How to Schedule Your Day When You Work From Home

Scheduling my work week is something I have been struggling with.

 I have read all kinds of ideas, tips, and tricks to only realize that nothing I was reading was going to make a difference.

The only thing that was standing in my way was me!

How to schedule your work day when you work from home. Five easy tips you can start today

We started this series with how to go from hobby to business and a big part of that transition is scheduling your day.

Start off by looking at your own life and be true to who you are.

Ask yourself a few questions.

Are you a Mom?

Do you have a supportive family?

Do you still work outside of the home?

Do you work well in chaos or do you like structure?

Morning person or night owl?

Dig deep and ask yourself the tough questions and what you are willing to give up. The often overlooked reality of working from home is that it will take perseverance!

Just like you I was scrambling from one thing to the next.

I was working, but I never felt like I was getting anywhere.

Five Easy Steps you can start today to feel more productive

Morning Routine

Start your day with you and your family.  Get your kids off to school, walk your dog, have coffee with your hubby…whatever it is to start your day off on the right foot.  I also highly recommend moving your body…yeppers I mean exercise 🙂

Get a calendar and use it!

Get out that calendar and schedule all your upcoming appointments.  Once you have those in place look at your upcoming week and set your work hours.  Estimate the length of time it will take you to complete your tasks.  You can even go as far as scheduling in breaks.  For instance, if I have laundry running when I start my day I don’t run to unload it when the buzzer goes off.  I’ll grab it during a 15-minute break!

Depending on the dynamics of your business, your work week may vary or remain the same.

For me, every new week takes on its own unique challenges so I look at the upcoming week on Sunday.

 Multi-tasking is a no, no

This was a big one for me!  I always thought multi-tasking was a good thing, but if you watch yourself you’ll notice how it will shift your focus and eat away your work time.  The more I stay focused on working the more I get done…in less time!

This will be difficult for mom’s with little ones at home so be kind to yourself and ask for help.

Start Your Day with Your Own Content

I now start with my own projects before I check in on any of my social media.  We all want to support our tribe, commenting and liking others Facebook and Instagram posts, but as we all know it can also eat up our time.  Before you know it an hour has passed and you don’t have your own work started.  I’m an early riser and feel creative in the morning so it is a must to start with my blog first and follow with easier tasks throughout the day.

Plan Your Day the Night Before

Number five ties in with number two, but it is so powerful that it needs to be on its own!  No matter how hard you try, something will inevitably come up.  When you plan your day the night before you set yourself up for success.  If you have an inconsistent work week then planning the night before will be key.

So go treat yourself to a pretty planner and get planning!

As always I would love to hear from you.

Please share your productivity tips so we can all benefit from each other.

Kindly, xo

Jane

9 Comments

  • Oh how right you are on all of the above. I am not good at it but I DO KNOW that multi-tasking for me only gets alot of wheels spinning and nothing completed. I also know that once I get on the computer that one thing leads to another and it’s 2:00-3:00 BEFORE I start my projects. I find it hard NOT to log on while I drink my coffee and ease into the morning. I have to make a list of my projects that I have decided on. I have some furniture or smaller things that I KNOW what I am going to do with or what color I am going to paint them or what drawer needs to be fixed – I need to do those first and hope an idea comes to me on the other ones. Work in the middle of your projects so their image is in your mind and that you have that ah-ha moment while you’re finishing up something else-add that new project to your list. Even though I know how to do this I am not good at it. I let the spirit move me too many days. <3 Jane, this is something I have to work on, especially now that I only have 3 days a week to do it.

    Reply
    • Hi Daryl, I work at it every day! You have so many areas pulling you that it will take trying to focus on one thing when you can. That way you can get it done and feel the sense of accomplishment when you move onto the next project. I’m so happy for you and can’t wait to visit your new store Carolina Greene Marketplace 🙂

      Reply
  • thats great planning. You know me jane (mom) never much of a planner. lol.. Love those early mornings though. I always like to do either knitting, reading, watching abit of the news before anyone else gets up. Whatever works. We are so very proud of you. love mom and dad

    Reply
  • This is great and I actually do many of these things and I couldn’t agree more with not multi tasking but I still struggle with it because my days pull me in many directions. Normally I eat breakfast, do morning chores and then exercise before I even get online. Spending less time on social media has helped me be more successful in my schedule and has helped my over all attitude. – Establishing business hours really helped for me as well. Then Normally I create a monthly calendar that update it each week to make sure I’m not missing anything because things pop up. The events of the morning pretty much set the tone for the day.

    Reply
    • Hi Carole, I have been admiring all that you get done! I’m happy to hear that you follow some of the things I have incorporated into my schedule. As the season’s change, my schedule will also change and I imagine yours will as well. Curious how many hours you set for your work day…outside of your farm chores?

      Reply
  • Ohhh….great tips! The social media part is really hard to juggle! Since I work full time and have my little business, it is always a challenge. And I agree – exercise is easy to push to the side, but oh so important. I need to do a bit more of it, like I used to. I enjoyed reading this. Thank you for the inspiring post!
    j

    Reply
    • Hi Jamey, I would agree that handling the social media is tough. It can take up lots of time…finding the balance is something I keep trying to figure out. Enjoy your walks with Molly…I always enjoy mine with Madison 🙂

      Reply

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