Well the truth is you are not alone. For many of us our number one challenge is staying tuned into business while working from home. Let’s face it, the luxury of being able to work from home has created yet another obstacle in our already cluttered lives.

So the question is how do we beat procrastination and distractions? Amanda Sykora has shared 15 Tips to Increase Productivity When Working From Home with Suite101 readers. The tips vary from knowing when to stop to creating plans of action for your work.

Go ahead, check out the list, and reclaim your time!

About Real Life E®

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time coach & professional speaker who helps men and women who are overwhelmed and frustrated because they want to achieve a life of peace and productivity but are struggling to make it happen.

For more insight on how to move forward, feel peaceful and create a life of love, meaning and purpose, check out ScheduleMakeover.com

Elizabeth has been featured in Inc magazine, The Chicago Tribune, and on NBC, and is happy to be interviewed for your broadcast or publication.

Before you invest another minute in your business or career, listen in to this FREE teleseminar to make sure you are on the right track:

Building a Business (or a Career) That Fits Your Ideal Schedule:

Tuesday, October 6 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT/6 p.m. PT

Anyone can participate: Phone: 712-432-0600, Code: 775908#

Find out how to start and build a business that will help you to achieve work/life brilliance™ instead of keeping you from the people and activities that matter most to you. Coaching clients will receive a recording (Contact me at esaunders@RealLifeE.com to find out how you can start time coaching today!) Plus I will release details on Schedule Makeover™: To Build a Business: a four-week course that will lead you step-by-step through the process of setting your schedule to start or build a business. You don’t have to do this alone!

Elizabeth Grace Saunders does Schedule Makeover™ coaching with clients throughout the country. If you’re struggling to stay focused and motivated, contact Elizabeth at esaunders@RealLifeE.com to get help today!

Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to offer you tips on savvy scheduling and time management for work/life balance. You can sign up for more info at http://www.RealLifeE.com/coaching or http://www.ScheduleMakeover.com

What happens when you let your business take over your home!

If you’re a home based business owner struggling with guilt, overwhelm, and frustration, check out my recent Webinar on finding peace, focus, and moving forward: MyEntre.Net Webinar description.

Click on the link at the bottom of the page or click here to go directly to the Webinar.

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a key note speaker, trainer, and does phone and e-mail coaching on time management for work/life brilliance™ through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to offer you tips on savvy scheduling and time management for work/life balance. You can sign up for more info at http://www.RealLifeE.com/coaching or http://www.ScheduleMakeover.com

Find out how I won $500 by clicking on this photo

Over the last nine years, I’ve averaged 1.4 moves/year (i.e. almost as much time packing, moving, and unpacking as simply settling into a place). No matter how many times you move, it’s not easy.

Fortunately, I’ve discovered a few time coaching strategies to reduce moving stress:

Start a List

As soon as you decide you’re moving, a million little to-dos from talk to your banker to pack grandma’s vase in bubble wrap will start to float around in your head. This can lead to two not-so-helpful responses:

• Manic running around in an attempt to do way more than you can do in a night or weekend.
• Paralyzing despair that you can never get everything done so you might as well flip through channels or flit through Facebook for hours.

May I suggest this much more helpful alternative: Create a list in a word processing document, your phone, or PDA where you write down everything that comes to mind.

As you add to this list, categorize to-dos by date and/or by milestone. For instance, if you know you need to have your apartment cleaned out by September 20, you can put that task under that specific date on the list. But if you know you need to talk to your insurance agent after you’ve decided where you will live, you can categorize that action under the heading “Once I know where I am living.” To keep yourself on track, set aside specific times each week when you will review the list and move forward on what you can accomplish right now. Everything that you can’t do until a future designated time or milestone stays out of your mind and on the list.

Block Off Your Schedule

No matter how well organized you are, unexpected delays and activities will happen. To stay on the safe side, block off one to two weeks before and after your move to focus solely on packing and moving activities in your time outside of work. I know it sounds extreme, but it’s critical that you limit lunch dates, sporting games, TV time, networking events, and almost everything else that’s even somewhat optional from your schedule. Try to avoid planning personal and professional meetings during that time frame, and if necessary, put up out of office messages that tell people your response will be delayed.

It’s so much better to give yourself extra time and space before and after your move than to freak out on your friends when you’re no where near done and the moving van is pulling up or to spend months getting settled because you didn’t unpack using the initial post-moving momentum. (Trust me-this works!)

Recruit Help

You can move alone, but I don’t advise it. If you’re not having professional movers pack you up, ask friends & family to come over and help you pack or at the very least assist with lugging boxes. If you choose the former, make it into a movie and pizza night that happens to include boxes and packing tape in place of a tub of popcorn in their hands.

If you need help the day of the move, I recommend contacting a large number of people about a month in advance and then sending out reminders, two weeks, one week, and a day before. Offer free food and drink and express your undying devotion and appreciation for their service to you. (Believe me–you’ll be so happy you did!)

Also, if you’re planning on renting a truck, check out Penske! When I did my research, I found that they had much less expensive truck rentals than other companies (especially if you sign up to be a AAA member). Plus the staff helped me with all of the timing of picking up and dropping off my truck and car trailer in the most efficient manner.

I had such an amazing experience with Penske that I entered their sweepstakes with a story and photo of my journey from Des Moines, Iowa, to Ann Arbor, Michigan. And I won $500! To check out my story, and find out how Penske can help you have a stress-free move, go to: Share Your Move

Have a brilliant day! Thank you Penske!

Elizabeth

P.S.–Also, you can find other fun photos of my moving adventure in this Facebook album: Click Here

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a key note speaker, trainer, and does phone and e-mail coaching on time management for work/life brilliance™ through her exclusive Schedule Makeover™ process. Inc magazine, NBC, and The Chicago Tribune are just a few of the places where Elizabeth has appeared, and she’s happy to offer you tips on savvy scheduling and time management for work/life balance. You can find out more at http://www.RealLifeE.com/coaching or http://www.ScheduleMakeover.com

It was recommended on Twitter by Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek fame.

Enjoy cool moves like “the flick” and “the flop and fold” and save time in the process. (Plus when you fold clothes right out of the drier, you don’t need to iron or re-launder them to get out the wrinkles.)

To brilliant–and fun–time strategies!

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a trainer who focuses on “Time Strategies to Create a Brilliant Life in a Burnt-Out World.” Women in business and Gen Y professionals enjoy her fresh take on succeeding in business and life by controlling their time instead of letting it control them. Brilliance trumps burn out!