The current public health crisis has forced many companies to embrace a work-from-home set-up to ensure the safety of their employees. While many people have welcomed the chance to work in the comfort of their homes, many have also realised the challenges that come with working in the same place where they spend their personal time.
One of the biggest hurdles that this new work environment has presented to employees is managing their time well. For many people, it can be far more difficult to keep track of time when working remotely because their professional and personal tasks and spaces keep on overlapping.
In the office, you can easily dedicate your time to work without worrying about domestic affairs. But when you’re at home, your daily work schedule can also include preparing meals, caring for children, or receiving packages and deliveries. These seemingly small tasks can be time-consuming and may negatively impact your productivity.
Balancing the professional with the personal is key to thriving in a remote work set-up. You can set a solid foundation for yourself by taking time management courses online. These can help you build habits and pick up techniques for separating work from domestic responsibilities and resources. You can also check out the tips below so you can manage your time better:
Talk to the People You Live With
One of the challenges of working from home is keeping distractions at bay. These distractions can include the people who are living with you, and they may not understand that you want to set specific times for concentrating on your work. If you find yourself frequently distracted by your roommates, partner, or kids, then it’s time to talk to them and let them know about the boundaries that you’ve set for yourself.
Now, your partner, parents, or roommates may understand your situation, but your kids may not, at least not at first. To drive the message home, develop a set of signs for your family members. If the door to your home office is locked or if there’s a note on your door, for example, then you’re attending a meeting and you want to reduce the noise indoors. Respecting these signs can be a challenge at first, but if you practice these habits with consistency, your family members will get used to the idea.
Plot Your Daily Schedule
Personal matters can pop out of the blue when you’re working at home. While this is totally understandable, taking care of unexpected household challenges when you’re supposedly focused on working can keep you from maximising your productivity level. To manage your time better, you can plan out a day-to-day calendar and block off the time you need for work-related and personal obligations.
If you’re taking care of a child, for example, you can schedule their naps or quiet reading time during your most productive hours so you can focus on your work while your child is also busy. If you’re working from home with a partner, you can also try to sync your daily schedule with them at the start of the week. This way, you can determine who’ll be working where and when, and who’ll handle childcare or house duties like cooking and cleaning. To make the schedule easier to follow, write it down on a physical calendar or a shared calendar app.
Dress Up for Work
Getting into the habit of dressing up on weekdays can help prepare your mind for going into work mode. Waking up a few minutes earlier each day to freshen and dress up, grab breakfast, and prepare a cup of coffee before your shift starts can prime your mind to focus on the task in front of you. Do this every day and you can condition your mind to fully wake up by the time you’re sitting in front of your desk in corporate attire and with a fresh cup of coffee in hand.
Be Mindful with How You Communicate
The lack of physical interaction can lead to issues in how you communicate with your colleagues or managers. You might find yourself spending too much time solving an issue or completing a complicated task all on your own. On the flip side, you might also be tempted to spend more time than usual checking in with the rest of your team. These habits can eat up the hours you could have dedicated to accomplishing actual work.
To avoid these problems, make sure to find a balance in the amount of time you spend communicating with your manager and the rest of your team members. You can have a weekly meeting to address possible issues for a project or a scheduled mid-day check-in just to ensure everyone gets the support they need. Apart from maintaining social interactions, these solutions can improve your productivity.
Take Breaks
Taking breaks while working remotely is just as important as when you’re in an office setting. Taking short breaks can improve your productivity, help you focus better, and give you time to stretch your body and rest your eyes. Schedule regular breaks just like you would in the office. Take a few minutes every hour or so to stretch your legs, drink a glass of water, and breathe fresh air. Doing these can help you feel more energised as you complete the rest of your to-do list for the day.
Don’t Overwork
When you’re working from home full-time, it’s easy to let your work bleed into your personal time. Remember that managing your time also means setting boundaries to ensure a healthy work-life balance. To achieve this, set an alarm at the end of every workday. You can turn off your computer and store it when the alarm rings so you won’t be tempted to log in again. You can also disable notifications for work-related apps on your phone after work.
Working from home presents an entirely different challenge compared to working in an office setting. Follow these tips to make sure you’re able to maintain a balance between your work and personal priorities despite the changes in your work environment.
Priority Management Australia is offering work from home courses to help you be more efficient. Check our work from home courses today.