Whoa! It's 10:00 and I haven't showered! Time Management Tips for the Home Office

Where does it go? Like Sand through the hour glass, so are the Days...

Have you ever been in this situation? You are typing feverishly on your computer getting ready for a presentation, the phone is ringing, the dog is barking, you have to get the kids to your mom's so she can watch them for the presentation...you look up...10:00! What! I haven't even showered!

If you are a work at home professional I am sure you have been right there. Some of us more times than we would care to admit.

First let me assure you I am no time management guru. What with kids, my business, client projects, phones, Facebook, kids, laundry, kids... you know the drill. So what is a busy Work From Home Pro supposed to do?

I also know many of you may not have kids, but we all have distractions. There is no one looking over our shoulder to make sure we are on task. No clock to punch in and out. It is easy to look up and the time be much later than you expected and the to do list to still be much longer than you hoped.

While I still have sometimes major issues in this area, I have found some strategies that work for me. Here are some tips to making your work from home time as productive as it can be.

1) Schedule your time. I know, you work from home for the freedom of time it provides. You can make your schedule look like whatever you want. THAT'S the freedom, no one will tell you how to schedule your time. Nor will you have to have a committee meeting to decide what to put on the agenda. You don't have to have it signed by your supervisor or any of the mundane hoops that contributed to your exodus from the traditional work place. But just like your money, if you don't budget your time, it will be gone and you will wonder where it went!

2) Build in breaks. Gone are the days of your mandatory 15 minute breaks. However, they are still important. They can serve as a reset for your brain, get your muscles loosened up, and keep your tummy from grumbling. Take a walk, call a friend, play with kids, whatever makes it feel like a break for you.

3) Schedule "POWER" Sessions. Whether they are 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or 5 minutes long, schedule chunks of time that you focus with intensity on a SINGLE task. You will be shocked at what you can accomplish in little spurts of time. Here's the rules:

* Turn off all distractions- No phone, no email, no twitter deck, no facebook, nothing that will interrupt your flow.

* Pick a single task and a single goal. You may not complete an entire project in a 15 or 30 minute slot but you can complete a task toward the project.

* Make it a length of time you can stay undistracted, short and concise. Two hours is not a power session.

* Set a timer and do nothing but work on that task until the timer goes off.

* Take a quick break

* Rinse and Repeat

4) Have realistic expectations. It will take some time to work out what works for you. In time you will determine how many power sessions in a day, how long they need to be for the tasks you do, and how many breaks you need. Don't try to save the world and build the new stadium in one day. Break apart your tasks, schedule them out in the day, and pat yourself on the back when you get them done.

5) Be Consistent- When you do discover strategies that work for you, practice them consistently, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly.

6) Be Persistent- When you fall off the wagon, get back up. You must evaluate what is working, what is not, and if you are being too hard or too soft on yourself. Ask for outside perspective if you are having a block in this area. Just keep trying.

7) Re-evaluate often- You don't have a manager giving you performance reviews. Give yourself one. Ask yourself the questions a manager would ask. See what works, what needs improving and set things up so you have success and not failure.

If you keep these ideas in mind you will be able to get a better handle on your schedule. You work from home for many reasons. Primarily you are working to make money and to build a business. If your time is not productive, you will be frustrated, your clients will be irritated and your business will grow slower than you want. Manage your time wisely.

To your success!

Susan Snyder
Founder/CEO buildyourvaskills.com

Go to http://www.buildyourvaskills.com and look at our current schedule of training. Find one that's right for you and bring a friend!