Identify And Work Around Your Delivery Dates To Manage A Flexible Schedule

Identify And Work Around Your Delivery Dates To Manage A Flexible Schedule

More employers are beginning to offer flexible work options to let employees work at a time that fits them best, rather than a strict nine-to-five job. This is nice, but it can turn your schedule into chaos. Before that happens, build your schedule around your delivery dates.

As advice site The Muse points out, even if your boss lets you work at your own pace, there are always due dates. At some point, you’re going to need to hand your work in. These are your delivery dates and you can use them as the focal point of your schedule:

One key to being the master of your daily domain is making sure you know what you’re expected to deliver and when. Enjoying the freedom of self-scheduling works best when you assure your boss the work will get done, on time and as committed. Then keep her updated and meet your deadlines every single time (unless something out of your control prevents you from doing so). This way, you’ll never have anyone wondering what you’re doing when you’re not visibly in the office.

Once you know your delivery dates, you can start scheduling backwards. Your next step is to identify how long it will take to finish the work for that delivery and block out time for it. If you have a task due Wednesday afternoon and it will take ten hours to finish it, you know to block out five hours on Monday and Tuesday. Or two hours every weekday of the preceding week. Or 10 hours on Tuesday if you’re feeling particularly masochistic (though we don’t recommend it). Once you’ve decided where to block out the time to work on your project, treat that time with the same critical importance as the deadline itself. Avoid scheduling anything during those same blocks of time and, if you have to bump something to make your schedule work, bump something else.

6 Time Management Strategies That will Help You Break Out of Your 9-to-5 Rut [The Muse]


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