5 Reasons Why You Need A Work-At-Home Schedule

Every day, my husband fills out massive spreadsheets to account for his day. He works for a large engineering firm and his day often consists of working on a variety of projects. I now have my own spread sheet and agenda for the day, which has greatly increased my productivity. I'm old enough to know that there is no such thing as a perfect time in life; you just live the one you have. I recently participated in an online forum where both men and women had moved to embrace it – and found it to be more liberating than restrictive.

One of the allures of working from home is the sense of freedom it evokes: no time clock, no time sheets, and no one to answer to about how you spend your time. Yes, it is an appealing proposition, but as with many appealing propositions, there is a significant drawback: you will most likely waste a significant amount of time.

Every day, my husband spends time filling out these massive spreadsheets to account for his day. He works for a large engineering firm, and his day often consists of working on a variety of projects for various clients. He loathes the activity and I have always dismissed it as a waste of time — that is until my home business recently took off and I realized there simply wasn't enough hours in the day to accomplish all my goals.

I now have my own spread sheet and agenda for the day, which has greatly increased my productivity and reduced my stress. If you don't believe you need a schedule for your home business, reconsider — and keep reading.

I knew something had to change after a string of relatively unproductive days in which my "To Do" list seemed to grow exponentially every time I looked at it.

Granted, I was going through a difficult time. My home business was growing and taking up more time than usual, my four-year-old was only in preschool part-time, my husband wasn't pulling his weight at home, and my extended family was dealing with a number of crises. But I'm also old enough to know that there is no such thing as a perfect time in life; you just live the one you have. These are the issues I'm dealing with this year. These issues will be exchanged for new ones the following year.

I discovered five reasons to embrace the schedule after studying my time and talking with some other work-at-home people:

1. It is far too easy to waste time on non-essential tasks.

2. It is far too easy to become sidetracked or distracted from one's current task.

3. Unscheduled work time frequently overlaps into your free time, until you have no free time at all. 4. Your free time frequently overlaps into your work time, causing you to fall behind on important projects.

5. Focusing your time and energy on the most important projects allows you to get more done.

I'm not the only one who works from home and has a full schedule. I recently participated in an online forum where both men and women had moved to embrace it – and found it to be more liberating than restrictive. After all, you are still in charge of the schedule, so you are free to take a 3-hour lunch break, an afternoon, or an entire day whenever you want.

If you find it difficult to set your schedule and priorities for the day and week, perhaps your significant other or a friend can assist you.