Working From Home

How to Manage Your Time

When you work in an office, your gabby neighbor, needy family members, and others don’t expect you to be free during the day. Your inner domestic engineer or social media butterfly isn’t coming up with tasks or distractions either. But when you work from home—as a telecommuter, business owner, or player in the gig economy—setting boundaries with others and for yourself is critical to success.

Manage Expectations of Others

Some people in your life equate working from home with not really working. As in, you’ll have time to babysit their child or care give their elderly parent, listen to problems over the phone or at a coffee shop, let a repairman in their house, or join their committee. If you want to be productive and successful, you must manage their expectations.

In May 2019, I marked 23 years of working from home. In the early years, I didn’t do a good job of putting the word out that I wasn’t lazing on the couch all day sipping tea, eating chocolate, and waiting to meet others’ needs.

When my daughter was in kindergarten, another mom asked me to babysit her two-year-old. This mom wanted to chaperone a kindergarten trip, a trip I had opted out of because work deadlines loomed. The other woman’s husband also worked from home. Couldn’t the father “babysit” his child? Oh no, he had to work, the other mother told me. Obviously, this dad was doing a better job of putting the word out that he had a real job.

Now, I make it clear that even though I toil in the comfort of my own home and sometimes even in yoga pants—never pajamas—I’m still at work with projects due, phone meetings, and other commitments.

Don’t Let Others into Your Work World

Even when you make it clear, some people won’t get the message. Let your phone set boundaries. Nearly everyone has caller ID and voicemail. Don’t answer the phone unless the call is related to your children or is critical to taking the next step in your critical task. If you slip up and answer the phone, tell the caller you have three minutes and then get off.

To get off the phone, I have rung my own doorbell—oops someone’s at the door. And I’ve hung up while I, not the gabby talker, was mid-sentence—I mean who hangs up on themselves?
The same goes for email. Productivity gurus swear by answering email only at certain times of the day or only once a day and never in the mornings.

Limit Social Media

For some people, it’s easy to set limits for others but harder to set limits for themselves. The siren song of social media can sap your productivity. If you don’t have enough willpower to limit yourself, there are plenty of free or inexpensive programs and apps such as Freedom and Self Control that will keep you off social media or the internet altogether for anywhere from an hour to all day.

Just Say No with a Smile

You can’t avoid every phone call or request. Practice saying no with a smile in your voice. “I wish I could, but I have another commitment” should flow easily from your lips. Don’t make excuses because the most persistent requesters will figure out workarounds for those excuses.

Guard Your Most Productive Time

To take it to the next level, figure out your most productive work time. For some, it’s early morning. For others, it’s the sweet spot right after caffeine kicks in mid-morning. Others prefer the afternoon or late at night. This is your get-it-done time. Likely, you’re capable of accomplishing twice as much during these hours. That’s your time in the zone. Protect it. Avoid outside commitments during that prime work time. Mornings are my crunch time. I don’t schedule doctor’s appointments, dates with friends, or personal phone calls in the morning. I limit the work calls I answer. Late afternoons, when I know I won’t be as productive anyway, are when I book non-work events.

Ignore Housework

Focus on your job, not other tasks. To work at home, you have to ignore your inner domestic god or goddess. Just because you’re home, doesn’t mean you’re a homemaker, housewife, or domestic dad. If you were in an office, you wouldn’t see the dirty dishes in the sink, the dog hair on the carpet, or an overflowing laundry basket. Train yourself to walk right past them as you focus on your work tasks.
Consider using the money you’re saving on commuting and parking to hire a young teenager to help with home chores. You’re creating more jobs in the gig economy. When my helpers are unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry, and mowing the lawn, I’m free to write about career success.