Here’s the deal: just because we’re working from home doesn’t mean that we’re available to wait for repair calls, UPS deliveries, or to pick up a friend’s kids from school when that friend can’t leave work.  Of course when it’s an emergency, there’s no question whether you should help out. But there’s a point where others can take advantage of you.

One woman in Zaslow’s article who was asked constantly for help from friends and neighbors, turned errand requests into a job.  She works part-time for a new online company called taskrabbit, that matches “senders” (people who need someone to do an errand for them) with “runners” (people who will handle the errand).  Now she’s paid for her time.

The bottom line is that someone who works from home is no different from her corporate counterpart except for having a more flexible schedule, dressing casually (if at all) and being available to handle last-minute emergencies.  She also has the freedom to say no to requests for favors when she’s doing what the person asking for the favor is doing, which is working.

Sue Shellenbarger, author, writer and the Wall Street Journal’s Work & Family columnist did the near-impossible…she tried three systems in three weeks.  She made some interesting discoveries.

• Getting things done (GTD) helped her see clearly what next steps she needed to take.  You take the projects and tasks you have in your mind and organize them in one place.

• The Pomodoro Technique. You work in spurts using a nifty tomato-shaped timer. You can use any timer but Shellenbarger opted to invest in the tomato.  I would have too. This system showed her where she was wasting time.

• FranklinCovey’s Focus. This system uses a “time matrix” that helps you figure out which tasks are important, urgent and truly urgent.

Shellenbarger’s bottom line: each planner offers something different and she plans to use parts of each method/system to plan her days.

My bottom line: there’s no one-size-fits-all planning system out there.  You’ll have to try on a few planners until you find one that fits.