You Can Improve Your Work at Home Productivity

The trouble with working at home is that it’s at home. There are a lot of distractions, especially when you have young children about. But when you’re trying to earn a living you have to get as much as possible done with the time you have.

These are some tips that I’ve found useful when I’m working. Things don’t always work out the way I want them to, but that’s all a part of the challenge!

Forget Multitasking

The more you multitask, the more you’re distracting yourself, more likely than not. Sometimes you can’t avoid multitasking, but if you can focus on one thing at a time you’ll probably be more productive.

How long you work on a particular area is up to you. You may do best in 10-15 minute spurts on a particular activity before moving on to something else. There’s nothing wrong with that. But don’t start checking your email, twittering, checking on your Facebook friends and so forth when you’re supposed to be focused. Save it for a break.

Do your best in this area for distractions kids cause and things around the house. You can’t always tell the kids “later” but teach them to respect when you say you need to work and when to interrupt you anyhow. That’s harder when they’re younger, but they’ll learn in time.

Make Time for Your Kids

I just said it. Kids are distracting. But if you give them the time and attention they need you can have more control over it.

Make time to play with them, but also insist that they play without an adult helping. Kids can and should be doing this daily. Just think of how much fun you probably had as a child playing with no adults involved.

If your children need you when you’re working, try the timer method. Set a time for the time you need to finish what you’re working on or for an amount of time that it’s appropriate to have a child of that age wait. When the timer goes off, stop working and go play.

Don’t do this for more urgent needs, of course.

Plan Your Day

Know what you want to get accomplished every day. Write it down on paper so you have something to check off, if that helps you. Or you can type it into the computer. At the very least have goals in your head. Just something to keep you from working aimlessly throughout the day. That makes it far too easy to goof off.

Trust me. I know.

Having plans and goals help you to realize when you’re allowing yourself to slack off too much. But don’t set them so high that you frustrate yourself because you can never achieve them. Be fair to yourself.

Work at the Times that Are Best for You

Well, at least when possible. If you like working in the middle of the day best, and that’s when other obligations need you most, you’re just out of luck in that area. Pick your next best time for working.

I prefer working at night, after the kids have gone to bed. I don’t get to do that every night, but I try. Second best for me is whenever my youngest goes down for her nap. That one often means working through what would otherwise be lunch time, but a late lunch works well enough for me.

Don’t ask me to get up early in the morning to work. I’ll be cranky. I write at night and then schedule blog posts to come out in the early morning so that early birds can read them if they like, but that does not mean I’m one too.

Take Breaks

There’s a reason why employers are required to give employee breaks. They’re necessary. And even though they feel like they’re taking away precious work time, they will help with your productivity overall. They give your mind the rest it needs.

Separate Work and Home

This is a tough one. You’re home all the time but sometimes you’re working. The two tangle up very easily.

Start with your work space. If you can avoid sharing it with the rest of the home it’s a big help. That doesn’t always work. My office, for example, is also the baby’s play area and my daughter’s homework zone. But they don’t have access to my desk or computer.

This is also why planning out your day is so important. It will help you to separate your home and work life.

Consider Outsourcing

Whether or not you can do this depends on what you do and how your budget looks. But if you can pay someone else to do some of your work you’ll get a lot more other stuff done. Done right, outsourcing will allow you to earn even more money.

But it’s not possible for everyone. It’s more for people running a home business, obviously.

Try to remember that just because you have a particular skill doesn’t mean you shouldn’t outsource it. It makes a lot of sense for many people to hire someone to do their taxes, for example. With modern software you could manage it on your own, but it may not be the right choice.

Similarly, a virtual assistant can be a huge help in some of the basic areas of running a home business. Let someone else handle the routine stuff and focus on the projects that require your special skills.