Best Time Management Tips for Working at Home

Time management tips for working at home

Are you finding it challenging to manage time while working at home? Use these best time mange tips for working at home to reduce stress and boost your productivity.

Do you know that one out of six Americans already works at home? It means if you know fifty people, ten of them are working at home, and this number is rising at a breakneck speed. Interesting stat, isn’t it?

Working at home offers outstanding opportunities for both productivity and distraction. When you are at your best, you can zip through work, wondering where the time went. However, working from home can badly affect your work’s quality and quantity when you get distracted. This article will share the best time management tips for working at home so you can tackle working at home like a pro.

Distractions will happen

There’re plenty of distractions to be found when working at home, such as kids, pets, parents, siblings, snacks, etc. All these distractions may be competing to get your attention throughout the day. Due to these distractions, some of us start working longer hours and later into the night, leading ourselves to faster burnout and low morale.

There is a reason why a lot of people think work at home sounds like a dream until they do it. Time management is a real challenge during regular times, but when working at home, it can be harder without any parameters you are accustomed to when you are in the office.

Regardless of your profession, below, I have bucketed some actionable time management tips for working at home to help you make the out of your workday.

 

 

 

So, let’s get started!

 

 

 

 

 

Benefits of Time Management When Working at Home

About 40% of people state that they spend an hour on their daily commute. Working at home avoids one of the more significant drains on our time when it comes to mastering the workday. But, it is vital to know how to use these new schedules to our advantage.

If you are able to master useful time management tips for working at home, your productivity will automatically go through the roof. Some benefits of time management for working at home include;

 Improves Your Punctuality

With good time management skills for working at home, you will deliver your work and tasks on time, which means you will perfectly meet your deadlines. The more you deliver your work on time, the less stress you have to deal with – worrying about disappointing your boss or losing an account.

 Great Work Quality

Effectively organizing your time means you will use your most productive hours to focus on more challenging tasks. When you know how and when to utilize most of your brainpower, you can improve your work quality.

 Boosts Your Productivity

Time management also means that you have to spend less time figuring out what to do next and spend more time to get the work done. With smart goals as a guideline, you will find yourself accelerating towards your goals at a far greater rate.

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

Struggling to meet the deadlines and deliver the tasks on time is a great way to lead yourself to stress and anxiety. This not only affects your productivity level but also takes a toll on your overall health and quality of life. However, with proper time management skills, you can prevent that from happening.

Provides Access to More Opportunities

A person with excellent time management skills will have access to more opportunities. You will be your boss’s top priority for exciting and engaging tasks, which will pave the way to gain promotion. What more, you prove that you can happily thrive in work from home environment.

 

Best Actionable Time management tips for working at home

Create a Schedule and Stick to It

The most effective time management tip for working at home is to create a schedule. If you work at home with a partner, collaborating daily or a weekly schedule will make things much more manageable. It will help determine who will be working when and where and who will take care of kids or perform other house duties. Writing all it down will make it easier to follow. You can use a shared calendar app, such as Time Tree or Google Calendar, or write on a piece of paper to write down these details.

Moreover, you can also schedule blocks of time throughout the workday for business and personal activities. A recent survey indicates that about 73% of professionals reported that this approach boosts their productivity.

Set Up a Dedicated Work Space

People who haven’t worked from home ever may assume that you can lay on the comfortable couch all day and still get your tasks done. There’s nothing further from reality. Do you really think that you’d be productive while lying on the couch with the TV on?

This is why having a dedicated workspace is essential. It helps you to prevent these distractions when working at home. Moreover, it also lets your brain distinguish between your personal life and your work. That may not seem like a priority, but it can help you maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Find Productivity Apps

Thanks to technology, you can take advantage of an expansive selection of software explicitly designed to help people boost productivity. Speaking about time management tips for working at home, Focus Booster and Evernote are two best free options that you can use to be more productive. These apps not only enables you to keep track of your projects, be more organized, and meet deadlines but also keep you aware when it’s time to finish out your workday.

However, if you are looking for a break reminder and a good stretch Stretchly is a tremendous open-source app, offering a screening reminder and a timer to get you up, stretch, and move from your desk.

