Work At Home Discipline - 4 Step Action Plan

One of the biggest challenges when working at home is time and task management. It is much more difficult to remain disciplined and get work done at home than it is an an office. First, there is no supervisor looking over you and no threat of getting fired when you do not accomplish what is needed. In reality, you are your own boss and while there are consequences to not finishing all the work, like the business suffering, on a day to day basis this concept can get lost in the shuffle .

Also, at home you have the freedom to do what you want, again because there is no one to answer to but yourself. So it is even more important to be sure to complete those tasks that will get your work done in a timely and efficient manner. Phone ringing, family, television and just the ability to take a break whenever you wish can all be deterrents to work at home success.

It is easy to get distracted by email, online surfing and other stupidity and lose focus on the tasks at hand. This has happened to all of us who work at home at one time or another.

It is important to address time management with home work because we need to have a lot more discipline. When working from home we have the freedom to choose what we do when we work and there is no one to answer to but our selves. It is easy to get distracted and lazy and do stuff that is more fun and appealing than actually doing the tasks that will accelerate our work at home incomes, whatever they might be.

Work At Home Task Management Plan

1. Everyday write down a list of tasks that must be completed the following day. Be realistic and make sure these can all be completed in the time available and that you will have enough time to complete them.

2. Do not put to many complicated brain draining activities on the same list. Remember we often work harder at home than we ever did for the boss because we care more and it is easy to get burned out. Try to mix the more creative and exhausting work from home tasks with easier more technical tasks that do not take a lot of brain power.

Also, leave the automated tasks for last. Things like checking email do not take a lot of brain juice and should be done at the end of the work day and the work at home that takes more energy should be done first when you are fresh and awake.

3. Have the list sitting in a visible location at your work area so that you make sure to see it when you sit down to work.

4. Make a commitment to work first on those tasks and nothing else until they are done. No email, turn off the phone ringer, do not answer the door or engage in other distracting activities!

Taking these simple steps will greatly improve your productivity and ensure that all important work is done.