Many people would love to work from home (WFH) because they feel more in control of their work environment. Despite the obvious benefits of working from home, there are chances you may face new challenges, like losing focus and poor time management. If you are already working from home and want to manage time better, you can take steps to improve your efficiency.
Tips for improving your time management
1.ย ย Be deliberate
Many people talk about improving their time management skills, but only a few are willing to pay the price. To improve your time management skills, you will need to do away with some old habits, including procrastination and multitasking. You will also need to adopt better organizational skills. Since there will be some changes in how you do things presently, you need to go beyond paying lip service to improve time management.
2.ย ย Set your priorities
Get a jotter and list out the tasks you perform daily. Turn to a fresh page and list the tasks again in order of priority. Let the tasks that would have the greatest impact on your work stay on top of the list, while the ones with relatively mild consequences stay at the bottom. This list gives you a track to run on as you begin your journey to improve your time management skills.
3.ย ย Work from Home Time Management: Plan your day ahead
It is one of the popular rules of time management to work from a list. Creating a to-do list is quite simple. Make a list of what you need to do and set a time frame for each task on the list. Be sure that you consider task priority when making your list. Where possible, try to start each morning with the most important task.
Sometimes, it is the most important task that requires your energy and focuses the most. Once this task is accomplished, you can go through your day knowing all the other tasks will not weary you like the first one. Create the to-do list the evening before so that you can get insights into your job for the coming day. Sometimes, you can discover better and faster ways to go about your job while you sleep.
4.ย ย Work from Home Tip: Improve your work environment
It has been discovered that a lot of time is wasted as people move about to get things they need to do their jobs. Imagine that you need to work on a file, and you need to spend about ten minutes to locate the file. This indicates that your system for organizing files is quite inefficient. Here, document automation would help tremendously.
How would you arrange your workspace such that you can have everything you need to start your job at your fingertips? You may need to create a new filing system, get a cabinet, start keeping things in specific places, and so on. Ensure that your workspace is well-lit, and the ventilation is adequate. Also, check for distractions within your workspace and remove them.
5.ย ย Delegate tasks
When you have lots of things to do, it is good to let others help you. If you have competent people around, let them handle some lower priority tasks for you. This will give you enough time to work on higher priority tasks that require only your effort.
Before delegating tasks, be sure that your assistant knows exactly what to do and where to stop. You may also need to check on the assistant to see if the work is going as it should. It is also a good habit to appreciate your assistant. A small reward can help increase the motivation to help you do higher-quality jobs.
6.ย ย Create free time where possible
Be strategic with how you use time so you can create free time. For instance, while you are commuting, you can check email instructions for a new job or fill a report on your previous job. If you need to watch a show, attach it to when you’re having lunch or dinner. The time you save can be spent on more important tasks or for leisure.
7.ย ย Work from Home Time Management: Sign up for a course
If you feel you don’t have enough personal discipline to use time management techniques, sign up for a time management course. You will find lots of courses online. You may also hire a personal coach to help you focus better on building time management skills.
8.ย ย Monitor your progress with Timenotes
It is essential to know if the time management skills you are using are working for you. Good time management skills should:
- Minimize the time you waste doing nothing at all,
- Improve your quality of work within a specific time frame,
- Improve the rate at which you complete important tasks, and
- Reduce stress.
Timenotes is an effective productivity tool you can use to keep track of your progress. This free time report app will help you determine how fast you are getting essential jobs done. You can compare results to check for improvements in your time management skills.
9.ย ย Reward your performance
At the end of each day or weekly, give yourself some treat. Time management skills are not meant to keep you stressed. They help you to get control of your time and tasks. Since life is measured in time, effective time management also improves the quality of life. Take time to reward yourself for tangible progress made. Your reward should be just good enough to keep you motivated.
Conclusion: Work from Home Time Management
Work from home takes some getting used to, in order to minimize chaos. One of the indicators of poor time management is a stressed or boring life. With effective time management techniques, you can improve your work quality at home and still enjoy free time with your loved ones. What are the tips that have helped you improve your time management? Let us know down below!
Summary:
WFH Time Management
Despite the obvious benefits of working from home, there are chances you may face new challenges, like losing focus and poor time management. Tips for improving your time management. 1. Be deliberate 2. Set your priorities 3. Work from Home Time Management: Plan your day ahead 4. Improve your work environment 5. Delegate tasks 6. Create free time where possible 7. Sign up for a course 8. Monitor your progress with Timenotes 9. Reward your performance
