May is Revise Your Work Schedule Month

In honor of National Revise Your Work Schedule Month, here are tactics to get the ball rolling on evaluating (and, hopefully, implementing) alternatives to your daily commute:

1. Research how flex-time and telecommuting opportunities can be an alternative that would be mutually beneficial for both you and your company, focusing on how an employee who doesn't use company office space but fulfills all of the job's responsibilities is more cost-efficient without all the office-related overhead, has less down-time since work can be done more easily amidst life activities and, often times, will get more done in less time without office or commute distractions.

2. Determine if you are able to stay on task and maintain daily structure for yourself, with the assistance of task-focusing technologies or by using an accountability partner, particularly since individuals who telecommute do not have management around to regularly enforce productivity. This can be easier for some than others, and it is important to be aware upfront as to your limitations.

3. Talk to people you know who are currently working flex-time schedules or telecommuting, even if they are only doing so from time-to-time or very irregularly. Find out what works well with what they are doing as well as what they would change, and ask about how they got to their current situations.

4. Tweak your current work schedule a bit for greatest productivity and optimum efficiency. Know during which time of day your energy is at its highest and determine which tasks can be shifted into that time of day. Group like tasks together to process through each grouping more quickly, like all your calls together or all your emails together. Such in-office successes can set the stage for even greater success in flex-time or telecommuting scenarios.

5. Plan how to address any questions your boss might raise about a flex-time or telecommuting alternative, including what might be your work schedule, equipment requirements, accountability measures and how your work will be monitored.

6. Finally, muster up your courage and ask for your work schedule alternative... The answer will be "no" to 100% of the questions never asked so it is important to present your idea along with all the supporting data you collected and, then, work with your boss for how to make it happen successfully.

What have you done already to take charge of your work schedule? Are you currently utilizing flex-time policies or telecommuting? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below.