10 Hacks for a Productive Work From Home Schedule

Are you struggling to set up a work from home schedule to keep you productive and, in the long run, satisfied with your work? 

Guess what? You are not alone!

According to research findings from The Standford Institute for Economic Policy Research, 20% of remote employees struggle to stay productive.

This is an unending struggle that, more often than not, gets the best of us. 

A lot of things can hamper your productivity while working from home. From monstrous to-do lists that intimidate you into doing nothing to the distracting buzzing notifications from your phone to low morale and health challenges, the list is endless. 

But I’ve got good news: with the proper planning and the right tools, you can beat these detractors and supercharge your productivity to levels you never thought possible.

In this post, I am going to show you tried-and-true hacks to create a work from home schedule that not only helps you stay on top of your game but also allows you to uplift your income.

Let’s get it rolling!

What’s the Deal About a Work From Home Schedule?  

One of the beauties of working from home is that you own your time. You determine when you start work, what you do with your work hours, and when you sign off for the day.

Yes, there are Zoom meetings you have to attend by 9.00 am, reports you need to turn in by 5.00 pm, etc., but after all is said and done, you run the show. 

Unfortunately, this freedom can come at a cost. When you start your day without some sort of mental blueprint of how to run it, it’s easy to waste it away on activities that don’t add any value. 

Worse, if you are a workaholic, you might find yourself laboring away on your computer all day, every day. In the end, your mental health might suffer and you can lose touch with your loved ones, leaving your personal life in a mess.

This is why having a work from home schedule is very important. It lets you plan your day and organize your time for work-related and personal activities for maximum effectiveness.

Most importantly, it makes it easy for you to create time blocks for each task you intend to accomplish. 

Benefits of Creating a Work From Home Schedule

• Helps you achieve a balanced work life. You definitely need it for your mental health and you owe it to your family members
• Helps you cultivate confidence in your abilities
• Can be your ticket to improving your finances and achieving your goals of financial freedom
• Keeps you flexible. You know, things don’t always work out as planned. But if you have a schedule, nothing will catch you unawares anymore.

10 Hacks for Creating a Foolproof Schedule for Your Remote Work

I believe by now you’ve seen why scheduling your day is important if you work or run your business from home. 

It’s about time I showed you how to go about it. Keep in mind that most of what I have shared here is based on my personal experience and what I have seen work in the lives of other remote workers. 

Let’s dive right in!

1. Cultivate a Morning Routine 

One vital key to having a productive day is starting it well. To start it well, you need to cultivate a morning routine. 

Your morning routine has everything to do with when you wake for the day, what you do after waking, and when you mount your workstation. 

For what it’s worth, starting your day very early can have a significant impact on your productivity level throughout the day. 

This isn’t just something I concocted – there’s some science behind it. 

According to CNBC, 66% of successful CEOs say they start their day as early as 6:00 a.m. 

Additionally, this research by the Harvard Business Review revealed that people who are in the habit of starting their day early are better positioned for career success than late starters. 

Here’s another interesting one: starting your day early can help you beat procrastination, prime you for productivity, and boost your income. 

If you are a night owl, I know you might be reading this with a frowny face because waking early isn’t your thing. 

You know what? Do you! Do what makes you productive. What matters is that you develop a routine, either in the morning or at night. 

2. Prioritize Your To-do List

Writing all your intended activities for the day on paper or in Sticky Notes is good. But, following through can be a challenge. 

Often, you’d write a long list of wanna-dos for the day or week only to be intimidated into doing nothing as the list piles up. If you also struggle with keeping up with your to do list, it’s about time you tried a different strategy. 

One effective tactic you should try is prioritize your list. By this I mean think through all the tasks you would like to accomplish for the day to figure out the most important ones. Then write them down in your to-do list, starting with the ones that are important or the ones you are confident of undertaking. 

Streamlining your to-do list by writing down top-priority tasks will make it less overwhelming, allowing you to follow through seamlessly. 

In my personal experience, I find it helpful to select three bottom-line tasks for the day. These are the three tasks that, if accomplished, would make me feel truly productive and satisfied with my day’s progress. By setting clear priorities and taking a strategic approach, you can enhance your productivity and sense of achievement.

3. Tackle the Hardest Tasks First

Another trick that can help you improve your remote work schedule is to tackle the hardest tasks on your mental to-do list first. 

Why is this important? Think of your work schedule as some sort of marathon. At the start of the race, your energy is at peak levels. You can take rapid strides, go up steep slopes easily, and cover more ground. 

But as the race progresses, your energy starts to taper off, and by the time it draws to an end, you can only hope your initial burst of energy was enough to put you in a good spot. 

Your daily work schedule is no different, hence why it is important to tackle the hardest tasks first when you mental stamina is at its peak.

