Work At Home

Essential Time Management Skills for Work at Home Moms

I have asked several successful work at home moms what the most important skills in being successful are. Most of them would agree that time management is at the top of this list. Time management allows us to achieve more and increase our effectiveness.

Time management is often difficult at first. It takes a lot of flexibility and re-evaluation to find a system that works for you. But, as soon as you have a structure that works well for you, you will be amazed at how much easier things will flow in your home and business life. The following is a list of skills that are essential for effective time management.

Prioritize your To-Do Lists.
Most of us have written a to-do list in our lives, yet many of us still haven’t learned to use to-do lists to our best advantage. The key to making an effective to-do list is to prioritize tasks in order of importance. This allows us to carry over important tasks to our planner, and insure that they get done on time. It also helps us not to get stressed out over less important tasks if they don’t get done immediately.

Learn Effective Scheduling.
Make sure you are setting aside time for your work, as well as scheduling time for tending to your household and family. This will be your basic daily schedule, in which you will schedule appointments and tasks. Be sure to schedule in your high-priority tasks from your to-do list. What you have left will be your “discretionary time”. Use this time wisely, and give yourself plenty of leeway.

Learn to Say No.
When more important jobs are on your list, politely saying no to less important social activities and low priority work should become a habit. Saying no frees up time for things that are most important.

Don’t be a Perfectionist.
Nobody can be perfect. Trying to be perfect sets you up for defeat. Difficult tasks usually result in avoidance and procrastination. You should set achievable goals, but they should also be challenging. There will always be people that are stronger and weaker than you.

Combine Several Activities.
People who are extremely successful at time management learn to combine their time. Combining several activities into one time spot will become easier over time. When you sit down to watch a sit-com, laugh as you pay your bills. Make a mental list of things that need to be done as you shower, or listen to taped notes while you commute the kids to and from school. Be creative.

Remember that it is easier to find something to do with extra time than it is to find extra time to do things. Make your schedule work for you. A time schedule that is not personalized and honest is not a time schedule at all.

This article has been written by Vanessa Pruitt, a work from home mom working to promote wellness. To learn more about working from home visit www.tricitymoms.com . She is also the owner of two subscription blogs, loveworkingfromhome.blogspot.com & netmommy.blogspot.com .