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Managing your Time when You Work at HomeIf you are not good at maintaining or adhering to a schedule, you may find working at home to be a big challenge. Although working at home allows for flexibility, discipline is also extremely important because working at home comes with numerous distractions. Some people can be successful with the work when you feel like it mentality, but it will be much more of a challenging than setting up a flexible schedule and sticking to it.
Many people find it beneficial to set up an at home commute schedule or ritual for starting and ending their day. In other words, how they start their day becomes a habit and for the most part never changes. For
example, taking a shower, dressing as you would to go to work and having your morning cup of coffee signifies the start of the workday; and dressing down into comfortable clothes signifies the end of the workday. This helps to keep a balance between work and playtime. One of the hardest things to do is to stay in pajamas all day and still be productive. Who doesnt like the idea of working in pajamas and bunny slippers all day? However, in your mind, you are also not in the work mindset and work tends to be much less productive than if you were to at least get dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.
If you are single, you have an advantage when it comes to flexibility. If you work at home and you have a family, you will have to be much more creative, allowing you to have ample time for work and for your family obligations. Some people opt to work very long days in order to consolidate the workweek. This works especially well for mothers that have children in school or daycare. By squeezing in 10-12 hour days, you can bring the workweek down to 3 or 4 days. Alternatively, you could work two long days and three short days. A schedule such as this will allow for you to have more time a couple times per week to tend to household chores and family obligations.
Another thing to keep into consideration is that all time is not created equal. You need to be honest with yourself and use that time wisely. For example if you know you are a morning person, make the morning count. You will be much more productive in the morning than in the evening so just dont procrastinate what needs to be done. What ends up happening is that the day gets wasted and when you go to bed you sit and wonder, what did I even get accomplished today? Moreover, use the time when you are at your best for the projects and tasks that require the most concentration and reserve the tasks that will come easily for a time when you are not as sharp.
One thing you may be asking is, how do I make time for me? Personal time must be a priority, especially for someone that works at home. Make it part of your schedule. For example, if there is television show that you watch every single day, take time to watch it at some point during your day. Take an extended lunch break and do what you want to do for yourself. If you dont take time for yourself, not only will you experience burn out much quicker, but also you will resent the fact that your home has also become your office. Trust me, personal time is extremely important, but also must be controlled and not used as an excuse for too much playtime. |
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