Hello friends! Lately, I’ve been staying plenty busy with Majka projects, running the blog, and working with clients for Wela. These are all things that I love to do, however, to say it’s been a crazy past couple of months would be an understatement. Needless to say, I’ve been forced to fine-tune my time management skills.
I’ve always struggled with time management when working from home. There just always seems to be something else that needs to be done. So I finally sat down, did some research, and implemented things that help me increase productivity when working from home.
The Problem
Something that we always did at Bloguettes and then implemented in Wela and Majka is work-from-home Tuesdays. Coming from a place where we are always collaborating with each other, working from home became a huge plus to getting individual tasks done. The only problem that arose was actually being productive.
If you work from home, you know how easy it is to get sidetracked with housework, kids, pets, snacks… you name it! The distraction is at an all-time high. This became a problem when the end of the day would roll around and it felt as though nothing got accomplished. That’s when I decided something needed to change.
The Solution: 5 Work-From-Home Tips
To help solve this problem, I have 5 time management tips to help you work from home. However, these will only work if you can discipline yourself and actually do them. Habits take a little time to change, but once you get past the initial building of the habit, you can accomplish nearly anything.
Tip 1: Make it a Normal Day
One thing that I’ve tried and helps me immensely is pretending it’s a normal day to go into the office. That means getting up, showering, getting ready, making my breakfast smoothie, and drinking my matcha as if I was going to the office. This ensures I get a good start on my day and don’t fall behind due to sleeping in or not getting ready.
Here some of my ‘must-haves’ for my morning routine.
Related: How to Have a Productive Morning Routine
Tip 2: Time Block
Time blocking is a huge trend right now, and for the right reasons! It really does work. After prioritizing what HAS to be done, block of an hour, two hours, 30 minutes… however much time it will take you to complete the task, set a timer, and get to work. When I’m working under a time constraint, I tend to focus in and get things done.
I block off tasks in Google Calendar. This is good for two reasons. One, it reminds me when I need to switch tasks. Two, it shows others that I’m busy and prevents them from scheduling any meetings during that time.This article by Goop features some great time management apps.
RELATED: Task Management Tools That Really Make Your To-Do List Easier
Tip 3: Get Rid of Distractions
This is a big one because let’s be real, distractions are everywhere. Whether it’s your phone, your kids, or housework, there always seems to be something else that you could be doing. One big distraction for me is other inturrupting me when I’m working. In the video below, Marie Farleo shares six tips to overcome that.
One tip that really resonates with me was the last one. It’s important to position yourself in a room that others are not going to be in. You’re setting yourself up to be distracted if you are in the living room, as Marie suggests. I like to go to my home office and work there. That way, I can let others know not to bother me unless it’s an emergency.
Tip 4: Limit Snacking
Yeah, I see you. Snacking is one thing that I always think will take 2 minutes. But 15 minutes later, the trip to the fridge for an apple has turned into wiping down the kitchen counter tops, sweeping the floor, dusting the mantle… you get the picture 😉
Essentially, snacking is another distraction that easily gets in the way. Like I mentioned in tip number 1, keep your day consistent as you normally would. This could include packing lunch for yourself! That way you have everything you need to eat right by you and it’s already portioned out.
If you’d rather keep lunchtime for getting up to walk around, at least take a granola bar or something that you can quickly eat if hunger strikes during an important task. That way you don’t get distracted when you get up to grab something to eat. I really love the Paleo Angle Bites because they follow the AIP Diet, and fudge fat bombs (pictured below) because they keep me full!
I also always need something a little sweet after lunch. I like to keep a small bite of chocolate right next to me, that way I can keep focused after lunch. Here are a few of my favorite snack items to keep on deck:
Tip 5: Get Plenty of Sleep
It can be easy to get into the mindset of staying up late if you know you don’t have to get up and get ready for work the next morning. HOWEVER, tying this back in to tip 1, sleep like you would the night before leaving for work.
Sleep is so important. The National Sleep Foundation says that 7-9 hours of sleep are needed for Adults ages 26 to 64. Now, whether or not you get that sleep is a different story. Whether you are working from home or going to work every day, sleep is still just as important. Don’t undermine it even if you get to stay in your comfy clothes all day.
RELATED: Natural Sleep Remedies that Really Work
Other Resources
These tips are what works best for me. However, you may find something else that works for you. Here are some good resources to finding your perfect ‘work-from-home’ groove.
Books
Articles
- In this article from Goop, individuals share some of their favorite tips and products that help them work from home.
- This blog post (and podcast episode!) by Jenna Kutcher highlight the steps she takes to be productive when working from home.
- This article from Mind Body Green presents research findings that say working from home might actually make you more productive!
- Finding it hard to stay motivated? Check out my post on preventing burnout, here!
Planners
Confession: I don’t use planners (Google Calendar is my lifesaver!) but I do know that there are some people who really like the physical act of writing things down and crossing things off. Here a few planners that are equal parts fun and practical.
I hope this helps you as you work to find the perfect work-from-home schedule! How do you manage to stay focused at work? Let me know in the comments below!
@CallMeLore | #CallMeLore