Regardless of what tasks we prioritize, what productivity apps we use, whether we work in the office or remotely – time continues to run at the same speed.
Managing yourself as an individual is especially relevant to those who work remotely, as this work format requires serious self-organization. Working in bed only seems like a great activity, because a relaxed environment is not very conducive to productivity.
Statistics show that 36% of work time (78 days per year), regardless of whether it’s spent in the office or at home, is not used effectively. The reasons are poor organization and scheduling.
A productive workday
Spend work hours only for work. No household chores – make it a rule for yourself and warn your loved ones that “you’re not home” at this time.
Make a to-do list. In case you don’t have an online morning planner with task setting, making a to-do list the night before or the morning before you start your workday will help you avoid wasting time thinking about “where to start.”
Identify peaks and drops in productivity. Remote work provides such an opportunity. It is better to plan the most important and resource-consuming tasks for the time of the peak or use tools like mockups of ls.graphics to improve your efficiency.
Prioritize and highlight the most important things. This will help you to do the really important things while weeding out inefficient and ineffective endeavors that do not bring tangible results.
Break the day into blocks. Allocate time to each on your schedule
Put sports into your schedule. As a rule, there is no motivation to move at home, and this negatively affects well-being, health, and productivity. Dancing, walking, biking, yoga can help. This is both a change of activity and oxygenation of the brain, which speeds up and improves its performance. A generous norm is 5-6 hours a week.
The advantage of working remotely is the freedom of movement and flexibility of time management, but unequivocally the office routine helps you tune in better. The whole secret is organizing that routine in which you will be comfortable. That’s why you need to create an environment at home that helps you focus on your work, right down to equipping a full workstation (if possible).
Distance work — be yourself
At the end of the 20th century, as more and more companies thought of new methods to improve efficiency and began moving employees to flexible or remote work, the general idea is to give employees more freedom to complete tasks.
In other words, the best time management within a company is to give coworkers more opportunities to “be themselves.” It’s not just about flexible schedules, but also about a general sense of comfort: the ability to choose where you work and the ways you interact with your colleagues.
At the same time, different people have different ideas about professional ethics, urgency and quality of work. In order to reduce the potential level of misunderstanding in the team, common principles should be developed – a framework within which tasks will be performed at the right time, and team members will not have a feeling of information vacuum or, on the contrary, a constant rush.
It should also be noted that in coordinating work online there is a clear rule: mail is not enough. It is necessary to use a variety of communications (mobile, video chats, and messengers) to ensure maximum joint immersion in the process. However, there are also risks in terms of information security.
But communication tools also help the team in informal communication, the importance of which should also not be forgotten. It should necessarily take place between colleagues, so that emotional involvement is maintained during remote work.
Build a system of relationships with relatives or with those people who are at home while you work
You need to build a work schedule. Almost every freelancer’s work takes an inordinate amount of time. Sometimes it’s even very difficult to calculate how many hours a day we work. Today you can start work at 7, tomorrow at 11, finish at 5 pm or 1 am.
Our task is to systematize this process. There is a law: the work takes all the time we devote to it. Therefore, clearly define the beginning and end of the day, lunch break, and stick to it, in other words, you need to establish a schedule of working hours.
The opposite leads to a violation of deadlines, overwork, decreased productivity.
If you work at home with your other half then, I recommend designating communication boundaries: when not to distract you with offers like go have tea with yummy treats.
If you work together at home and you have children, your task is to make a schedule of which of you at what time is responsible for the children: respond to their needs for food, water, go for a walk, turn on the cartoon, etc. That being said, you can both sit down to work, but whoever is scheduled to be “on duty” now has to get up at the child’s request and occupy them with something, because they are responsible for it.
This is a cool tool for working at home parents with children. You realize that you have a limited amount of time to work, so the priority things that need to be done urgently come to the fore, you don’t have time for the little things because you know that you will soon have to switch to household chores or dealing with the kids.
Systematize your child’s day
Your child should also have a schedule that includes activities they can do without you being present. For example, activities with an incoming teacher/nanny, online babysitting, communicating with grandma online (your relatives can also keep your children occupied for some time via video link: reading stories, activities, etc.). It’s important to do this at clear, specific times so that everyone can plan their day.
If you apply these simple rules, spend a little time on them, your work at home will be much more effective.
