Work organization in the office and home office

and Sabine Schrör, medical journalist Updated on

Dr. Andrea Bannert has been with since 2013. The doctor of biology and medicine editor initially carried out research in microbiology and is the team's expert on the tiny things: bacteria, viruses, molecules and genes. She also works as a freelancer for Bayerischer Rundfunk and various science magazines and writes fantasy novels and children's stories.

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Sabine Schrör is a freelance writer for the medical team. She studied business administration and public relations in Cologne. As a freelance editor, she has been at home in a wide variety of industries for more than 15 years. Health is one of her favorite subjects.

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Whether in the home office or in the office on site: Good work organization is essential to make everyday office life efficient and as stress-free as possible. But how do you manage to structure your tasks sensibly between floods of e-mails, telephone rings, meetings and private distractions? Here you will find answers to this question and find out which tips and tools will make your day-to-day office work easier.

Work organization: less stress, more efficiency

You are probably familiar with this situation: You are sitting at your desk and have just completely absorbed yourself in an important task. Suddenly a colleague stands in the door and speaks to her. Or your phone rings - your boss is on the line. Or your inbox reports a new message. You are already torn out of the concentrated work and have to reconsider your priorities.

In the home office there are many other sources of distraction. The children ask for help with their homework, the dishwasher needs to be emptied, lunch doesn't cook by itself and, and, and.

The examples show: distractions and stress are part of everyday work, especially in the home office. With a sensible work organization, however, a lot can be done so that the stress does not get out of hand and you can do your job calmly and efficiently.

set priorities

How can the work in the office or in the home office be structured well? By setting priorities. Sort the upcoming tasks according to importance and urgency. For example from A to D:

• A tasks are important and urgent, i.e. time-critical
• B tasks are important, but not urgent
• C tasks are less important, but urgent
• D tasks are less important and not urgent

Now determine which tasks you will do yourself and which you will delegate if necessary. Then put your tasks in a chronological order and work through them accordingly.

Time management

Time is a precious commodity. The more efficiently you use your working time, the more room you have for other things. In addition, you reduce your personal stress if you do not have to rush to get on with your work, but work on the basis of a well-thought-out schedule. The best thing to do is take a look at your usual tasks and note how much time you need for which task. This overview is a good basis for structured daily and weekly planning.

Daily and weekly planning

It is worthwhile to create daily and weekly plans based on your priority list and your task / time analysis. These overviews give your working day a clear structure and give you the security of not forgetting anything and using your working time efficiently:

• In the daily schedule, you specify the times of the day you want to complete certain tasks. Perhaps you prefer to telephone in the afternoon rather than in the morning? Or is it that you are most concentrated in the early hours of the morning? If possible, take this into account in your planning.Bundle similar tasks into task groups and assign them specific time frames. Also plan your breaks firmly and pay attention to time buffers that give you scope for unexpected tasks.
• The weekly schedule gives an overview of all tasks that are due during the week. It is best to create it every Friday for the entire following week. Make sure to include time buffers here too! As a rule of thumb: plan a maximum of 80 percent of the available working time. The remaining 20 percent are available for ad hoc work.

Additional tips for the home office

Those who work at home regularly face further challenges in terms of work organization. Due to the lack of spatial separation of work and private life, a major hurdle is to strictly separate oneself from private life during work. If this does not succeed, there is a high risk of getting bogged down and losing focus between professional and family demands. Because there are far more opportunities for distraction lurking at home than in the on-site office: just turn on the washing machine in between, just vacuum it briefly or finally call grandma again - the temptations are numerous. Especially when you are not alone in the home office, but your partner also works at home and the children are in homeschooling.

However, there are a few tips and tricks that will help you to work in a focused and structured manner in your home office.

Clearly define and adhere to working hours

Determine exactly what times you work and when you take breaks for how long. Discuss your schedule with the family and agree that you will not be disturbed during work hours. Small rituals can help. For example, arrange for the message "Do not disturb" to apply when the door of the study is closed.

Design your workplace professionally

When you work at home, it is important to be able to switch from private mode to work mode quickly. A separate, professionally furnished workstation helps. Your own study is of course ideal. But even if the kitchen table is your home office, you can use a few tricks to create a working atmosphere. For example, always sit in the same place and use an office chair. Office utensils such as hole punches and pen boxes create an office atmosphere. It is also helpful not to sit in front of the PC in sweatpants or pajamas, but to dress like you would go to the office.

Create rituals

Start your work day with one personal ritual and end it with another. This will make it easier for you to change roles. There are no limits to your imagination. Try what works best for you.

Set up a second telephone number

A separate telephone number for business calls also helps with the separation between professional and private matters. This way, private calls don't distract you from your work.

Healthy work-life balance

Apart from sensible work organization, one thing is particularly important in order to avoid or reduce stress: a healthy relationship between work and leisure, keyword work-life balance. If you pay attention to this and also structure your work in the home office and in the local office well, you will not offer unhealthy stress any target.

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