What to consider before making a schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you craft a plan for your telecommuting work, you\u2019ll have a clearer idea of how much time you need for daily tasks and how to prioritize the most significant ones. Thus, you\u2019ll be more realistic about what you\u2019re capable of completing throughout the day. Moreover, you\u2019ll be able to set aside time for your family and friends, which will improve your work-life balance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what you should ask yourself before starting to make a remote work schedule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What time do you work best?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some people thrive during the morning hours while others flourish in the evening. That\u2019s perfectly fine because we\u2019re not all the same. Our body clocks work differently so that\u2019s why some of us experience productivity dips after lunch and some of us in the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re able to rearrange your tasks as you like, always take this factor into consideration. For instance, if you easily get up in the morning, and you feel refreshed and ready for work, use this time to do your most important tasks. Once your energy levels start to decrease around 2 pm or 3 pm, deal with less vital tasks. The same rule applies to those who enjoy sleeping in and beginning their workdays a bit later. If you\u2019re not a morning lark, don\u2019t feel obliged to wake up extremely early only because some successful business people suggest doing so. Follow your own rhythms, and you\u2019ll have better results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where do you work best?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you find it easier to focus on your tasks when working from home, then you\u2019ll be more productive there, too. In that case, decide where your home office will take place. Having an entire room for this purpose would be ideal. But, if this is not possible, then opt for a quiet corner of a room. If you need more details about the equipment for your home office, we have a blog about the things you\u2019ll need when working from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, if you\u2019re a social butterfly and don\u2019t enjoy working alone, you can always go to a coworking space. This is a perfect place to meet other remote employees while getting the work done. Or, you can shift between your home office and a nearby coffee shop. Just keep in mind that such a noisy environment might not be a good fit for the times when you have calls or when you have to meet your deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you have family members or pets you need to take care of?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n Another point to take into account is whether you need to take care of your children, elderly family members, or your pets. For example, if you have to drive your kids to school at 8 am, then schedule your working hours from 9 am. Or else, if you have strict working hours, get up a bit earlier and do this before work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have all these answers, crafting a remote work schedule will be much easier. So, if you choose to do your job in a coworking space, bear in mind that you\u2019ll need some time for commuting<\/a>, too. Or, if you decide to work from home, remember to inform your family or partner about your working hours. Furthermore, duties such as walking the dog or driving children to school will occur before or after work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s take a look at some handy tips on how to make this schedule more convenient for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some remote workers have flexible working hours<\/a>, while others have to follow a strict schedule. Therefore, how you structure your workday will depend on whether your working hours are fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either way, we have invaluable tips for crafting a remote work routine regardless of your working hours<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have the flexibility to choose your hours of work, you can parse job assignments into several working periods with a couple of hours of break in between. Now, during these breaks, you can take care of your personal activities, like walking the dog, dropping kids off at school, or exercising. If you have a fixed schedule, you\u2019ll be able to run these errands before or after work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To make sure that your colleagues and clients don\u2019t disturb you when you\u2019re away from a computer, add these hours to your schedule and note them as Personal activities\/non-work hours. That way, you can enjoy your free time and take care of errands. Besides, you\u2019ll let your colleagues and clients know when you\u2019re not available for calls and meetings. Furthermore, these activities will help you unwind and be more productive at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, this handy trick will ensure you maintain a proper work-life balance. Speaking of which, here\u2019s how Matthew Paxton, the remote worker and founder of Hypernia, described the importance of balancing work and life:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI realized that we should be <\/i>fitting work in our lives, not fitting our lives with work<\/i><\/b>. That’s why I made it a habit to confine everything work-related in my home office. No more checking e-mails first thing in the morning or taking my laptop with me to the dining table. Our hobbies, passions, relationships, and the time we spend taking care of ourselves are all integral to make sure that we are the most productive versions of ourselves.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n When beginning your remote workday, it\u2019s only logical to set aside your first hours of work for priority tasks. So, after you\u2019ve finished with your personal activities, and you\u2019ve checked an email for any emergency, be sure to handle all the crucial assignments for at least two hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even better, at the end of each day, write down your priority tasks for tomorrow. Here\u2019s how Reuben Yonatan, a founder of GetVoIP, decides what\u2019s important:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI prioritize by A, B, and C list priorities. The A list tasks are ‘need to get done,’ and I’ll set a deadline for those, as well as time to accomplish them. B list are items that are important but can be pushed if needed, so I have a bit more flexibility. C items have to get done at some point, but will be slotted in when they can be. I build my calendar this way and see what fits. You sometimes need to make cuts, but prioritization is the real key.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Therefore, in the morning, you\u2019ll have to tackle your A tasks first, then your B assignments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you happen to have a daily standup meeting during the morning, you can begin with your priority tasks as soon as the meeting is finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another practical way to learn how to prioritize better is the Eisenhower matrix<\/a>. This method will teach you how to recognize what\u2019s important and will improve your time management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Time tracking software used by millions. Clockify is a time tracker and timesheet app that lets you track work hours across projects.