Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Time Management Tips for Work-at-Home Resume Writers

I love working from home. But time management is a big issue when you're a resume writer who works from home. When I talk with people who don't work from home, they always make comments like, "I wouldn't be able to work from home ... I'd find it too tempting to just sit on the couch all day and watch TV."

If you're like most work-at-home resume writers, though, you'll find that the opposite is often the problem. It's too tempting to work all the time! I mean, here it is, 6:35 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, and I'm writing a blog post. I should be sleeping. When I come home after being out (whether that's seeing a movie, running to the post office, or going to a hockey game), the first thing I do is check my work email. If you're a work-at-home resume writer, you probably do the same thing.

Working from home as a resume writer can be a great thing -- as long as you learn to handle one issue: your time. Time management is very important in any business, but especially when you are working from a home office. Keep an open mind and read the following information.

Create a Daily Schedule
Calendars may seem "old school" but they are still the best way to make sure you're not sacrificing your personal life for your business. Keeping a large calendar in the kitchen, for instance, gives each person in your family opportunity to record their events so that nothing is forgotten.

Also, create blocks of time for different activities. Don't forget to schedule fun time! Be flexible, but still commit to a certain amount of time each day to run your business and also to spend time with family commitments.

Create Daily Milestones
You don't have to finish every task each day. Set a list of priorities and then take steps to finish the most important jobs first. First thing in the morning, determine what you will focus on for that day. You don't have to schedule every minute of your day, but a level of time management will keep your daily life organized.

I use a great tool called "Wunderlist" for keeping track of my "to-dos." It runs on my MacBook and syncs with my iPhone app. It even sends me an email message when I have "overdue" items. Plus, you can "check off" items when you complete them. I LOVE that!
(NOTE: As of May 2020, Wunderlist is no more. Check out this blog article with alternatives.)

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this great stuff.

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  2. Very nice tips for time management...
    Time Management

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  3. I Usually manage my time by targeting a specific result that I wish to achieve in my day. I list all of them in the note and see how many i can do. I usually list tasks such "Write 600 words article about goal setting at 10 p.m", read 3 blog about self improvement at 9 p.m", or just "edit the last article at 8 p.m".

    Any kind of tasks that i intend to do I write it specifically and clearly. This way enable me to remember the tasks right after the time come, and I do not have to be confuse to determine what I should do then the target tell me all.

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