What Should a Work-from-Home Schedule Be?

Now that you no longer work in an office environment, your schedule isn’t as strict. As you get underway, you can’t help but wonder, is there some sort of schedule a work-from-home job entails? If so, what is it?

A work-from-home schedule can be anything you like, as the nature of the job provides you plenty of freedom. That said, make sure your schedule includes the following:

A semi-reliable start time
A lunch break
Several other breaks throughout the morning and afternoon
A semi-reliable end time

Just because you no longer work at a nine-to-five doesn’t mean you should eschew a schedule altogether. In this article, I’ll provide some pointers on how to organize your own work-from-home schedule as well as fill you in on what you should and shouldn’t be doing during your work hours.

When you first make the shift from working in an office to working from home, you’re going to be very excited by all the freedom you have. Freedom, in this case, does not necessarily mean free time. At first, you might try to work a schedule that’s as opposite your nine-to-five as possible.

With time, you find you’re not being nearly as productive as you can be. That’s why having a work-from-home schedule is necessary.

You don’t have to stick to a standard nine-to-five if you don’t want to. For example, some people work better early in the morning or late at night. Now that you work from home, you can typically revolve your schedule around your most creative and productive hours.

Whether you work during the day or in the middle of the night, your work-from-home schedule should have the following elements.

Reliable Start Time

You don’t have a boss looking over your shoulder at any given minute anymore, so you don’t have to start your workday at 9:01 a.m. on the dot. There will be no repercussions.

That said, if you prefer working nine-to-five, then you would want to start working at around nine o’ clock. Some days it might be 9:15 and others 9:30, but try to start within that same hour. This will get your day off to a more productive start.

Lunch Break

According to the UK’s BEN-Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund, when you spend your lunch break eating lunch, you’ll benefit in several ways. The perks include enjoying greater productivity during the afternoon (bye-bye three o’ clock slump) and feeling more refocused and recharged.

As someone who works from home, it’s especially easy to overload your schedule. To compensate, you might skip lunch or eat it while doing several other things at once. If you’re the type who gets tired late in the afternoon, your lunchtime habits are likely contributing to your fatigue.

Since you work from home, make yourself a nice meal in your kitchen and sit down and enjoy it there. The dining room is another place to eat. You could even chow down in the living room and watch TV for a few minutes. Just stay away from your home office or dedicated workspace during lunch. The temptation to get back on the computer and start working again will be too real.

Other Daily Breaks

Don’t just stop at your lunch break. In the morning and afternoon, make sure you schedule little breaks. These aren’t (always) for eating, but rather for taking a step back from your overflowing inbox or busy workload so you can breathe. You might schedule a morning and afternoon break like it used to be back at your office job. It’s up to you now to figure out which times you really could use that five or 10-minute breather.

Reliable End Time

Finally, choose an hour in which you’ll stop working for the day and then do your best to stick with it. As someone who works from home, it’s even harder to pick an end time than it is a start time. That’s because new work is always coming in, making you want to work later and later.

Try to resist the urge as much as you can. Pushing yourself to the limit day in and day out will absolutely cause you to burn out long before the weekend ever arrives.

What Should I Be Doing During My Workday?

This may seem like a silly question, but you’d be surprised.

The basic answer of what you’re supposed to be doing during your workday is well, working. If you’re doing any the following instead, you could be hurting yourself and your productivity.

Here are some tasks to stay away from:

Running errands: This can wait until you’re done with work, unless you’re having a lighter day in which you’re not that busy.
Watching TV:A few minutes here and there is okay. Getting sucked into a Netflix binge-watching session is not.
Using social media:The same is true here. If you want to spend your breaks on social media, feel free. Just make sure you time yourself or watch the clock. Social media can suck you in, and before you know it, an hour has passed. Beware!
Cleaning:If you have your own home office, it’s a lot easier to resist cleaning because you can’t see the rest of the house. While tidying up during your breaks is okay (although maybe not the best way to spend your breather), save the deep-cleaning for after work.
Talking with friends and family:Quick check-ins are okay, but while you’re working, your loved ones should respect that. They shouldn’t call you in the middle of the day and expect you to be able to chat for hours. Don’t indulge them by doing it, either.

The Benefits of a Regular Schedule

When you worked at your office job, did your schedule bore you to tears? Maybe that’s part of the reason you decided to pursue a work-from-home job, to get out of that monotony. Well guess what? Having a regular schedule while working from home is important, too.

Still not totally convinced yet? That’s okay. Here are some benefits of a tried-and-true schedule.

More Room for Opportunities

How many new clients have you had to turn down because you’re too overloaded? It is because your schedule really is full or because you’re not spending your time well? If it’s the latter, then having a reliable schedule could fix that. You know what you’ll be doing each day and when. That gives you a clear picture of whether you can accept exciting new opportunities.

Less Stress

When you’re organized, you have a clear-cut schedule, and you know what’s on your daily (and even weekly) agenda, you feel like you’ve got your work life under control. Even if an extra project or two springs up out of nowhere, you can either slot it in or push it off until you have more time.

When your schedule is looser, you often lack that kind of organization. Not only do you miss opportunities, but some of the work you do have can slip through the cracks. This all causes immense stress.

Working from home can be isolating and difficult if you’ve never done it before. Don’t make it worse if you can help it.

More Fun

If your schedule and daily tasks are predictable and manageable, you may find a strange phenomenon starts happening. You could be done with your work early, or at least start finishing at roughly the same time. This frees up the rest of your evening for fun. Maybe you take the dog on an extra-long walk or propose an impromptu movie night with your family.

If you have other jobs around the house you’ve been meaning to get to, or even if you just want to spend some time meditating or relaxing, the choice is now yours.

Better Productivity

Are you the type to begin your days without a plan lately? If so, you’re hurting yourself more than you’re helping. Being disorganized and not following even a loose schedule means plenty of procrastination. You have to choose when to begin work and what to do for the day. You also have to come up with an end time.

All that waiting around puts a damper on your productivity. You end up not getting as much done as you could have because you’re planning your day off-the-cuff. You have to make up for that unfinished work sometime, which means either working late at night or through the weekend. Neither are the best for your wellbeing and work/life balance, especially if working those hours becomes a habit.

What Should a Work-from-Home Schedule Be?