This article will look at some techniques for managing personal productivity when working remotely. If you missed it, here are some favorite time management techniques to start with!
What is time management?
If you’re not familiar with time management, it’s important to start by defining the phrase before moving forward. Time management is essentially organizing time for things that need to be done to accomplish what you need to accomplish. Task lists are time managers because they help you organize tasks into time-specific chunks that you can then execute.
Why it is important for remote workers?
Because time management is so important to just about every function of work, it’s even more important for remote workers than office employees. Office employees have the benefit of time management strategies by default because they are in the same space as their coworkers enabling them to coordinate and synchronize time.
If time management is so crucial, why aren’t we all time managers?
Most people don’t use time management techniques because time management is just another thing on their to-do list that they never get to. Tracking how you spend time for a week will likely show that most of your time is spent on one or two things that take up most of your time. Because time is not being used as effectively as it could be, time management in employee equipment agreement becomes important to address this problem.
What are some time management strategies for remote workers?
There are virtually hundreds of time management strategies out there so I’m going to focus on the top four time management techniques that are most important to remote workers. Carry a time management template in your pocket everywhere you go slow downtime with time boxes.
Schedule time for catching up with coworkers. Maximize distractions time. Before each strategy gets covered, keep this general time management tip in mind: the more time you spend planning out how you are going to use your time, the more time you’ll save in the long run.
1. Carry a time management template
Thinking time is not time to be managed can be hazardous to your time management health. Before you start reading this article, stop and read that again because it’s important: thinking time is just as important as any other time. It’s time to time manage your thinking time! One way you can do this is by carrying a time management template in your pocket everywhere you go.
Here are some time tracking printables that are recommended: time log, time use report, and timesheet. You can also just use a blank sheet of paper or an online spreadsheet, but time management templates help time tracking become a little easier and more time-efficient.
2. Slow downtime with time boxes
Timeboxing is the time management technique of carving out time for specific tasks by setting time limits on tasks. It can be used to manage any time of the task, but it’s most effective when used to manage the workday to make time management a priority.
Timeboxing time for work allows you to be more time effective with work because it minimizes distractions and time-wasting behaviors. It also makes time management transparent because time boxes are seen time after time, which means there’s no trying to remember how long you spent on a task to determine whether or not it needs to be repeated.
Here are some time management examples of time boxes: time box 1 hour for time management time box 5 minutes every hour time box 10 minutes to respond to coworkers’ emails time box 30 minutes for personal phone calls time box 2 hours on the weekend for catching up with coworkers.
One popular technique is creating a morning, afternoon, and evening time box. It can help time management by having time boxes for common time-wasting behaviors like checking social media, doing personal chores, surfing the Internet, and checking emails.
3. Schedule time for catching up with coworkers
Because we don’t work in the same office as our coworkers, we tend to rely on email and other time-wasting time management tools to catch up with them. There are time management exercises for this purpose in employee equipment agreement, but one time management tip is making time in your calendar for catching up.
4. Maximize distractions time
Remember thinking time? Managing our time doesn’t stop when we get off work or during weekends. Time management is an everyday time management behavior that requires time management exercises to maximize time, especially during downtime.
There are many ways time can be wasted so it’s important to time management strategies are in place without having to rely on willpower. One very common time-wasting behavior is watching TV which could have the added benefit to maximize the distraction time for employees.
