Organizing Time

When Working At Home, Organizing Your Time Is Even More Critical

We found that good home workers schedule their time carefully to meet the commitments of their work. Since being home denotes a more casual approach to things, scheduling cannot drop by the wayside. Children, spouse and neighbors have the notion that since you’re home, your time is unstructured, therefore, you are available, ergo, they can bother you. You need to let them know what your work hours are and that except for predetermined emergency-like situations, you cannot be interrupted for anything except golf, tennis or skiing. Or lunch - if they're buying.

When the author first started the business noted above, she got up at 4:00 a.m., worked until 7:00, got the kids up and off to school, then did the customer end of things, calling clients, organizing work for delivery, marketing, etc. This consumed the morning hours until midafternoon; then the kids were home from school, snacks and mealtimes were scheduled. In the evening, the work was scheduled for pre- and post-bedtime. Scheduling is very important and the commitment to meet the schedule bears no less importance - hang it on the fridge for all to see and comply with.

The only problem with those schedules is that occasionally the workload requires that you work several hours into the night, or maybe all day Saturday and occasionally even Sunday. But knowing that the long-term benefits would be worth the short-term overwork problems helps you survive. Be exceptionally well prepared for the worst and everything else falls into place. When you can no longer carry the workload alone, it’s time to hire someone to help or you can’t take on new work.

If you cannot schedule time for work, family and housekeeping at the present time - before venturing into homework environments - you won’t be able to structure a full-time homework schedule. The only thing you'll have is more time to execute a badly organized schedule. Organization is either a natural or acquired skill and deserves a volume of information all on its own and is therefore not covered in this manual. You will need to decide if you are a competent organized person, and if not, you will need to become one. A check list to evaluate that might include. (Make a page for each and fill it out):

Home and Family

• Organizing your activities as a homemaker or the primary wage-earner
• Organizing the kids’ activities
• Planning meals
• Planning chores
• Goal setting for vacations, fun things


Overall Goals and Planning

• Major Goals
• Mini Goals
• Goals Progress
• Daily Planner
• Weekly Planner
• Monthly Planner
• Time Log
• Master List
• Daily To Do List
• Projects Plans and Progress


Personal Growth and Reflection

• Journal
• Great Ideas
• My Wish List
• Spirit Lifters
• Decision Making Worksheet


Home, Garden and Auto

• Home Maintenance
• Home Repairs
• Household Appliances
• Gardening-Master
• Gardening-Flowers
• Gardening-Plants
• Vehicle Maintenance (important in your home business)
• Mileage Record (important in your home business)


Health, Exercise and Medical

• Balanced Diet Log
• Nutrition Worksheet
• Nutrition Summary
• Exercise Log
• Walking Log
• Quick Health Info
• Doctor Visits
• Medication Schedule
• Temporary Medication Log


Things to Do

• People to Visit or Contact
• Places to Go
• Books to Read
• Movies to See
• Restaurants to Visit
• Calls to Make
• Television Schedule
• Instructions Checklist


Special Occasions

• Birthdays
• Special Occasions
• Gift Ideas
• Party Planner
• Holiday Card Record


Computer

• E-mail Log
• Web site Log
• Computer Hardware
• Computer Software


Vacation and Travel

• Packing Checklist
• Travel Expenses
• Traveler's Emergency Info
• Vacation Schedule
• 10-Minute Vacations


Meetings and Presentations

• Presentation Outline
• Meeting Planner
• Meeting Agenda
• Meeting Notes


Home Office and Business

• Office Supplies
• File Folder Maps
• Contacts
• Marketing Schedule
• Marketing Results
• Customer Data
• Referral Log
• Training Log
• Delegation Log