Five Tips To Manage Your Time While Working From Home

(Guest post by Chezelle Hussey)

I am going to dive right in and say as you enter adulthood, I think it’s fair to say life gets hectic! Especially once you move out of your parents home - bye bye carefree days and lack of responsibilities - hello work, bills and chores not to mention marriage AND children 😭. Then you have to think about taking care of little humans (and a big one 🙊) who are dependant on you.

You’re either very organised, organised in one aspect of life (either at home or at work) or everything is just chaotic! If your life is the latter and you feel you have so many plates spinning and find yourself asking the questions "How can I plan my time better?" or "Why are there not enough hours in the day?", I urge you to check out my top five tips for time management below:

1. Lists

Write it down! If you have the memory of a fish like me, write down whatever comes to mind as soon as it pops up. I have lists for my workload, personal admin and I love a shopping list. If you want to make it more fun buy yourself a cute notebook or 20! 😅

2. Use A Diary

Whether it’s paper or digital, use a diary to put all of the important reminders and appointments somewhere you will be sure to see them. The last thing you want to do is forget an important occasion, miss a meeting or show up late. I bought a 2020 diary for personal use but thanks to the year we’ve had, I've not had any plans to put in it 🙃.

3. Block Out Your Time

Following on from my previous point, blocking time out in your diary can help you implement a routine into your day and stick to a dedicated amount of time to accomplish tasks. This can include anything from walking the dog to cooking dinner. I know at certain times of day, I need to take my son to nursery and then leave to pick him up, so those times are always kept clear in my diary and so long as it’s there, I won’t book any calls/meetings. Don’t forget to put some ‘me’ time in there too 😉.

4. Pomodoro Technique

Ever heard of the Pomodoro technique? It’s a time management method where you use a timer to break down work into intervals, typically 25 minutes in length and separated by short breaks. This is really good if you find it hard to focus for long periods or you get constant distractions...or you need to nip off to make your 5th cup of coffee for the day 🍻 I mean ☕️.

5. Find Your Most Productive Times Of The Day

Lastly, leading on from number four, combine the above technique with working at times when you feel you can/will be most productive. Try to figure out whether that’s the morning, afternoon or evening. I find that I am a night owl and my creativity comes to life but for some that might be the crack of dawn (with a 3pm nap), it is what it is. You know yourself better than anyone else.

Ok, last one and I’m done. Remember to REST! It’s really important for our mind, body and anyone we live with so that we don’t rip their head off because we’re a grumpy mess 🤯. The last thing you want to do is suffer from burnout. Life can get so hectic, it feels like you are on a hamster wheel but listen to your body. If you feel shattered, incorporate some rest and/or self care. You can’t be productive and see results if you are tired.

Hi everyone, I'm Chez, a Virtual Assistant - essentially a remote Personal Assistant - I support women Entrepreneurs with their admin and Instagram Management. I would really like to thank Nina for giving me the opportunity to speak on her platform and share my knowledge about prioritising my day which is an essential part of my role. If you'd like to have a chat about how I could support you with your admin and/or Instagram, feel free to drop me a line on email chez@vasuiteco.com or via DM's @vasuiteco.