Balance House Work With Work At Home

Posted by JuanitaRitter on October 13, 2009

Working from home requires that a person stay focused and have good time management skills.  It’s natural to think that once you’re working from home, everything will magically run smoothly because you are in the  home all of the time. But it quickly becomes obvious that unless you are sticking to a schedule, you will find little in the way of productivity. Balancing housework with job duties is not easy. Facing the dirty dishes in the sink next to your long to-do list for work can begin to unnerve you and quickly lower your ambition and productivity levels. Instead, go into each week with a plan. The key to success is finding a little balance for both home and working at home.

There are a few simple tricks that will just make life easier for you and your work-at-home life:

Have a Written Plan
To get organized, it may be necessary to have a visual aid to keep you on point. While you likely have to remain organized in your work life, it can be just as important to organize your home life. Keep a schedule of the days or time slots you need to take care of around the home tasks. It may seem overkill to schedule a day to weed the garden or a time to do the dishes but believe it or not, you will not only be more productive, you will begin to rely on the list and even build on it in the future.

Get Ready For Your Day the Night Before
Thankfully, working from home does not require the sometimes agonizing routine of deciding what you need to wear to the office. However, that still leaves the rest of the family so get ready to prepare everyone ahead of time. Take time the night before to get clothes out and ironed. This a task that can take a mere fifteen minutes the night before but could easily turn into at least forty five minutes if you put off until morning. When you get into the routine of getting the next day’s clothes ready, you may begin to plan even farther ahead and saving yourself tons of time and stress.

Schedule Different Tasks At Different Times
Many people in the 8-5 cubicle world often complain about the mundane and routine days behind the desk. Working at home is no different, especially if you plan to be successful. It can get really boring at home and the less productive you are, the less ambitious you may feel. Break up your work day with a variety of tasks. Do a few hours of work and then get up and clean the windows, dust the furniture, or work on the photo albums while you have some quiet time. A bit of variety and a good handle on your time will be rewarding in so many ways.

Do A Load or Two Of Laundry A Day
Washing and folding a load or two a day of laundry a day will reduce the feelings of being so overwhelmed when you let it pile up until the weekend. Set a time to do it daily and program it into your alarm or computer. This is a task that also serves as a way to get a break from staring at the computer screen or dealing with paperwork or client calls for hours on end. Any home task that can pile up can be a large thorn in your working side. Tackle all day jobs little by little and break up the monotony.

Stick With It
It may be a bit difficult to get into spirit of scheduling, but it can and does work. And don’t expect to just plan out a week and move along. A good time management plan that brings balance will require upkeep and constant improvement.

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