<\/p>\n\n You have completed your priority tasks and now\u2019s the time to start working on other assignments that you regularly have on your plate. Depending on what you do, these can be recurring tasks<\/a> that you do daily or once per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cal Newport, an author of many books about technology and culture, says that there are two types of tasks when it comes to knowledge work. So, we have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although peripheral tasks are important, core tasks are the heart and soul of your job. And what\u2019s the best way to complete these core tasks? Well, you need to perform some deep work<\/a>, aka activities that involve using your cognitive skills. It\u2019s crucial that you don\u2019t get distracted while embracing deep work. Thus, noise-canceling headphones are your best friend during this time frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should schedule a couple of hours throughout the day for deep work tasks. Ideally, you\u2019d want to do your deep work during the most productive time of the day. If you find it easier to focus on work in the afternoon, then set aside time for deep work from, let\u2019s say, 4 pm to 6 pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Flexjobs, scheduling all the meetings and calls together, within one or two days of the week, fosters uninterrupted time for work and improves employee productivity. If you book your meetings this way, you\u2019ll have the rest of the week for other tasks. Moreover, since you\u2019ll have non-meeting days, you\u2019ll be able to work without distractions and focus on deep work, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t plan every second of the week in advance. Sometimes, you\u2019ll have an unexpected task or something urgent to take care of. Or, maybe you\u2019ll have to go to the dentist or take your dog to the vet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To prepare yourself for these situations, block at least one open hour per day. Of course, if your day goes by the plan and there isn\u2019t an emergency, you can use this period to do some deep work or make plans for the following week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remote employees sometimes find it difficult to unplug after work. Since they don\u2019t perform their work at the office, boundaries between work and personal life can be blurry. This is especially true for those who work from home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You should be aware that unwinding and not thinking about a job when off duty are crucial steps in preventing burnout<\/a>. So, how do you make your mind switch off the work mode and start relaxing? One way to do that is to incorporate an end-of-workday ritual<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What activities does this ritual include? Well, you can use your last working hour to check your email and answer any questions. Besides, you can let your remote colleagues know that you\u2019ll be clocking out soon, in case they need anything else from you. In addition, write a to-do list for tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you\u2019ve seen what to incorporate into your remote work schedule, we\u2019ll show you how your working plan may look like when you have flexible working hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download Flexible remote working schedule<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the screenshot above, you\u2019ll notice that daily job tasks are parsed into several sections. Before and after these working sessions, there are time periods called Personal activities\/non-work hours. So, if you have an option to arrange your working hours as you like, you can use these free time frames for your private errands, like walking the dog, grocery shopping, exercising, making dinner, and others. Adding these fields to your remote plan is vital in case you want to share your schedule with other coworkers or clients. Therefore, they\u2019ll know not to book any meetings with you during these hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of meetings, you\u2019ll notice that in this plan, Meetings and calls are scheduled only on Monday and Tuesday. Since there are no meetings happening during the other three days of the week, there\u2019s more room for Deep work. Besides, each day includes sessions like Priority tasks and Emails and regular tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we mentioned earlier, you should always leave some time open for unexpected tasks or personal emergencies. So, this is also covered in the template, as the Open time field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, we incorporated a block Having a closing ritual here, too. This way, you\u2019ll be reminded when it\u2019s time to clock out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember that you can use this template the way you want. For instance, instead of the name Priority tasks, you can enter the name of your most important tasks for each day. Better yet, craft your weekly plan by personalizing this template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your remote work consists of fixed hours, you\u2019ll have a quite diverse schedule. Instead of dealing with your personal activities throughout the day, you\u2019ll do them either before or after work. But, once you\u2019re done with your workday, you\u2019ll be able to relax and have an entire afternoon for your leisure time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Download Fixed remote working schedule<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In this case, we made a template for an employee who works from 9 am to 5 pm. As you can see, working hours are grouped together here, while personal activities take place in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The difference between the first and this template is that the Fixed remote working schedule contains a field named Open time plus a lunch break. This is your reminder to take a break and have some lunch during an hour that\u2019s unscheduled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other time blocks are the same, so you have Priority tasks, dealing with Emails and regular tasks, then Meeting and calls on Mondays and Tuesdays. From Wednesday to Friday, you should avoid meetings and focus on Deep work. Since the hours are fixed, a closing ritual happens at an identical time every day. This ensures that you\u2019ll finish your workday properly, on time, then enter your off mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like with the Flexible remote working schedule, feel free to customize this template as you wish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Telecommuting provides you with a lot of flexibility. You can perform tasks from your home office, from a park, or a coworking space. For some employees, working remotely also means being able to choose working hours, while for others, the hours are fixed. In both cases, having some kind of weekly structure will do wonders for your productivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For an additional productivity boost while working from home, try keeping track of everything you do with a time tracking app, such as Clockify<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clockify helps you derive insights about your workdays, analyze your day-to-day productivity and estimate how long your future tasks may take. <\/p>\n\n\n\nHow to create an effective remote work schedule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Set time blocks for your personal activities and outside-of-work hours<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Work on priority tasks first<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-blog\/theme\/images\/banners\/clockify\/default@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n\nWork on less important tasks later<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Leave some time for deep work<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Book your meetings within one or two days<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Leave gaps in schedule for unplanned activities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Consider having an end-of-workday ritual<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A remote work schedule template for flexible working hours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"flexible-remote-working-schedule\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/flexible-remote-working-schedule.png\")
<\/center>\n\n\n\nA remote work schedule template for fixed working hours<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"fixed-remote-working-schedule\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/fixed-remote-working-schedule.png\")
<\/center>\n\n\n\nConclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n