Time management is a subject that is often on the mind of those of us that work from home. How do we get our work done when there are so many other things that we could be doing, and all of those other things are within easy reach? One potential solution is to use a timer. It does not need to be a fancy timer, it can be as simple as the twisty one that you have in your kitchen that you use to tell you when it is time to take the cookies out of the oven. My kitchen timer is shaped like a chicken. It is cute and cheerful, and when I bring it into my work area, it makes me happy.
Now that you know that I am easily amused, let me tell you how I use my timer to stay focused on my work. When I first sit down, I set it for fifteen minutes. I use these fifteen minutes to check my email and respond to any messages that need immediate attention. If there are none of those, I can use the time to read non-urgent emails or delete some messages. When the timer rings, I log out of email and set it for thirty minutes. I use these thirty minutes to work on whatever work project is at the top of my to-do list. When the timer rings, I take a short break before setting it for another thirty-minute segment of work time.
Breaking my work time into smaller segments helps to keep me from feeling overwhelmed by my to-do list. If I am lacking motivation and dreading work, it’s a lot easier to think about doing thirty minutes of work than it is to think about the hours of work that lie ahead. Also, if it is a writing assignment that I am working on, the thirty-minute increments help me to get through writer’s block sometimes. I am not sure why this is, but for some reason when the timer is ticking, I am able to figure out what to write. If you are looking for a simple way to begin taking control of your time, try using a timer and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised.