Having my own business was not on my choice of future careers, but life has a way of surprising us! Working on my business at home comes with a whole new set of challenges to stay organized. Even if you have a separate room to work in, it’s not necessarily easy to stay focused because there’s always going to be something else that needs attention in your home. Working smarter is even more critical since your own bottom line is at risk if you can’t stay organized and productive. Let’s break it down:
Focus and Use of Time. Staying focused on the business tasks at hand is hard while in your own home with phones, children or pets interrupting. To help, use a cueing device such as a picture on your wall or a figurine on your shelf and say the words, “Right now…I’m working on…I’m finishing this…I’m talking to…” Refocus as many times as you need to by looking at your cueing device until you complete your task.
When you are experiencing time pressure while working at home, first ask yourself if you need to be doing the task at this time or at all. Second, if the task must be done now, ask yourself if you can you do it more efficiently.
Multitasking. Multitasking is an illusion: it requires you to switch back-and-forth between tasks and this significantly reduces productivity. Start by trying to cut your multitasking by at least 20 percent; block out about 90 minutes every day (preferably in the morning) for deliberate practice with no multitasking. During this time, stay totally focused on high-priority, high-impact tasks.
Solving Problems. Having your own business means there’s no IT department or coworkers to call when you need help. In order to solve problems or challenges, sign-up for training, call an expert, or search the Internet. Do what it takes to meet your challenge or you’ll continue to waste your time.
Clarify Everything. Another time waster is lack of clarification; without it, you are guessing and when you guess, you waste time. When you are working on your business and things aren’t clear on how to proceed, ask as many questions as necessary to get the answers you need. Jumping right into something without the whole picture could cost you money, so do your research and clarify details so the direction is clear.
“You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower value activities.” — Brian Tracy, author of Eat That Frog
Vali G. Heist, M.Ed. is a Certified Professional Organizer® and Owner of The Clutter Crew. She is the author of Organize This! Practical Tips, Green Ideas, and Ruminations about your CRAP.
