Do you find it difficult to manage your time well?
Since the epidemic, millions of workers have suddenly faced a new challenge – managing time at work from home.
If you are struggling with time management, the practical solution is to use appropriate systems and tools. It requires practice and patience, but it is something that can be learned. By creating an environment that works better for you, you can increase productivity and deliver better results.
Let’s start creating this environment.
Why time management is important for remote employees
Remote work here to stay.
For years, we’ve read about its benefits: flexible schedules, no commuting to work and the temptation to work in pajamas. But most of us did not realize the disadvantages of working remotely until the epidemic.
And the most significant challenge? Time managment. Planning and executing tasks becomes much more challenging when working from home. And for freelancers, entrepreneurs and business owners, this productivity challenge is directly related to income.
In short, time management is not just another skill in your toolbox. In many ways, it’s the toolbox itself. Managing time according to your schedule is the only way to get things done.
So even if you have been working from home for years, you can still improve your productivity. It all comes down to choosing the right tools and systems. Let’s look at the tools.
The five best tools for remote time management
These five tools will help anyone who works from home.
1. Time tracking software
You need to know where you are spending your time. Even if you do not get paid by the hour, you are still living by the hour. And knowing where your day is going is the best way to get better.
A Good time tracking software Shows you where those hours are going. This is an essential tool for any employee to analyze and improve productivity.
2. Collaboration and communication tools
How you collaborate depends on your team culture. There are packages of apps for this vital aspect of working remotely, from messaging to video calls or even shared editing software.
In short, you can count on it Unified Communications Get all your communication and collaboration in a central location.
But the most important thing is that you make a conscious decision on what to use. Do not leave such essential tools in case. They will define your team and its culture.
3. Project management
As the world becomes more complex, seemingly simple projects have dozens and even hundreds of moving parts. Coordinating these tasks across your team and resources is a challenging role. Selecting e Proper project management tool This is what matters in the long run.
4. Calendar
Few employees can survive productively in today’s environment without a calendar. A calendar is essential for a critical task, like making sure you do not book double appointments with clients. But it also works for time blocking of your tasks.
The best logs sync with other apps, saving you time focusing on getting things done – not scheduling things.
5. Website blocker
Prone to distractions or having difficulty setting solid work boundaries? A web blocker is an easy and effective way to stay on track.
Web blockers are a great way to deliver an immediate dose of targeting to your work day. Make a list of distracting sites that you know you need to block for a while when you need to focus. Block it at regular moments during the day.
Equipped with the right tools, we are now ready to improve the systems we use to manage our time.
How to create an efficient time management system
The system you use is the most significant factor in your time management. By system method, I mean the environment, strategies, internal rules, milestones and techniques that keep you from delivering effectively.
To get started improving your system, follow the recommendations we posted below. But to start providing top results, remember it is a process. You will want to continue to adapt and improve techniques over time until you reach a point where you feel successful.
Where to start? A good idea is to choose a specific time management goal and choose the techniques you will need to achieve that goal.
Here are the top techniques I recommend.
1. Set a schedule
We often focus on productivity backwards, looking at the work that needs to be done. But a more efficient way is through time management – focusing on time, the most valuable resource we have.
A schedule can help you take the tasks you need to perform and put them into a time-based structure.
To get started, you will want to create a to-do list, which can be a simple single list with everything you need to accomplish. It could be a more complex set of lists like those of David Allen’s advocates Do things editorial board.
Next, you will want to prioritize tasks in this list. Knowing the priority level of a task force does not help decide which one is most important. Priority systems like labeling from “A” to “C” can be helpful, but they are incomplete.
Instead, rate each task in relation to the others so that you know what to do first, second, etc.
Now, you will want to plan your day in advance using your to-do list. I recommend devoting 10 or 15 minutes to the next planning at the end of each day.
First, add scheduled items like appointments. Then fill in your work hours on your tasks, starting with the most important, then the most important second and so on, using blocks while estimating how long each task will take. Finally, set short breaks at rest points that make sense based on your projects.
Scheduling such a day forces you to start with what is most important and this is one of the most effective ways to achieve what is important.
2. Learn your work habits
Remember I mentioned time tracking earlier? Time tracking helps you compare how well your daily schedule syncs with how you want to work. Over time, you will learn how to hone your schedule.
During those 15 minutes of planning each day, compare that day’s ideal plan with reality in your time tracking app. What worked or did not work? Can you improve it?
At first, you will probably notice how much – or most, or even all – of the tasks take longer than you blocked. If this is a task you often do, write down how long it took you to use your time tracking data. The next time you schedule a similar task, use the time it took the previous time instead of an inaccurate estimate.
