How to Stay Organized Working from Home

You’ve got a full day’s work waiting in your home office, but the weekend’s laundry is waiting to be done and the last chapter of the thriller you’re reading is calling your name. If you work at home, you will be plagued with distractions. Staying organized and disciplined are the only proven methods for staying sane while keeping pace with your workload.

Things You'll Need

• Alarm clock or timer
• Home office or work area not used for any other purpose

Instructions

1. Set a strict schedule for yourself. Write it down or post it on your computer, and stick to it. The schedule should include the time you will begin work each day, your lunch break, your mini-breaks and the time you’ll quit work for the day. If you stick to your schedule without allowing outside interruptions, you will end most days feeling good about yourself and the work you have accomplished.

2. Distribute your schedule to your family and friends and explain that you won’t be available to visit or chat, either by phone or electronically, during those hours.

3. Learn to say no to housework. It will always be there, rearing its ugly head, but unless you learn to pretend that it doesn't exist during work hours, you may soon find yourself unemployed. Keep in mind that if you were working in an office away from home, housework would not even be an issue. So learn the restraint necessary to get past that nagging voice that calls to you from the sink of breakfast dishes.

4. Become a list-maker. Before your workday begins, make a list of the household chores and other personal or family activities that you are responsible for that day and prioritize those items. Begin each workday by creating a list of work tasks that you must accomplish that day, and prioritize them. Make another list of work-related activities you would like to do to make your job easier, such as cleaning out your email, organizing computer files and folders and deleting or tossing out those things no longer relevant to your job.

5. Take your lunch break. Eat something healthy and light, so you’re not tempted to nap in the afternoon. Take the entire 30 minutes. It may be long enough to finish reading the final chapter of your book or take a brief stroll outside. Fresh air is invigorating. Use an alarm clock to call you back to work on time.

6. Take your scheduled breaks throughout the day. Even 10 or 15 minutes away from work can clear your mind and provide you with better focus when you return to work. Again, set a timer to keep yourself on schedule.

Tips & Warnings

• Each day, post a copy of your work list, those tasks that you must do that day, on a wall near your desk. This may help your stay on task, and you may find a sense of accomplishment when you cross off each task that you complete.

• Don't work before or after work hours or on the weekends unless it is absolutely unavoidable. It may be tempting, but unless you can keep your personal time personal, you'll run the risk of burning out.