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Have you ever spent a day in your home office watching the clock? Have you ever had a day when you just couldn’t get started on anything, and finished the day accomplishing nothing? Have you ever spent a whole day doing odds and ends, and felt like you accomplished nothing?
Have you ever had one of those days when your phone rang constantly, the dog puked in the middle of your office carpet, three contractors stopped by to offer you quotes because they were working in your area, and your kids or significant other called for a ride or needed you to run an errand? STOP! Enough already! We’ve all had those days, and we always will have them. If they become a pattern or habit, however, they can undermine your success at telecommuting! Breaking a habit is harder than stopping one before it starts. If you’re new to telecommuting, start right. You may be at home, but you’re still working. If the pattern of inefficiency already exists, take steps to change it—before it forces you to change your workplace. Work from a Daily To-Do List - Before you leave your office each day, make a to-do list for the next day. It may change, but it gives you a place to start on days when you’re less motivated.
- Check-off your to-do items as you complete them, and jot down new items as they arise. Not only will the list keep you on-track, it’ll help you see that you accomplished something by the end of the day.
- If you lose focus in the middle of the day, refer back to your list and pickup where you left off.
- Start a fresh list for each day, and put carry-forward items at the top so you can start with them.
- Save your lists. If you need to provide your office with an accounting of your time, your to-do lists will help you remember the details.
- Keep a separate to-do list for personal and family items. They may be an important part of your life, but they’re not part of your work day.
Do Not Disturb! - Screen your phone calls with an answering machine or caller-id.
- Schedule a couple of break times and tell your family and friends to call then, unless it’s an emergency.
- Clearly define what constitutes an emergency. If you were working in a factory where you couldn’t accept calls, would your foreman pull you off the line? If not, it’s not an emergency.
- Don’t answer the door. You’re not home, you’re working.
- If you frequently receive business packages that require signatures, ask your delivery services to waive the signature requirement. If they won’t, or you only occasionally receive packages, you’ll need to answer the door—but only if you see a delivery truck.
Hospital Zone. If you’ve got a sick pet, kids, or significant other, your office is not the infirmary. - Close the door to your office when you’re working, and close out the sickies. It’s ok to check on them when you take a break; but, you don’t need them distracting you constantly.
- If a loved one is so sick that you need to attend them constantly, make arrangements with your office to take time off. You might be able to make-up the time in the evening or over a weekend, when someone else can relieve you.
- Don’t kid yourself. You won’t get much work done if your mind is on your sick loved one. It’s better to give them your full attention; then, give your work your full attention later.
You’ve Got Two Choices Get yourself focused on your work and keep distractions and interruptions down to a minimum; or, give up telecommuting and return to a cubicle. Only registered users can write comments.
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