Working at home typically means you are your own boss. For some people, including me, bossing yourself around is tough. I’m not very good at self-disciplining, but I’m working on it.
One of the things I’ve been doing is setting some rules for myself. It’s not enough to make the rules up and remind myself of them. I have to write them down on paper.
If you have trouble sticking to your guns and getting your work done, you may need to do something similar.
Because I do mostly blogging, I need to do a lot of writing. However, some days I really don’t feel like writing, or I just can’t come up with anything to write about. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy for me to get over that little hump, but it takes a bit of work to get to that point.
That’s where my rules come in.
I absolutely LOVE to play video games. I’m a gaming freak. I could sit in front of the computer or my TV for hours on end playing games, especially Final Fantasy.
Therefor, my number one rule is that I don’t allow myself to play any games, not even spider solitaire, until I have my daily writing quota met.
Now that I have my emails caught up after letting them pile up for weeks, I also have an email rule. I don’t allow myself to watch any TV until I’ve emptied my inbox.
Rule #1 is there to make sure I get my ass in gear and finish my work each day. I have important goals, and without this rule, I would probably never reach them.
Rule #2 is there to make sure I stay caught up with correspondence. Falling behind leaves me with an overwhelmed feeling and usually makes me run far away from the computer as fast as I can. Again, this is not conducive to goal-reaching.
These are my general rules, but I also come up with more specific rules each day depending on what needs to be done. Each day is different, so my rules are usually different. I still write them down in my planner though and cross them off when my work is done.
These rules – aside from making sure I complete my work and stay caught up – free up a lot of valuable time to do other things. Like spending time with my kids and playing games after they go to bed!
How about you? Do you create your own rules to help get your work done?
2 comments ↓
I don’t have any trouble working – I can easily work 20 hours a day because I love everything I’m doing with my web design business and everything I’m learning about marketing. However, my big problem is working effectively. It’s so easy to get distracted and lose billable hours when you get diverted by links within something you’ve looked up on the web. I haven’t overcome this one yet, but I do my best to stick to my list. (The list helps. So does setting my timer.)
Working more efficiently is always something I strive to do as well. You’re right, there are so many distractions when you work online. That’s why I have my rules. They keep me from giving in to those distractions. I really enjoy what I do too. I love writing and connecting with people, but instant messaging and things like that can double or triple the time it takes to finish my to-do list each day.
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