People ask me how I’m able to accomplish what I do – raising three energetic children (who go in three different directions) and managing a growing business. One of my best work from home tips for getting the important things that really matter to me done is to be organized.
Did you know that we waste an incredible amount of time, energy, and money when we’re disorganized? The National Organization of Professional Organizers says that it is around 180 hours a year in a business (that’s more than a week). For a business mom, it’s probably triple that.
What are some work from home tips that will help you organize your life and office to accomplish everything – that matters to you personally and professionally – in the most profitable way? From personal experience, I know that it’s easier said than done.
My friend, Debbye Cannon, the Business Mom Mentor, helped me identify some big timewasters and also how to be more organized with each one and I’d like to share some of these work from home tips with you.
Timewaster #1 – Searching for lost items.
How many times, as business moms, have we had to stop what we’re doing and frantically search for lost items like keys or things that the kids need?
Get into the habit of labeling items and designating places where they belong. Think about what tools you need and where you often need them and then put them there – even if it means buying a number of them. For example label a pair of scissors for each room that you need them-"Kitchen Scissors", "Bathroom Scissors", "Bedroom Scissors", "Office Scissors".
Also, as a mom of smaller kids, I have a number of containers with band-aids, creams and those sorts of things. I keep one in my bag, one in the upstairs kids’ closet, and one in the car. I know eventually I’ll use it all up and it’s right there when I need it.
Timewaster #2 – Your paperwork is scattered.
Do you have piles of paper on your desk or on your kitchen counter?
Compile all the essential things you need to work on your business – papers, catalog, order forms, customer list, calendar – and put them in a three-ring binder or portable file . You’ll be able to take it with you and work on it while you wait for your appointments.
Timewaster #3- Reading unimportant emails.
Are you constantly checking your email throughout the day? Perhaps as a way to avoid doing something you don’t want to do but really need to do?
Handle emails before or after – not during – income-producing time, otherwise it’ll be a distraction from the work you need to do to move your business forward. You can also use a timer and set a limit to how much time you want to spend reviewing email and periodically unsubscribe from the ones that are not important.
Timewaster #4 – Failing to use a schedule productively.
Do you jump from one task to the next and end up feeling like you can’t finish anything?
Try to schedule a particular activity per day – Monday for writing, Tuesday for phone calls and interviews, Wednesday for personal days, etc. When an appointment comes up, you’ll know exactly what day to schedule it on. This sets the tone and allows you to get in the mindset of what you need to accomplish.
Your personal life and business life will ebb and flow. There will be busy times. There will be quiet times. Instead of doing it all in one day and being wiped out the next, try to be flexible enough to establish a consistent rhythm of moving forward.
If something comes up, like you need to take your children on a fieldtrip, enjoy the time with them and then get back on track with work on a different day.
Be mindful of the Law of Attraction – what you think about is what you bring about. Instead of listening to yourself and others say, "you ‘re so disorganized", give yourself the pass that it’s okay not to be perfect, and that you ‘re getting better at having it all together with the help of these work from home tips.
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