Mass Traffic Attack an Efficient Workspace
Your working environment is organized. Clutter is one of the biggest enemies you can have; if you can de-clutter your mind then de-cluttering your workspace should be easy. Let us first look at your workspace.
Now, everyone’s work area will be different. Some people will have their own dedicated office away from the hustle and bustle of normal family life, others will have to make do with part-time use of a kitchen table. In my time online I have used both methods and I know which one works better!
While accepting that everyone’s situation and work environment will be different, there are still things that you can do to organize your work time better:
- Set clearly defined working times, do not leave things open-ended
- Ensure, as much as you can, that interruptions are kept to an absolute minimum
- Clear your workspace of anything unrelated to your online business
Deciding on clearly defined working hours is something that we covered in the previous section about procrastination, so I will not repeat it here. But do not neglect this, not only will it adversely affect your home life, but you will also find yourself working much more efficiently if you have self-imposed deadlines.
It is far better to begin a task at 7pm and stop working on it at say, 10pm, ready to complete the next day than to work through until 2am. Do a little every day rather than working all hours for a few days and then doing nothing for a couple of weeks. Consistency is the key here; it is better to create good habits than bad ones.
Keeping interruptions to a minimum – this is vital. It is far too easy when working on a computer to get distracted anyway, so do what you can to avoid them. Try and arrange for your partner or children to not disturb you during working hours. It is not always easy. Unfortunately, your family can think that because you are working from home that you are not really “working” so you are always available to get involved with household chores.
Work something out with your family so that everyone is happy. It can be things like leaving you in peace in your office during certain hours, or if you normally answer the telephone then your partner will do that for you. Use common sense.
Some tasks need more concentration than others. If you are doing some repetitive work such as submitting articles, or making minor changes to a web site, then it is not the end of the world if you lose your train of thought. However, especially if you are writing you will need to be more focused about that, and sudden interruptions can cause you to have to start again from scratch.
From experience, authoring articles whilst easy, does demand a higher level of concentration, so plan for those. There is nothing worse than being in a writing mood and having to break off due to a minor interruption. This is also why it is especially important with larger tasks such as these, that you break them down into smaller ones – write the headline, then the opening paragraph and so on.
The point about having an uncluttered workspace free from anything not related to your business is an important one. You must remove any distractions that could cause you to lose concentration. If there is a pile of bills on your desk waiting for your attention, either deal with those first or remove them completely out of the way.
It is difficult to sit down and draft articles when there are other things competing for your attention.
So, in short, work clearly defined hours, minimize interruptions, and keep a clear desk space.
Best Wishes, Coyalita
See Tomorrow: “An Organized Computer”
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