Pretend Like You Are Going to Work

One of the unspoken rules of working at home is that you can get away with wearing your pajamas or yoga pants. Though working at home while wearing your pajamas might be the ultimate comfort, you do not want to get too comfortable. Waking up and wearing a proper dress like you are going to the office makes a significant difference in your productivity. Wake up on time, get yourself a cup of coffee, and wear a dress you would wear to the office. It will alert your brain that your work-time is to prepare you to get into a productive mindset.

Stop Multi-Tasking

Some people assume that multi-tasking saves them time, but they forget that a human brain needs at least twenty minutes to refocus when you switch tasks. If you are multi-tasking on two or more tasks, your brain has to continuously shift its focus, which can badly hurt your productivity and work quality.

So, make sure to avoid multi-tasking and focus only on one thing at a time. It will help you reduce distractions, and you may complete your task faster than if you tried to meet them all at once.

Keep Track of Your Time

Another essential time management tip for working at home is to keep track of your time. It is impossible for you to manage your time if you do not know how it is being spent. Are you overestimating or underestimating how long it takes to complete your tasks? Are you spending a great amount of time on unproductive activities, such as social media? There is only one way to find out – track your time.

Again, there are a plethora of time tracking apps, such as Rescue Time and Clockify, that you can install and use to track your time throughout the day. You can also utilize the info they provide to determine how much time you take to complete your projects when you’re at your best and what things distract you.

Identify and Eliminate Unnecessary Distractions and Interruptions

One of the most formidable challenges of working at home is that you are often surrounded by many distractions, while in the office, you are surrounded by work. Even if you get distracted by a colleague briefly, the conversation mostly has something to do with work.

But, when you are at home, there will be your pet noise, family members, and a TV in the background. The most effective way to stay focus when working at home is to eliminate distractions wherever possible. Turn off unused electronics that might grab your attention and clean your work desk, so you know where everything is.

Take Scheduled Breaks

Another essential time management tip for working at home is to take plenty of breaks during your work routine so that you can refresh your mind. Remember that you often have moments when you are working in the office when you get yourself up to have a cup of coffee or talk to a colleague. You can have these brief relaxation moments at home as well.

If you are using an app for collaboration, make sure to set a time when you are available so your colleagues know when you are open to talk and not. You will find this pretty useful at the end of the day when you log off for the night. Setting yourself as offline may prompt colleagues to avoid sending you a text until the next workday.

Plan Around Your Energy Levels

Nobody knows you better than you. It means you know which times of the day you feel more motivated and energetic. It is essential as nobody is fully productive and manage time well throughout the day. When you work at home, it is excellent to know when you feel motivated to be productive and get tasks done.

For instance, people who work remotely do not like waking up early in the morning and would rather sleep in and work later in the day. If this is what suits you, you might prefer sleeping until ten and work from 11 am to 7 pm, including some breaks in between. You would like to schedule your meeting in the afternoon, which means you want to stay up later at night.

Find out what suits you best so you can feel more motivated to manage your time in a better way throughout the day.

To find out more about whether you are a daytime person or a night owl, check out this article.

Stay Connected

Though working at home does offer many benefits, you may also feel a bit more isolated. Human interaction is essential for mental health. In this regard, pick up your phone or set up video calls. Speak to your manager or colleagues if you are struggling and ask them how they are doing.

Set Healthy Boundaries

Do you find yourself working extended periods of time during the pandemic? A recent survey says yes. Another study conducted by a group of data scientists indicates that people work an average of five more hours a week.

Now since you are working at home, your daily commute to the office means just a walk from your room to your dedicated workspace. So, it is essential than ever to consider time management. A great time management tip for working at home is to create a schedule to start and end your workday at a particular time each day.

It will not just boost your productivity, but you will also be able to maintain an excellent work-life balance. When it’s time to end your workday, turn your PC off and disable work-related notifications on your smartphone so that you can enjoy your family time.

Moreover, it is also a great tip to include our work hours in your email signature, so your coworkers and clients know what time is suitable to contact you. Ultimately, it is vital to create time management for working at home that suits your whole family.

The more you harness your time and energy, the more you will emerge from the crisis related to your happiness and relationships.

Wrapping Up

If you want to boost your productivity, you should have the right mindset. Make sure to finish your to-do list on time and avoid unnecessary distractions while working. It is the most useful tip for time management for working at home that if you follow, you will notice a considerable difference.

 

For More Information related to this article

Create A Working at Home Schedule That Works

Guide to Setting Up Home Office Space