Using Your Time Effectively

When you’ve only got yourself to keep track of, it’s pretty easy to manage your time. Make a schedule and stick to it, more or less, and you can meet your productivity goals. When you’re taking care of kids and trying to do work, things become a bit more complicated. Here are some strategies you can use to still make the most of your time, even if you’re sharing it with the little ones.

Organization

Keep your work papers and other items organized, and you’ll cut much wasted time off of your day. Start with the surface of your desk: Get rid of any unused items that aren’t pulling their weight, like computer speakers or other electronics, cups of change, dead pens, etc. Get a recycling bin for paper and place it beside your desk to avoid the build-up of scraps and junk mail. And, just because you work at home, that doesn’t mean you don’t need a robust filing and organizing system. At the least, keep a file folder for important documents, like receipts, bills, and the like. The easier it is to find what you need, the less time you spend to complete the same tasks.

Productivity

Productivity means maximizing your working hours. The first step to boosting productivity is removing obvious distractions. If surfing the Internet or repeatedly logging into social networks is an impediment to you, consider downloading cheap or free software like Freedom and Anti-Social, to wean you off your habit. Ambient noise machines or free sound loops can help keep out the background noise of the TV or your neighbor’s lawn mower.

Many work-at-home professionals swear that they are much more productive and work-oriented when they take the time to shower and dress at least semi-professionally in the morning, rather than staying in their pajamas. And, while being productive is important, refusing to stop for a snack or lunch break when you can feel your energy waning isn’t necessarily a good thing. Be aware of the things your body and mind need in order to remain productive.

Time Management

This is the third aspect of effectively working from home, and perhaps the most important. Time management is about being aware of how you’re using your time, and how you need to use your time in order to accomplish your goals.

The first step to managing your time well is to schedule; use an online organizer or a paper one, whatever works for you, but use it often. Depending on your business, the time-frame of your planning might vary; at the very least you should set weekly goals, about how many hours your hope to work or which projects you need to accomplish. After setting weekly goals, you can see on average how much you need to get done every day. Remember that as a work-at-home parent, your schedule should have wiggle-room; If you can only get three hours of work done one day when you hoped to do four, that’s okay, as long as you can make it up over the course of the week. Your daily hours will vary, but having a longer-term vision for what you need to get done will ensure that you don’t lose track of your goals.

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