Establish Work Hours
Just like you would if you were working in an office, set your work hours and stick to them. That means saying no to doing other things during work hours and using a lunch break to do errands. Act just like you would if you were at a regular office. Learning to say no is one of the things that will help you most with time management.
Establishing work hours does not mean you eliminate that flexibility. There are some significant benefits to working from home, and your availability during the day is one of those perks. You take control of your work time so that it is not eaten away doing tasks that are unrelated to your business. This ensures that when you need to take time away to do something that is important to you, business won’t suffer.
Prioritize Your Tasks
Take time at the beginning of each day to prioritize your tasks for the day. Handle the most important, or time-sensitive ones, first. Set mini deadlines for yourself, based on how long it should take you to complete the task. This helps to keep you focused and will keep the day from getting away from you. Creating a list or scheduling tasks in your electronic calendar takes prioritization a step further.
Block Out Distractions
This one is tough, because even if you do something as necessary as taking a bathroom break, you are likely to encounter distractions. Everything from straightening up the house, getting dinner started and more can silently call to you when you step away from your work area. Simply say no and remember that there is time outside your work hours to get those things done.
But it is not just those distractions around the house that can rob you of work time. There are things at your work station that can easily distract you and waste valuable time and rob your concentration. These worktime tips will help you block distractions.
- Do not check email, Facebook or other social media, unless it is for work.
- Put your cell phone on silent.
- Do not answer your home phone unless it is work-related or an emergency.
- Resist the urge to handle personal affairs during work hours.
- Don’t multi-task, as it compromises the attention you can give to each task, and often results in less than ideal work.
A work block without distractions is when you are most productive. That may mean that you have to get creative in how to achieve that. If you find that you are easily off task, keep a detailed one week log of all your work time, noting especially what distracts you most and how long you are off task before getting back to work. By understanding your biggest distractions, you have a much better chance of minimizing them.
Create Systems
For things that you do repetitively in your business, your efficiency and time management can likely be improved by creating systems. For example, how you handle emails should be streamlined. Set aside a specific part of the day to handle them. Quickly screen emails, immediately deleting junk, forwarding the message to another co-worker if necessary, transferring important information to a reference folder for later, and answering short emails immediately. Maintain a document with longer responses to frequently asked questions. This allows you to copy and paste quickly and easily, so you can get through emails faster than ever.
If you are a writer or part of your daily job involves writing, create and maintain a swipe file to help you more consistently create stellar sales copy. Templates are a smart starting point for all types of work from reports to press releases. Checklists are a great way to ensure detailed tasks are completely and efficiently completed each and every time. Analyze the tasks you do daily and consider how such systems can help your time management.
Careful time management is important to your success when you run a business from home. However, it is also important to be realistic. Plan for interruptions. Don’t over-schedule your day so that you are constantly frustrated or regularly working overtime. Phone calls and meetings will take longer than you expect, and surprises can occur any day. But if you’ve invested energy into time management, your day will go much more smoothly.