If you find yourself working on tasks you have not scheduled, find the root cause. This may be because your job requires you to be on alert for urgent tasks. If so, add buffer time each day to deal with the inevitable.
But the most common reason you pay attention to it is that you currently do not feel like working on your scheduled tasks. To get better, you will want to adapt your productivity system to better suit your work habits.
Learn when you are most productive. Study your time tracking data for a week or more and look for periods when you feel particularly focused.
In his book When, Dan Fink explains that we have the most energy in the morning and evening, with a low in the afternoon. If this describes you, consider scheduling low-energy tasks after lunch.
Over time, monitoring this process will help you find a regular work routine that you can stick to for the long term.
Overcome distractions
One of the biggest challenges you will face in working from home is overcoming the distractions. But learning how to stay focused is one of the best skills you can develop for your professional and personal life.
Here are some of the best techniques for maintaining concentration at work remotely.
Focus, do not do multiple tasks. To overcome distractions, make an effort to overcome them. Here is a simple process that can work well. Start by choosing a single task and decide how long you will work on it. Then consider what will divert your attention – from email to receiving a glass of water – and deal with these distractions now. Then work solely on the task you have chosen, and you will be tempted to do something else until your time is up.
Create a distraction-free work environment. A focus-friendly environment is a huge help when you are dedicated to one task. Take time to create a dedicated work environment, ideally apart from everything else. Clean your computer’s desktop and desktop. Hide messages. Put your phone out of sight, or even in another room. Take time to create a space that you enjoy.
Treat work hours as if you were going to work. Although we think we will save time working from home, but for the most part the opposite is true. Our personal lives can get too mixed up when we do not have an office. View the schedule of your work at home just as if it were in the office. Dress the part. Start working at a certain time each day. Even keep your work area separate from the rest.
Try the Pomodoro technique. If you’re having a hard time focusing for a long time – and not all of us? – Pomodoro technique can help. Focus on a single task for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. When you give all your attention during these 25 minutes, you will be amazed at how much you can do.
Set healthy boundaries. Remote work has removed the benefit of boundaries. When we drove to the office, there was a sense of where the work began and ended – but not anymore. Try to cultivate these boundaries again. Create a home office – even if it’s just a corner. Set working hours. And force yourself to focus only on work at this time.
Take breaks. As I mentioned in the example of Pomodoro techniques, breaks can be healthy and help you get more done. If you’re afraid of losing too much time, try sex breaks of only 30 seconds. Stay away from your computer, look outside and take a glass of water. Find short activities like the one that help you freshen up.
Build your focus muscle. We are often our biggest barriers to focus on. When you work out, keep track of how long you can concentrate, then gradually increase that amount over time. Another focus-building technique comes from it Deep work Author Cal Newport – He recommends building focus by reading books in longer individual meetings.
4. Do not forget to socialize
One of my favorite breaks is socializing. Even if you work from home without anyone else around, make time to be social. Humans get an energetic boost from spending time with others, which is also good for our mental health.
The challenge in making social connections while working remotely is that often the easiest options at work are not needed. Meetings, in particular, can distract you from more important tasks, and often social opportunities created at work are unaffected. So the first strategy is to eliminate social activities that do not bring you value.
Find the best ways to socialize with your team to help you achieve more, get to know your team better, or both. Also remove activities that do not help.
Find the best ways to communicate with your team in ways that work for you when you need to collaborate. And look for ways to connect on a deeper level. You will then want to include social gatherings that help you recharge.
One of the most powerful ways to socialize at work from home is to find ways to connect outside of work. Strengthen existing friendships or even build new ones from your own home.
Even if you choose not to leave the house, you can connect in video calls and do virtual activities together.
It’s easy to forget about the social aspect of work without co-workers to remind us, so make an effort to bring a social element back into your life.
One last word about time management at work from home
If you are struggling with time management, it is worth the effort to get better. Eventually, apparently, during our lives we will devote more time to work than to any activity other than sleep. Doing it right is worth the effort.
Fortunately, if you struggle to manage your time, you can get better. This is just a skill you can learn with the right tools and systems.
The best way to learn is to choose one of the methods I have shared here. Take time to get better at this strategy, then move on to others. Keep track of your time, keep track of your results and keep improving your cycle.
Time management may be a challenge, but it’s worth it.
About the writer
Meenakshi Nautial, also known as Meenz, is a growth marketer for Nextiva. She is passionate about everything from SaaS, start-ups and website promotion. It has a successful track record of 10+ years in increasing organic traffic and incoming leads for various startups. A bibliophile and coffee lover who dives into art therapy in her spare time.
