Work at Home Productivity Tips – Part 5

For the past several weeks, we’ve explored lots of work at home productivity tips to help you succeed as a WAHM. You don’t have to make all of these changes at once–in fact, some of these tips might not even work for you. But if you choose one tip every week and commit to implementing it, you’ll see a drastic improvement in what you can get done during your work time. 

Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of the series after you read this one. They’re in no particular order–read them at your leisure!

Let’s move on to our final tips, beginning with creating more manageable to-do lists.

Keep Your Lists Short

Speaking of making lists, are yours a mile long? It’s good to keep a running list of items that you need to do someday, but that shouldn’t be the list you’re staring at every day because it can be disheartening to look at all those things that still need to be done. Keep your lists short and simple—it will help you learn to prioritize.

Action step: List 3-5 tasks that you need to finish today. If you’re a pen and paper person, a post-it note is the perfect size for a short list like this.

Break It Down

Big projects are daunting and often result in a lot of procrastination before a mad rush to meet a deadline. The reason we tend to put off big projects is that we’re looking at the big picture. A 20-page report for a client is a lot of work! By breaking it down into manageable steps, however, you can tackle one small step at a time and have the pleasure of checking things off your list at the same time.

Action step: Break down one of your big projects into small action steps. Complete the first step of the project today.

Take a Lunch Break Away from the Desk

If you’re eating lunch at your desk, you’re missing a great opportunity to rejuvenate your mind and get your blood flowing during the middle of your workday. In fact, giving your brain frequent breaks is necessary to get the most of your work time. You don’t have to set aside an hour or even 30 minutes. A 15-20 minute lunch break away from the desk will give your brain time to recuperate.

Action step: Get away from your desk for lunch today. Read, go for a walk or sit outside and enjoy the fresh air. Eat something healthy while you’re at it.

Set Aside Time for Errands

Whatever you do, don’t schedule appointments or run errands in the middle of the workday. Too many variables come into play that could upset your schedule for the rest of the day. Stick to running errands and setting appointments for before or after work or on the weekends.

Action step: Check your calendar for any appointments or errands that will upset your work schedule. Rearrange or reschedule them for a more convenient time.

Which tip from the series has helped you the most?

Check out previous tips in the posts below.

This post originally appeared on ProductiveWAHM.

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