As a remote employee, you naturally want to be as productive as possible. This is advantageous to your career, your work satisfaction, and to the success of the business you’re investing your time and energy into.
Certainly, on a general basis, businesses tend to find that remote operations can boost productivity significantly. Nevertheless, this is not simply a natural outcome of distant employment. For both you and the company to truly benefit from better productivity, each remote team member must commit to efficient practices.
One important area to focus on in this regard is time management. This is the ability to effectively and responsibly utilize your working hours to achieve maximum results. As an independent worker, you are not always able to rely on the structures of the traditional workplace, so a personal responsibility for good time use is crucial to success.
This isn’t about squeezing in as many activities as possible into every hour of the day. That tends to result in burnout and errors, which are disruptive to productivity. Rather, good time management activities are aimed at establishing a healthy and efficient approach to your individual tasks, your overall role, and your attitude.
We’re going to explore some of the ways you can effectively manage your time as a remote worker. What practices can you use and what challenges should you be aware of?
Establish Organizational Practices
One of the areas many remote workers struggle with is keeping solid organizational practices. This may be due to being in a home space that isn’t necessarily conducive to standard office principles.
It might be because you don’t have the same structured routine that you would in the office. Yet, a commitment to good organization tends to make it less likely that your work day can become disrupted or confused, resulting in better time management.
This can begin with scheduling. Try to standardize your days as much as possible. You don’t need to plan for every moment in the day, as this can stop you from being agile. Rather, aim to allocate sensible periods of time for different types of tasks. You’ll find this creates a supportive framework for every day that enables you to gain control over your activities. Remember to arrange periods for breaks and exercise, too.
It’s also important to design your workspace to maintain good organizational principles. Utilize a clearly labeled filing system for essential paperwork and operational documents. This helps you to easily and quickly access resources whenever you need them, helping you to be more productive.
The same approach should be taken to your online workspace, too. Make sure all files are positioned and managed for convenience. Utilize project management software to keep all tasks visible and prioritized.
Streamline Your Workflow
Your approach to your remote workflow has a significant impact on time management and productivity. After all, the more you can streamline your processes, the less you’re likely to experience inefficiency. It’s also important to note that effective workflow management can bolster mental wellness. When you can remove unnecessary steps and adopt automated tools, this can improve output while reducing workplace stress and burnout.
As a remote worker, the flexibility you’re afforded may give you greater control over the details of your workflow. Take the best possible advantage of this. Utilize artificial intelligence (AI) driven software to automate menial or unnecessarily repetitive tasks.
Avoid multitasking, as while this may seem like an efficient use of your time it can lead to errors. Group tasks that require similar skills, equipment, or software platforms together.
In some instances, you may find that while you’re a remote worker, your employers require you to operate in a specific way. In these cases, it’s important to provide your managers or other leadership with recommendations that could improve workflow across the entire team.
You may find this more effective if you can analyze each of your working processes and provide hard data on how your recommendations could result in better time management.
It might even be wise to suggest a trial period for yourself to measure success before rolling the practice out to your colleagues. Remember to present the benefits of streamlining workflow, like reduced errors, better worker engagement, and greater efficiency.
Delegate Mindfully
Being a remote worker has a reputation for being an isolating practice. Yet, it’s important to recognize that you’re part of a remote or perhaps hybrid team.
This isn’t just good for the sake of company culture and unity. Having access to a team of experienced professionals provides you with one of the most valuable opportunities to bolster your time management: delegation.
This isn’t about simply passing off the tasks you don’t feel you have time for. Rather, effective delegation is a nuanced practice that requires shared trust and a collaborative approach to do well.
It involves an understanding that there is a mutual responsibility for productivity among teams, but also that you need to be selective about how and when you delegate. Be aware that while you can gain benefits like efficiency and team development, you must take a mindful and considerate approach.
For instance, avoid passing complex tasks to less experienced remote colleagues during time crunch periods.
While it can be a great learning and development opportunity, you’ll also need to dedicate time and focus to providing them with guidance. This may not immediately be the most valuable use of your time, but offering training at a more appropriate interval can pay off later.
Remember, too, that you need to utilize effective prioritization practices when applying delegation. Be aware of how other team members’ tasks factor into both their individual workflows and the overall team project.
The last thing you want is to delegate in a way that is disruptive. Particularly in remote circumstances, this type of behavior not only impacts time management but can also influence conflicts that are challenging to resolve.
Conclusion
Good time management practices are crucial to an effective and positive remote working experience. You’ll need to adopt solid organization to reduce potential areas of unnecessary time use. Streamlining your workflow can also both improve efficiency and bolster your mental wellness.
Don’t forget that you’re working as part of a remote team and that mindful delegation can be mutually beneficial. With a commitment to good planning and agile thinking, you can ensure your time management practices result in greater productivity.
