One of the biggest problems when working online is that there are a lot of distractions that will keep you away from working and decrease your productivity. One of my biggest problem is that I get distracted from something and sometimes I forget what I was doing, losing a lot of time.
To prevent this from happening anymore, I made an exact scheduled and imposed me some rules that I will try to follow and see how much this helped me. Here is what I though of:
1. Make a well defined daily schedule and try to respect it. Do exactly what you proposed to, in the exact order. Make sure to make the schedule as reliable as possible.
2. Laziness is keeping a lot of us away from working, but if you really want to achieve your goals, this has to go. Be sure to include enough rest in your schedule, so you won’t be tired and lazy, because this can be an important factor in decreasing productivity.
3. Use instant messaging and emails only when you really need to. I figured that this was keeping me away from working and that I was spending a lot of hours with no sense, chit-chatting. The best option is to keep them closed while working, but if you need to talk with someone, stay invisible for the others or set a ‘Busy’ status. If it happens and someone disturbs you, try to keep the conversation as short as possible and get back to work. Even if you are disturbed for a very short time, it can distract you and you might lose your ideas.
4. You probably won’t want to put your cellphone on ’silent’ mode while working, because there might be someone that really needs to get to you, but like the instant messaging, don’t spend too much time chit-chatting and follow your schedule.
5. Try not to let anything on the other day and do everything as scheduled. If you start doing this, it’s a step back and you won’t reach your target on time.
6. Take short breaks. If you work for too long without a break, you get bored and tired, so take short brakes, but not while working on something. Finish what you currently have to do and relax doing something you like, then get back to work.
7. If you feel tired, take a short nap of a few hours, because it’s very important and could decrease productivity.
April 25th, 2008 at 1:26 am
I’m glad you said to take a short nap when tired - it’s like I needed that permission to take a break. Sometimes reading a lot just seems to make your eyes go shut. Also, when I get interrupted, it takes me so long to get back on track. So thanks for the tips. I’m going to try the schedule thing tomorrow.
April 30th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
I think the most important thing is to get rid of as many distractions as possible. Have a TV near you? Get rid of it. Enjoy certain non-work related sites? Block them on your work computer.
And the most important thing of all is just to start working……which is usually the most difficult thing.
May 1st, 2008 at 5:21 pm
I could always use some tips when it comes down to time management. It feels like there’s never enough time to get everything done.
Great suggestions & thanks for sharing!
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Awesome advice! I thought I was the only one who was distracted online. Thanks for the info!
May 7th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Good tips — especially about email and messaging. It’s amazing how much time they can eat up.
May 16th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Very good advice. Not one of my strengths is this thing called time management.
May 25th, 2008 at 1:41 am
I think you meant to say “a short nap of a few minutes”. A few hours will put you into deep sleep and then you won’t want to get back to working. A 15 to 20 minute nap will refresh you and help you get your work done.
May 25th, 2008 at 9:09 am
interesant, aha .. i lilke that