Remote workers get to enjoy the refreshing flexibility. But they need to prepare themselves for all the discipline and self-management that entails.

While remote work sounds great, everyday reality can be challenging. You need to deal with a lot of unstructured time, and you are fully accountable for how you use it. There’s no one to show you what to do or where to put your focus.

That is why setting up a winning structure is necessary – one that compliments your own individual productivity habits and strengths. While it takes time to get everything right, here are 6 time management tips for remote workers that will help you manage your time better.

 

Track Your Time Spending

Time is limited, so you can’t spend your time better unless you know how you spend it. So, investing in a good time tracking tool is a good idea. Tracking your time helps to set boundaries, measure your progress, make sure your work patterns are good and where you waste your time.

Another measure you can take is to make yourself your own project manager. At different times of the day, you may have different levels of focus. Note when you are productive at doing what. This will help you utilize your strength better.

 

Set A Work Routine

Some structure is required, even when you are working remotely and have flexibility. Routine brings order and stability to working days. This also helps the colleagues of remote workers know their availability. The overall shape of your everyday work should be consistent. However, details can alter to fit other commitments.

 

Plan For Each Day

Having a plan for each day can improve your engagement at work, which is important for increasing your productive focus. So, create a plan for each day. Break larger tasks into more manageable chunks and keep your highest value tasks towards the front of your everyday schedule. We tend to do smaller and more manageable tasks first, so a plan can help you make sure you are sticking to your priorities.

 

Schedule For Downtime

Remote workers tend to be more productive, but sometimes they feel burned out. Remote workers can do concentrated deep work since there are no colleagues to distract them. However, without regular breaks between your work and personal time, you are leading yourself to a pretty painful crash. Even with this environment, remote workers tend to take fewer sick days and work more extended hours, which is a little surprising. Treat your downtime with activities that will fuel your next day.

 

Know When To Stop

When your home is your office, it can be difficult to know when to stop working. Moreover, you might have colleagues in different time zones, and you try to respond to their work queries immediately, which means you are pretty much always working.

You need to set clear availability hours and let people know when you can and can’t be reached. Then, once you are done, close your PC and step away from the desk.

 

Manage Time To Socialize

Getting lonely is normal when working remotely. To avoid the effects of loneliness, you can be proactive about your social time. Meet with friends, join a class or do whatever you need to make sure a varied and healthy amount of human contact.

 

Final Thoughts

It can be difficult to manage your time as a remote worker at first. But, soon, it becomes a habit and hugely empowering. You realize you have full control over when, where, and how you want to work, the kind of freedom that you can rarely enjoy in office culture. Whenever you start struggling with remote work, remind yourself why you started doing it in the first place.