Just came across some notes I took on time management in the context of working at home. I appreciated the reminders and thought maybe some of you relate to the whole working-at-home thing. If you can read my chicken-scratch, perhaps you might benefit from a pointer or two.
These notes are based on a couple short videos I saw online sometime last year. They were done by Julie Morgenstern, professional organizer, who teamed up with Canon to do a series of videos on organization and time management. I wish I could share the link but I can’t find them now. If anyone else knows, feel free to post the link.
Tags: julie morgenstern, work-at-home
Thanks for that post Becky. We are about to start our new school year here in Australia, and I am also trying to organise myself at the same time to make the most of the time I have. To do lists are great to keep me on track as well!
Becky, this is fabulous. I work outside my home and my hubby stays at home with our four boys. These are great, great reminders for folks working from home or outside of the home. I’ll be linking back to this for sure!
These are great tips, thanks for sharing. I work from home and struggle to find that balance between working too much and not feeling guilty when not working and learning to set things aside for a later time.
Becky, I actually bookmarked that site (julie/canon) when you mentioned it last year…but I just clicked on it and it’s not there anymore .
Says it cannot be found. http://www.usa.canon.com/app/html/HomeOffice/index.html
Thank you! This is exactly what I needed! Thanks for sharing! And I love that you shared your chicken scratch on a notepad, so much more fun than reading plain type!
Thank you for this post. This is a great list and very inspiring to me right now! I need to work on this.
Thanks for this post. I start working from home on Tuesday. With a 9 month old son into everything, I know I will have to be really disciplined to get my work done. Thank goodness it’s only a part-time job and I do have a friend who will be watching my son part of that time. I’m saving this info so that I can keep myself in check in the coming months!
awesome tips…thank you!
ok the notes are great, but answer me this one. are your notes really that neat as you take them. please tell me you rewrote them, because my notes are truly chicken scratch. ha! Great post as always, thanks again.
I had one quick question…what is transition time? Loved all of the notes, but I was interested in clarification on this one item if you could.
Thanks -
Sue
So I am curious what does everyone use to keep them organized (calendar & to-do list)?
Hi Becky thank you again for some pearls of wisdom. I am from Australia and my oldest child is starting school tomorrow…i have been trying to figure out how to best be organised for the new school year…and i just happened upon your blog. i also want to share with you that i have ordered my Project Life kit this week and i am so very excited…i cannot wait to do my little white box dance when it arrives…
you really are quite exceptional! inspirational no less…and i look forward to sharing the journey with you. take care of yourself and a big hug from Down Under
thank you thank you and thank you again
Tanya xxxxx
OMGosh, so many good tips there. Thank you so much! I have 2 jobs (medical transcription) that I do from home in addition to being a single mom to a 7 y/o AND studying for USMLE board exams. Time management is *critical* for me to get anything done. I do stop and take breaks to do this or that, though, because I can’t type for 5 hours straight. My hands would fall off! LOL
This is great, I’m totally writing these up and placing them in my office!
I love Julie Morgenstern and have her DVD. I just mentioned to a friend the other day that I have setup one task each morning and don’t do anything else until I have it done (but I keep it to an hour task). This makes a HUGE difference in my day.
Becky – I’d like to know what you use as a transition from home to work and work to home. This is one area I am still working on. I tend to jump from one to another and I think a transition would get me more in the mode. I feel like at the end of the day I leave my office but my head is still at work.
Helen
Jenifer,
For calendar and To-Do I use electronic to keep me in check but I am still a paper person. I have alarms setup in iCal and all of my to-dos (I take my day and transfer it on paper when I look at my “tomorrow” at the end of each day) I use THINGS. I love this program because I can connect the to-do lists to ical and you can setup reminders.
Helen
As I was reading through your notes, I thought to myself, “This sounds a lot like the info I got from the Julie Morgenstern books.” I got to the end and saw that yes, indeed, these come from her. I work outside of the home and the tips are just as valuable. The suggestions that she gave that I found most impacted me were to only check email at set times during the day and to schedule to do tasks instead of just having a to do list. These two things have made a positive impact on my day. Thanks for the reminders.
Hey, thanks:) I appreciate that. I think I knew this once. And let it slide. Good to have it given again. It always helps to stay on track or have someone steer you back when you get off track.
That is such a great list! I work from home right now and I’m finding it hard to balance working, computer time and home/family duties. I definitely think this will help me to create a path!
thank you for the list! Great reminders and tips so the day does not get away from me!
Hoping I am the latest winner of Project Life! I need this in my life this year, documenting the every day things in a album kit all its own will help me scrap a album, it will also document my sons senior year. That in its self is a HUGE time to document and hes my last child in school!!!
Great! I NEED this list!
And I NEED Project Life because I am a full-time working mom with 2 kids. I love the Turq. version!
Good tips. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Becky,
Last year I did your school scrapbook with my son’s class. I’ve been asked by his new teacher this year (school just started here in Australia) to do it again with this class. I went searching your blog for the page templates to download and I’ve only found a couple. They will not download either. Do you have all the school pages in one place to download? I can’t find them. Thank you!
Go here: http://www.beckyhiggins.com/freestuff/ and click on Personal Yearbook in the sidebar.
Thanks for sharing…totally needed this!
Thanks Becky! This has been a tough week, and I can use these pointers. I’m also getting a little frustrated with my PL album. I have a 10 year old and a 12 year old, and many times they refuse to be photographed. On the other hand, when they WANT to be photographed, they actually have come to me and said, take a picture of ME for your photograph of the day! I want to thank you for all of the links you have provided with different ideas and communities all doing Project Life their own way. I was determined to do a picture a day, but I can see that I will have to adapt as the year progresses. I am also encouraging the kids to journal on the days they choose to be the subject of the photo. I love that. Thanks again for sharing these time management pointers. I find your blog so inspiring!
Your handwriting is beautiful! Not your typical american handwriting.
I just love the ideas you share with us. The time management ones are a lifesaver. Thanks!
Bridgette
This is SOOOO timely for me – thank you so much!
Oh my goodness, this is exactly what I needed! I started working from home this year and it is consuming my whole life. I love my work, but am losing touch with all the personal aspects of my life. I’m going to write this out and post it around my house. Thank you so much for posting this
Great input – might have been this clip…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHNPa41YZnw&feature=player_embedded
THX a lot for inspiration
use THINGS. I love this program because I can connect the to-do lists to ical and you can setup reminders
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here is one of her “Canon” videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sStNFIKK4_c
Brilliant tips, thank you. Especially that part about not doing personal work while working.. completely distracting!
Nice tips for better time management. One tip that interested me from my earlier reading was to check email when we are standing.
But ultimately the time tracking tool that we use from Replicon Online timesheet helps us track time better and perfect.