4. Leverage AI Scheduling Tools

If your remote job or business requires juggling between several tasks such as managing email communications, appointments, etc, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed and demotivated. 

Hiring a virtual assistant might not be much of an option because it is anything but cheap. 

What to do? Leverage AI scheduling assistants!

An AI scheduling assistant can help automate repetitive tasks, such as scheduling your calendar. They will also come in handy when you want to create time blocks for work and meetings. 

The best part is that these AI tools are dirt cheap, sometimes completely free.  And they do an excellent job.

Some of my favorite scheduling assistants are as follows: 

• Time Hero: For streamlining your to-do lists
• Motion: For managing your tasks and meetings seamlessly
• Reclaim AI: Helps you organize your schedule and create time blocks efficiently
• Clockwise: An excellent tool for planning and optimizing your calendar

5. Get Into the Habit of Writing Down Your Thoughts

Have you had those eureka moments when a bright idea hits you out of the blues? I bet you have!

Case in point: you’ve been working on this marketing campaign, but it’s not delivering the kind of results you expected. Then, while you are busy sipping on your morning coffee, suddenly you figure out what you’ve been doing wrong all the while and how to fix it. 

Yes, you might not be working on a marketing campaign, but you get the idea. These eureka moments often come when we least expect them. This is why it’s important to document the ideas they bring with them.

When you get into the habit of writing down your thoughts, your mind will become a flowing stream of ideas. Like that, you will easily figure out how to solve problems and improve your work or business. 

The result: higher levels of productivity and an efficient work from home schedule.

6. Keep Distractions Away From Your Workstation

This might be a bitter pill to swallow, but if you don’t discipline yourself enough to keep the distractions away, you won’t make much progress. 

Unfortunately, no app or AI tool can help you with this one. You are going to flex your muscles of discipline to make this work. 

One hack that can help you fight off distractions is putting your phone on silence and, if you can, disconnect it from the internet when you are working. That way, the urge to pick up your phone when an Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, etc., notification comes in will reduce greatly. 

In fact, if you can keep your phone away from your work desk, that would be much better. 

Another hack you can try is to plan and prepare your meals ahead of time. Possibly in the evenings when you’ve retired from work. This will help stave off the distractions that come with taking frequent trips to the kitchen. 

7. Create a Dedicated Workspace for Yourself

Though this is a no-brainer, I will still mention it here. If you want to become more productive with your remote work hours, create a dedicated workspace for yourself. 

It doesn’t matter where it is; what matters is that it is as distraction-free as possible. 

This could be your living room, bedroom, or even kitchen. 

But if you find yourself constantly distracted at home, consider working from a local coffee shop, a library, or a coworking space. 

In summary, create a dedicated workspace for yourself. It will help you stay highly productive.  

8. Cut Yourself Some Slack

It’s easy to get so caught up in supercharging our productivity levels and delivering more work that we forget to take care of ourselves. 

We set huge goals and set our minds and soul to achieve them. We isolate ourselves to beat distractions, working hours on end without taking time to unwind a little. 

When we stretch ourselves too thin while chasing big goals, our bodies can take the hit, resulting in burnout.  

As such, it’s important to cut yourself some slack. But how, you may wonder?

Get a good nap every day to invigorate your body. Take lunch breaks. Schedule buffer time. Allow yourself to get distracted by your phone occasionally. Make time to share quality time with friends and family. 

In short, give yourself a break. 

You’d be amazed at how this rather simple trick can help you work more productively from home.

9. Get Good Sleep 

There are two kinds of people who work remotely: those who love to work at night and sleep through the day and their opposites. 

Whichever you are, it’s important to give yourself some good sleep. 

Why is this important? One study found that people who deny themselves quality sleep often suffer a loss in productivity and earn less than those who do.

On top of that, denying your body good sleep will make it eventually shutdown. 

So, get good sleep. If you are like many of us who prefer to work during the day, resist the temptation to occasionally sacrifice your night’s sleep for work. You will struggle to do meaningful work when the day comes. 

For night owls, do your best to give yourself proper sleep during the day. 

10. Keep Trying 

I hate to break it to you, but you will likely not develop an efficient work-from-home schedule right off the bat, especially if you are kinda new to remote work. 

Of course, this is not to discourage you but, rather, to encourage you to keep trying until you find your rhythm. 

Try different waking up times – and sleep times too. Experiment with to-do lists to see if they will work. If you can, try changing your workspace and see if things will improve. 

What matters is that you constantly keep trying different strategies to make your schedule work for you – rather than being fixated on a routine that isn’t working. 

Conclusion

A planned work-from-home schedule can be your ticket to a productive, rewarding career. It can also boost your income without burning you out. 

In this post, I’ve shared hacks to help you create a schedule you can be proud of. These include cultivating a morning routine, creating a mental to-do list, and minimizing distractions.

Give it a try and take control of your work-from-home success!