Ways to stay organised while you work from home.

Working from home is the new normal today due to Covid-19 and as such we have all had to adapt to new ways of being as productive as we were in the office. Having worked as a Virtual assistant in my home office for some time now, I'm able to advice newbies (LOL) on how I stay organized and productive even while at home.

We are accustomed to our homes being places for relaxation and winding down so turning the mood of your home into a motivated power house won't come about easily.

This is why it's important to stay organised and ensure that you are able to complete all (okay to be honest most) tasks and meet important deadlines. Here are a few ways I'm able to stay on top of things.

Use Calendar & Set Reminders

I am a big fan of putting everything on a calendar and setting reminders. This helps me make sure that important upcoming events do not sneak up on me & meetings are unmissable.

Also, I have realized that it's often the small things you pride yourself on never missing that you often miss ( No pun intended). Setting up reminders via the use of Google calendar would guarantee that you never forget an important task.

To avoid overloading your calendar, you can decide to have separate calendars for different categories of tasks for instance. All the meetings you have scheduled for the month can be put on a separate calendar from your schedule of day to day tasks.

I set reminders for very important tasks days ahead to the deadline, this affords me the time to finish & proof-read everything before having to submit them.

I also designate days for weekly tasks. For example, choose Wednesday as "shred day" and keep papers that need shredding in a box until it’s time. Or, send weekly report on Fridays. This can also work with daily activities. You can also set times to return emails and missed calls for instance check emails first thing every morning. That way you won’t have to stop what you’re doing frequently during the day.

Make Lists.

In my experience lists do not only help you consolidate your work, they also give a broad view of how your day should be looking like so that you can plan & prioritize it in a effective and efficient way.

Lists can be used in every aspect of you personal and professional life from Making a grocery list to a house chores list. sometimes writing things down is all the motivation you need to accomplish your goals.

Yes! I like the old fashioned note-pad and pen way of making lists.There is just that satisfaction of crossing out task after task as you complete them that you can't get from making lists electronically (Sigh) but there are very helpful apps like Trello and GTasks which you could use as well.

Functioning more like a virtual whiteboard than a traditional to-do list, Trello is a great application for professionals who need to manage their time, collaborative ventures and creative projects as effectively as possible.

GTasks on the other hand favors simplicity over the flashy and somewhat awkward features of its competition. If you’re looking for something geared more toward setting priorities, reminders and due dates, you’ll find this free app a joy to use.

Don't Procrastinate.

Make sure to not let things pile up because what happens is the work would still need to get done and guess what? Spoiler alert ,You would still have to do do it!!

According to Jamie Novak, author of 1,000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets in an article for Monster “If you can do a task in two minutes or less, you must do it right there and then. File that one folder instead of making a pile to be filed later. Spend five minutes at the end of the day wrapping up, putting away things you used during the day and pulling items you’ll need for the next day." Doing little steps like that to keep things in order goes a long way in keeping you organized,especially when you're swamped. It keeps the chaos down to a minimum.

If there a smaller tasks that would take 5 minutes or less, I suggest you do those rather than waiting to finish a 3 hour task.

Minimizing Distractions

No matter how good you are sticking to your ground rules, there will be distractions when you work at home. They will just be different from those that eat away at the day of your counterparts back in the office. Learning what they are for you and how to deal with distractions is an important skill.

This is where discipline comes in. You need to silence your Cell phone and work from the part of your home with least distractions. For sometime I thought I could work from the dinning area in my home, oh how deluded i was! I could literally control the TV from there and my days were quite unproductive.

Trust me, less distractions equal more productivity.

Staying organized is not all a breeze. It requires hard work & motivation with a recognition that when you work harder, you can complete tasks in a timely and accurate manner.

What’s more important is to remember what you work for is meaningful to you. And this is how you can stay motivated and focused every day.

Learn from these organizational tips, make them your habits one by one. Slowly you’ll become a lot more organized and productive!

Contact us today on 07955703405 or info@salam-va.co.uk to get a personalized quote on how we can support your business.

Heba Salma is a skilled administrative support professional and founder of Salma-VA, a virtual assistance firm. With solid administrative support experience from working with top executives, She decided to start her firm to support small business owners and provide a helpful, friendly service that makes all the difference. When not immersed in the small business world, Salma loves trying new recipes and spending time with her lovely family.

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