Ahh. Working from home. Such a dream. Working from home is a liberating experience. It enables you to set your hours, work from anywhere in the world, and manage your work-life balance. If you are still forced to work from home for a reason or are unfamiliar with operating in a new environment, it can be a difficult transition. Telecommuting will leave you feeling disoriented if you don't have a manager nearby, a designated workspace, or the established framework of an office. Throw in a bossy cat, a needy dog, or crying kids (or all of the above!), and you've got a recipe for disaster.
All the independence comes with significant challenges, as you must build your work-from-home schedule. Making a work-from-home schedule will help you stay on track, overcome procrastination, and resist the urge to sleep an extra hour or watch Netflix. Instead of seeing a schedule as a barrier, see it for what it is: a guide that adds order to your day and allows you to do your best work.
MORNING ROUTINE
Having a morning routine that we look forward to will provide us with a sense of consistency that we sometimes miss when working from home. In reality, studies show that routines help to give meaning to our lives, which improves our well being. Your morning routine doesn't have to be lavish. It could include getting out of bed, having a glass of water, stretching, and then making a to-do list for the day.
Even if you work from home, there is scientific evidence that dressing as if you are going to the workplace is a healthy habit to maintain in your morning routine. According to the researchers, clothing may have significant and systemic behavioral and psychological implications for its wearers.
If you are concerned about keeping active, you may incorporate a quick workout into your morning habits. Exercise, in general, helps to keep you active throughout the day, assists in building a hormonal equilibrium and enables you to maintain a routine, all of which will help you sleep better at night. If that is not possible, you can stay active and meet deadlines at the same time. Invest in ergonomic items such as standing desk converters, standing desks, or desk bikes so you won’t have to forget about changing positions to avoid body aches and pains.
GOALS
Before you can choose the best path to achieve your goals, you must first understand what they are. Define what you want to achieve – so you'll know what the challenge is. You'll understand what you need to do on a monthly, weekly, and regular basis. You'll also be able to build a to-do list. Having a well-defined plan would also assist you in determining how long you can wait for things to gain momentum before cutting your losses and trying something different.
TO-DO LIST
The regular to-do list is well known to everyone. Calculate how long each task will take and prioritize things from most important to least essential—plan "buffer time," which is the time set aside for breaks and coping with disruptions. Then, beginning at the end, cross things off your list. Distractions are unavoidable if you work at home or in an office; if you expect them, they are less likely to affect your day.
BOUNDARIES AND DISTRACTIONS
When you first start working remotely, it's easy to lose track of time by switching from one diversion to the next. There is television or family members, or housemates at home. How do you avoid distractions when you don't have to worry about a boss looking over your shoulder?
It is critical to establish boundaries by communicating your office hours to those with whom you work, as well as your friends and family outside the house. Respecting others' office hours often entails respecting your own. Take measures to remove popular sources of distraction. Inform your family that you will be inaccessible for some periods per day and have a dedicated workspace with a door that you can lock. Set your phone to airplane mode or do not disturb mode and out of sight. Use computer applications that prevent you from accessing time-wasting websites after a certain period has passed. Do whatever it takes to stay on track.
PRIORITIZE
We sometimes have unrealistic expectations of ourselves. No. Almost all of the time. We make our to-do lists with good intentions, and then we pile too much on the shoulders of our future selves. This ideological approach is to blame for a significant chunk of our feelings of failure and frustration. By expecting so much, we set ourselves up for failure.
Try to get the main thing out of the way first thing in the morning. When you approach your most important project when you're at your peak, you know that you're presenting your best self to the table – and making anything else you need to do that day feel like a breeze in comparison.
PEAK HOURS
You've undoubtedly heard of the circadian rhythm, the body's internal clock, but did you know there's a peculiar variation known as chronotypes inside that circadian rhythm? That means the old “morning lark” and “night owl” stereotypes still apply. Some of us are more active in the morning, while others are most alert at night.
If you're a night owl, you can work all hours of the day and night, but you should set aside one day a week to work with clients during the day. Suppose you have children, work between dropping them off at school, grocery shopping, and picking them up in the afternoon. Build a work-from-home schedule that corresponds to your peak energy hours if possible.
FLEXIBILITY
Create a schedule that can be adjusted as needed to stay ahead of the game. You can do this in a variety of ways. Give yourself more than enough lead time on any particular project, so you're not caught off guard if you need to take a day off. You might also have any floating work time in your schedule, where you can fit in an hour or two whenever it is convenient.
To give you an even more precise idea of your daily schedule, here's a list of questions that you may answer to help you keep track:
● On what days will and for how long will you be working?
● When do you want and need to begin working?
● When are you going to eat?
● What do you need to get done every day?
● What other time obligations do you have, if any?
● When do you want to call it a day?
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all work-from-home plan. What works best for you will be determined by your character, needs, and job position. You'll have a great chance of creating your schedule if you follow these guidelines. Know you can still experiment and make changes from there.