful and strange times, so be sure to take time to extend compassion. How you respect other people’s time and privacy will definitely make a huge impact on how they come through on important tasks.

📎Give family members at home "no interruption" signals - Make it very clear when you’re in your no-interruption zone. If you have a separate workspace at home, try to keep your door closed or even hang a “Do not disturb" sign on it. Your family should know which things are urgent and which things can wait until you're free. Productivity falls apart if there's too much going on around you. Identify and eliminate distractions in your home workspace, and bring that same energy and dedication that you would if you were in your real office.

📎Continue to schedule breaks, don't overwhelm yourself - Set alarms to remind you to take regular breaks, when to grab lunch or a snack. Get up and stretch and get some fresh air. Walking around from your computer can often times increase productivity.

📎Create to-do lists - This is something that has helped me immensely! Every day, I write a

list of everything I want to ensure I get done that day. By writing out the list daily, I am able to really prioritize what needs to be done first.

📎Set healthy boundaries - just because you are working from home, does not mean you have to work after hours. Create a schedule and end your workday at a specific time each day, to maintain a healthy work-life balance. I like to start my day between 5am-6am and end it by 1pm-2pm, this allows me more time to spend with my family, start on dinner earlier, personal time or fit in a few errands. It's ok to turn your computer off and disable cell phone notifications. You may even want to consider including your work hours in your email signature so clients and colleagues know when it’s appropriate to contact you. Make time with your family a apriority.

Time management is one of the biggest challenges when working at home, but hopefully these tips will help you become a pro at working remotely.

Do you have any work from home Time Management tips that work for you? Please share them below in the comments.