Working from home definitely has its perks. However, when the line between work and family gets blurred out, it makes a person wonder “how can I manage my time working remotely?” it’s not always easy to manage your time, especially while working at home.
Fortunately, there are a few tips to apply as a remote employee, like scheduling, planning, and to-do lists. These simple changes can turn the situation around and help you improve your time management skills.
In this article, you’ll learn how to manage your time effectively while working remotely. So, keep reading.
How To Manage Time While Working Remotely?
According to Zippia, as of 2022, 26% of U.S. employees are working from home. That’s a huge number compared to 6% only four years earlier.
Whether you’re new to this concept or have been working remotely for quite some time now, there’s no doubt that it can be a stressful experience. However, with some effort, you should be able to manage your time and make the most out of it.
Here are seven tips on how to manage your time working from home:
#1. Dedicate A Space For Work
It’s quite essential to create a connection between each space in your house and what you do in it. Just like you mentally relate your kitchen table with eating and your living room couch with relaxing, you need to link an area in your house with working.
This way you immediately switch to work mode once you sit in your home office. What’s more, equipping this space with everything you might need eliminates the time you waste trying to locate certain stuff.
The area you choose to set up your home office in must have some of the following features:
- Suitable desk
- Comfortable chair and footrest
- Good lighting
- Quiet atmosphere
- Minimal distractions
#2. Convince Your Mind You’re Going To Work
Now that you have the space that enables you to switch to work mode, you need to also convince your mind that you’re going to the office. The best way to do so is to change your clothes and do your morning routine as if you’re actually going to work.
As tempting as working in your PJs might seem, it can get in the way of your productivity. That’s because when you get too comfortable, you might not be able to focus or manage your time effectively.
#3. Create A Daily Routine
Having a flexible work schedule is one of the advantages of being a remote employee. Nevertheless, it can overpower the importance of having a daily routine. This, in turn, may affect your sleeping pattern or diet habits.
Thus, it’s critical to plan a work schedule as well as daily house tasks. That’s because it helps you manage your time more effectively and increase your productivity.
What’s more, it’s also a good way for your family to track your work hours and know when you need some alone time.
Block scheduling can be a great strategy to implement in this situation. It works by dividing your day into certain time blocks and switching between personal and work time.
For example, you can reserve the time block from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. for work. Then, use the timeframe from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for personal chores and so on.
Lastly, make sure to include a few mini breaks during the day to get some fresh air and stretch your legs, even if it’s for only five minutes per hour. Moreover, don’t forget to add a longer break for lunch.
#4. Eliminate Distractions
There are many kinds of distractions that can disrupt your mood while working, and therefore, affect your productivity. To avoid at-home distractions, set your desk away from the TV or any other noises.
Additionally, try to invest in high-quality noise-canceling headphones.
What’s more, arranging the room you’re working in can reduce the stress resulting from too much clutter. So, make sure to tidy up the place the night before.
Having said that, notifications from social media apps can be another major source of distraction. That’s why it’s always a great idea to disconnect your phone or log out from those apps while you’re working.
#5. Prioritize Your Tasks On A To-do List
You can create a weekly to-do list to keep track of the tasks you need to do and arrange them by priority. Then, divide this list into days and even time blocks for easier management.
This way you can easily do changes and switches whenever needed without getting stressed out. In addition, you get to know exactly which task matters the most and give it priority over other trivial chores.
Not to mention how rewarding it is to check off what you already did.
#6. Acknowledge Your Time Robbers
An essential step on the way to a great time management strategy is identifying your time robbers. Time robbers are those tasks that take up valuable time instead of things that actually matter.
Whether self-inflicted or external, they waste much more time than needed.
The most common time robbers include:
- Unnecessary meetings
- Checking emails
- Procrastination
- Poor communication
- Unexpected interruptions
- Personal app usage
- Lack or organization
#7. Set Boundaries
Learning how to say no is quite essential for setting boundaries, especially when working from home. That’s because, in that situation, people tend to overcompensate by taking up more tasks than they can do.
Eventually, this leads them to burn themselves out.
What’s more, blurring the lines between your work and personal lives makes it harder to separate them in the long run. That’s why setting boundaries helps you enjoy a healthy life-work balance while becoming more productive.
A Final Thought
Working from home provides a great chance to have more freedom, but it can also have some negative sides to it, like the stress resulting from poor time management.
This article answers one of the most-asked questions right now, which is “how to manage my time working remotely?”
Managing your time is a guaranteed solution to take control of your work life and make the most out of the remote work experience. You just need to create better schedules, prioritize your tasks, and set clear boundaries to separate between work and personal life.
Most importantly, remember that having a positive mindset and determination is key to achieving amazing results.
