by Laurie Childree

Created on: September 03, 2009   Last Updated: January 23, 2012

Working from home is demanding. You have to get your work done and you have to make sure that your home runs smoothly as well. There a dozen things that have to be done and you have to find the time to do them all. Managing your time takes effort and organization. There are things that can be done in order to make the time you spend working from home more productive and less stressful.

Scheduling

You have to have a schedule. It doesn't matter if you're a day person, night person or if the kids are home with you or in school you have to keep a schedule. To work from home you will have to make a schedule for working hours. The time set aside for work must be used to work. The hours you work aren't the only things that have to be scheduled when working from home; you must also schedule days off and time to spend with the family before and after the work day.

Your schedule may not have to be down to the moment but having hour blocks worked out will help you maintain some sense of order. It's not just your schedule you have to take into consideration when you work from home, it's the rest of your family's schedules as well. Organizing doctor's visits and meetings with teachers has to be included in the scheduling.

Emails

Checking and answering emails should be done at certain times a day. When you have small children at home you may want to wait to do your emails until they are asleep. When you're emailing potential employers or sending off assignments you want to be sure they are as accurate as possible. Either first thing in the morning, mid day or the last thing you do during the day will be to take care of your emails. This way you've already gotten everything that you need to start the day and made sure that you have done everything you need to do that day.

To Do List

Making a to do list as you discover the need for things to do through the day will give you a guideline to go by during your workday. This way you'll easily be able to see what takes top priority when you begin work. You can make a separate to do list for the house so that you know what to take care of when during your off time.
Housework

The housework should be done when you are scheduled off. No matter what you should not attempt to do housework while you're working. It'll be there when you get done. The easiest way to resist the temptation of doing housework while working is to put an office in separate room or corner where you can't see what has to be done.

Managing your time and working from home takes time but it can be done. You have to be firm with those around you though. They have to understand that when you're working you can not run their errands or have unplanned visitors as it disrupts your work day.

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