Working remotely means that you can work whenever you feel like it and in any way that suits you. While that sounds like heaven, it can quickly become anything but if you don’t organize your day.
Without a regular schedule, how do you make sure you actually get work done?
Having a schedule helps you maintain balance and get enough work done each day. It also prevents you from working too much. This may be surprising, but many new remote workers find that they work more since there’s no official “quitting time.”
Ready to create your new remote schedule? Read on for our top tips.
Work With Your Natural Rhythms
The good news is that you can create a schedule that works for you! Amazing right?
Are you most productive in the early morning? Then start work at 6 a.m. Are you a night person? Kick it off after lunch. You can even break it up so that you have a productive morning, a long break, and then a few evening hours. The sky’s the limit, and it’s totally up to you.
How Much Is Enough?
It’s difficult to judge at first how long your workday should be. A good guideline is to look at how much you work now and set a schedule accordingly—or make it just a bit shorter and try to be more productive with your time. You can always add a few hours when you have a deadline or something that needs to be finished.
Tell Everyone Who Needs To Know
Once you have your schedule set, inform the key people who you work with. You might let colleagues or clients know your schedule so they know when they can reach you. If there are people you work with in another time zone, you might adjust your schedule accordingly. You should inform family members and roommates as well, so they don’t bother you during your working time.
It’s also helpful to put your schedule at the bottom of your email signature or in your Slack profile so people who are new to your work can clearly see when you’ll be “in office.”
Monitor Your Working Time
Your work schedule serves you, not the other way around. This means that it’s up to you to make sure it’s working the way you want it to.
Take some time to reflect and make sure you’re getting the results you want. Are you getting things done? How is your energy level? Do you have the time and energy to do the other things you want to do when you’re done working? If not, see what changes you can make to maximize your time.
Take Time Off When You Need It
One of the advantages of having a flexible schedule is that you can adjust it when necessary. When you have a family emergency or something else to deal with, take the time off you need without feeling guilty.
If there’s important work to do, shift it to another day. Remember: you’re the boss now.
Stay Off the Clock
You’ve spent all this time crafting the perfect remote work schedule—so make sure you stick to it!
When you’re off the clock, don’t do anything work-related. Resist the urge to check email. Turn off notifications. Make your personal time, your personal time, and watch how much more productive your workday becomes.
Your remote work schedule gives you control over your work so you can get things done on your own terms and maintain the right work-life balance.
Do you need help navigating all the moving parts of running a remote business? Click here to set up a discovery call with me to see how I can help you manage and scale your remote business with ease.
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