Managing Your Home Office

Keep your work area organized.

This isn't just about neatness and avoiding the embarrassment of a messy home. This has everything to do with concentration and making good use of your time.

Whether your home office area is an actual separate room or just a certain area of the house really doesn't matter. The important thing is that you keep this area clutter-free and maintain an organized filing system.

A lot of time is wasted searching through piles looking for a specific paper. Taking a few minutes to set up a filing system and using it can save you a lot of time in the long run. Also, trying to concentrate on your school-work while surrounded by piles of stuff can send your anxiety levels through the roof.

Try to keep your home office area free of clutter and distracting messes. If you find yourself in a jam and can't take the time to clean up the area, then consider temporarily moving to a new location in your home (which is really easy if you have a laptop).

You don't want to make this a habit, but this change of scenery may be just the solution you need to get away from the chaos and focus on your assignment.

Use technology wisely.

Technology should help—not hinder—you manage your time efficiently. Don't let it take over and control your life instead.

Today's great technological advances allow others to have access to you 24/7 but this isn't always a good thing. Gadgets have back-up power sources; you don't. You need to establish periods of time when everything is turned off and you're given a chance to recharge your own batteries.

Protect yourself from allowing technology to become a source of distraction.

One particular example of how distracting technology can be, consider your e-mail inbox. Obviously e-mail is important and you need to check it routinely, but not every fifteen minutes.

The problem here isn't as much about the precious few minutes you spend checking your e-mail often as it is about the loss of productivity due to interrupting your concentration. Generally checking e-mail once or twice a day is sufficient and a better use of your time.

Clarify your boundaries.

If you don't want your children accidentally erasing your computer files or wandering off with important documents, then you need to establish home office boundaries.

Creating home office rules is easier if your office is a separate room where a door can simply be shut.

You may still have certain periods where your children are in your office and you need to keep a watchful eye. Pay attention to what is within their reach, like the power source to your computer.

Communicate to your family what is off-limits.

A home office that cannot be easily blocked off with a closed door will require more diligence on your part. You may need to use strategically placed reminder notes that say "not for kids." If your children may be tempted to enter your office area looking for scissors, make sure they have access to their own supplies if you want them to stay out of your designated area.

Clear communication and taking preventative measures are key to avoiding home office disasters.

Establish and enforce office hours.

Setting aside specific office time to work on your assignments is a must.

The schedule you create can be flexible, but everyone in your family must be made aware of the times that you are not to be interrupted or disturbed. Setting these office hours to coincide with the your children's time out of the house, naptime or bedtime is important. By having fewer interruptions, you'll make better use of this time.

There may also be occasions where you'll have to study when your family is around. Make it clear that you aren't to be interrupted unless it's an emergency.

Letting your family know what time you'll "return" and will be available to them again can help them avoid the temptation to ask you "just one quick question."

Also, remember that just as you need uninterrupted office time, they need you to make time for just them, free from the distractions of school-work.

Streamline your to-do list.

Making the best use of your time really requires an effective to-do list.

It's best to prepare this to-do list a day in advance and prioritize the tasks. There are a couple of different ways to do this and experimenting will help you find the best approach.

You can try prioritizing the tasks based on the amount of time they will take. For example you can list all quicker tasks together such as filing or answering short e-mails. Doing these first will give you an instant sense of accomplishment as you start crossing these items off of your list.

Another approach is putting anything with a pressing deadline first on your list regardless of the amount of time it will take to complete. This may be the perfect way to go if you're prone to interruptions or you're pinched for time. This way the items with highest priority get done first even if you run out of time for your other tasks.

If you're the type that likes to tackle difficult assignments head-on, then putting these first on your to-do list is a good idea. Once these are accomplished you can relax a bit and get through the rest of your to-do list without stress.

Finally, although it's a good idea to establish boundaries when it comes to managing your home office, you can benefit from blurring some of those boundaries.

It may be a good idea to combine similar tasks for home, work, and school. For example, set aside a specific time of day where you'll make all phone calls or answer all e-mails, regardless of whether they pertain to family, work, or school.