Jul
14

Organize Your Time to Be More Productive

How to Get the Most from Your Work from Home Experience and Get All Your Tasks Done

Are you currently working from home? You are not alone. These days, working from home has become normal. It appears everyone is adapting their life to online meetings and figuring out how to separate work from homelife, when they are both intertwined. The key is organization. You must organize your life and these tips will help you get more done and enjoy the work from home experience.

Minimize distractions to be more productive

This one seems to be easier said than done. Especially when you have children or pets trying to get your attention. When working from home, it is essential that you minimize distractions. If you are new to working from home, it can be very easy to allow the distractions around the home to become overwhelming. Distractions can come in the form of a television or mobile device or just a bored child wanting to play with you while you are trying to work. Take the time to evaluate your workspace and determine if there are any distractions you might have that limits your capacity to effectively work and eliminate them if possible.

Talk to your family about what is going on

Working from home does not merely affect you. In the case of a family in which one family member traditionally goes to work while the other stays at home, coming home can mean a miscommunication of scheduling. For those that have both parents working from home in this new normal, your children will need to understand what is taking place. Talk to the entire family about what is going on and what to expect. The initial conversation will get you far, but it is important to have regular meetings with your family to receive input and express yourself about the situation. Now is the time where families need to come together, and a regular family meeting keeps everyone involved.

Store items you only use occasionally

Your home is supposed to be your oasis. Unfortunately, when you are confined to a space, finding serenity can be difficult. Part of the problem may not be that you have everyone at home, but the fact that your belongings are simply taking up too much space. Now is the time to declutter your space and store items that you do not use daily. This is likely a temporary situation, but even if you must store household items for the long term, that is fine as well. Take the decluttering one room at a time so you do not become overwhelmed with the large job.

Set working hours and stick with them

Working from home gives you the freedom of working whenever you feel like it, but just because you have the freedom to work odd hours, does not mean you should. Where it might sound convenient to work while the rest of the family is sleeping and the house is quiet, you will quickly burn out working long hours at night and no one wants to be around grumpy mom or dad when they have been up all night working.

The key is to set and stick to working hours. Some people work best in the morning hours before everyone is awake, and some prefer to sleep in a bit more. No matter what your best working time may be, set your work hours. Let everyone know when your hours are and when you are available. You might even want to post a sign at your office door with your hours on it just to remind people that you are working and do not need to be distracted.

Make daily to do lists

To do lists are not concepts that should ever be abandoned. Having a list of things you need to accomplish each day can actually give you a confidence boost. The idea of marking things off a list is highly attractive to people and provides a feeling of accomplishment. A white board at your desk or even just a small note pad with your list on it will keep you on task and focused on what you need to get done. It also enables your family members to have a better grasp on what you do on a daily basis and when you might be finished for the day. A list might seem like a small thing, but it can have a substantial impact on your overall productivity.

And if you want to take your to-do list game to the next level, you can do two things. First, make sure to compile your list the day before, possibly at the end of your work day. That way, when you start working the following day, you already have clarity, and you can dive into the work instantly. And secondly, prioritize your to-do list! This is important because if you don't prioritize, you will always gravitate toward the easier items, and you'll neglect the important and more complex activities. Here's an example of how you can organize your schedule.

Take periodic breaks to freshen your mind

Just like if you were in an office environment, breaks are essential. Working at a desk all day without ever getting up can lead to a variety of health concerns and will ultimately make you feel like an autonomous drone. Break up the day and set your schedule with breaks in mind. A lunch break half way through the day is a given, but also set aside a few 15 minute breaks in which you step outside and walk around the house for a few minutes. That small, seemingly insignificant break can make a huge difference in your productivity.

Unplug at the End of the Day

With your set hours in place, you also need to unplug at the end of the day. Once your clock out time comes, you are done for the day, so turn off anything related to work to focus on your family. Emails coming into your phone or messages on your computer can be very distracting and take away from your family. Turn it all off and forget about it until the next day.

Working from home can be wildly rewarding, but it also comes with some concerns. Organization is key in enjoying your work from home experience. For those that have never had the opportunity or have ever wanted to work from home, it can be a significant change, but as for now, we all must adapt to those changes. Remember, make a schedule, stick to it, declutter your space, and enjoy the simple pleasures that come from working from home. Besides, you could be sitting in traffic for hours each day and worrying over your gas gage, so enjoy what you have at the moment.

By: Lee Preston
Lee is the Director of Marketing and Promotion for EZstorit.com. When she is not working with our storage facilities partners, she is writing about topics that affect our daily lives.