As a professional organizer and business owner, I perform a lot of work duties from my home such as writing articles, creating content for my Facebook group, writing client notes, bookkeeping, etc. It’s a pleasure to work from home, but it can also be a double edged sword. It’s easy to get distracted by a full dishwasher waiting to be unloaded, a dryer full of towels that are begging to be folded, phone calls to make, emails to read, texts to respond to and so on. I have to be careful to tackle my day in an organized way to keep from being scattered and working randomly or getting sidetracked by the plethora of distractions. So what is it that I do that can help you too?
- Get up early. Sure enough, if I stay in bed too long, that throws off the whole darn morning. I’m a night owl, so this can be a challenge.
- To get up early, I have go to bed at a decent hour to get a good night’s sleep. Turn off the phone.
- I write a master list of the most important tasks I need to get done that week. I look ahead in my calendar to see what’s coming up so I don’t miss anything I need to prep for like an upcoming presentation. I don’t want any surprises!
- I use a separate piece of paper to write down the tasks that I want to perform that particular day from my master list. It’s called a “stubby to do list.”
- I estimate how much time I believe each task will take. It’s very easy to think we can do more than we really can in a day. When you estimate the time for each task, you get a much more realistic view about what you can accomplish.
- I strive to work on my most pressing items first which includes work that impacts someone else, has a deadline or a due date associated with it.
Organize your home office day and enjoy a more productive and balance life when you get your list checked off and also tend to the rest of life!
