Are you starting a home business as a new remote worker? If so, you're typically met with seemingly endless decision-making while battling possible interferences like procrastination. Here, you’ll learn how structured routines, mindfulness, and intentional breaks can help with time management for new remote workers, improving focus and productivity.
How to Manage Time for New Remote Workers
Below, you’ll find practical tips, tricks, and techniques to help improve time management for new remote workers and veteran entrepreneurs. Together, these approaches help foster focus, productivity, and long-term well-being.
1. Limit Decisions
The thoughts and decisions rushing to your mind as you work from home can cause two scenarios: decision fatigue and analysis paralysis.
Decision fatigue generally occurs when the mind runs out of cognitive energy. This psychological phenomenon deteriorates the quality of decisions after prolonged mental exertion. For new remote workers, various daily choices that typically involve work schedules and task prioritization accumulate quickly, draining cognitive resources over time.
Additionally, the sheer number of decisions to be made may lead to analysis paralysis, another phenomenon that might result in inaction. As a new remote worker, you’ll often face overwhelming choices, particularly when starting a new business. Some examples include selecting marketing strategies and pricing models.
Reduce decision fatigue and analysis paralysis from occurring by limiting your decisions. A structured time management strategy for new remote workers can help balance home business duties. Simplify decisions through the development of a thorough framework to bypass cognitive drains and thought paralysis, nurturing focus, productivity, and work efficiency.
2. Combat Procrastination
Unlike the office, distraction and procrastination can lurk in relatively every corner. That notification ping from your phone might not even be important, and it’s just an app reminding you to log in for the day. Also, there’s going to be a right time to clean your workspace, and that period isn’t when you’re working.
Remember, don’t fall prey to the Zeigarnik Effect, a psychological effect named after the Lithuanian-Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik. This phenomenon occurs when the human mind vividly remembers incomplete tasks rather than completed ones. It’s often a persistent mental reminder of unfinished work, fueling procrastination and creating feelings of anxiety and overwhelm.
Combat the Zeigarnik Effect and, by extension, procrastinate by breaking larger tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. Also, take advantage of time management techniques, like the Pomodoro Technique, to help you remain laser-focused on the tasks at hand. Doing so can also make rewards more satisfying, as your mind won’t be bothered by the thought of finishing incomplete tasks.
3. Limit Distractions
As mentioned earlier, the home usually has a near-endless supply of things to distract you from completing tasks. These interruptions often include the following:
- Household chores
- Television and visual media
- Clutter
- Smartphone notifications
- Personal errands
Limiting distractions at home is crucial, especially for the new remote worker. A study from the American Psychological Association (APA) found that frequent interruptions can reduce productivity by up to 40%. These disturbances will then result in the brain expending more energy than usual, which is a general requirement for sustaining deep work.
Thankfully, various techniques are available to avoid distractions when working at home, such as the following:
- Plan the day ahead
- Turn off notifications
- Take breaks
- Use noise-canceling headphones
- Sleep
Also, reducing distractions by doing meaningful techniques, like implementing time management strategies for new remote workers, is vital for home-based entrepreneurs. Remember, frequent interruptions can also trigger cognitive fatigue, which can lead to burnout and reduced creativity.
4. Meditate
Meditation can help calm the mind, which is essential for new and veteran remote workers, particularly those launching and running home businesses. Generally, remote work blurs the boundary between professional and personal life. With meditation, especially with mindfulness exercises, helps reduce cortisol levels, enhancing focus and improving decision-making and problem-solving abilities.
With sufficient practice, meditation can help increase productivity by letting remote workers manage distractions at home. A study from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) reveals that practicing mindful meditation increases gray matter density in the brain, which, in turn, sharpens cognitive abilities aimed at various tasks.
This improved focus brought by meditation and other helpful techniques can help home business owners juggle various roles efficiently. Also, allowing meditation to become a habit can help foster mental clarity, reducing the risks of mindless procrastination.
5. Rest
Although part of the set of normal human functions, many people, including new remote workers, tend to set aside rest in the hopes of completing tasks. While resting may sound counter-productive, particularly when compared to work, it's a crucial element for a healthy, functioning human body.
Workers, regardless of location, can become overworked without proper rest. Overwork then leads to burnout and chronic stress, as reported by the World Health Organization. Submitting to overwork and burnout won’t only reduce mental health but you’ll also impair your decision-making skills.
Additionally, overwork can lead to other health risks, including the following:
- Eye strain from significant screen time
- Musculoskeletal disorders from prolonged sitting
- Cardiovascular issues from lack of exercise
- Weakened immune function from lack of sleep
Entrepreneurs who prioritize rest and proper sleep schedules generally lead to better work-life balance and reduced stress. Over time, these beneficial effects may lead to other physical and mental health advantages, promoting a happier and improved well-being.
