With quarantine and self-isolation in full effect, a lot of you are now working from home but it can be a tough transition to make. I’ve been working from home for over 6 years now and I have learnt a few tricks I want to share with you to help make your day more productive. Watch the video below or scroll down for the old fashioned text version.
Poor Planning Leads To…
My first tip is to plan your workday. Use the calendar on your phone or computer to block out what you want to achieve in 30 minute or 1-hour chunks. For example, 30 minutes for social media posting or 1 hour to contact current and previous clients.
If you don’t have a clear plan on what you want to do that day it is so easy to flip between different tasks or quickly check your social media. Even though this may only take a couple of seconds, it takes your brain a lot longer to adjust to different tasks.
You also get the added satisfaction of finishing tasks early and feeling like you are ahead of the day.
To supercharge this technique, on a Friday make a rough plan of what you want to achieve the following week. You can then start to populate your diary with the key tasks that you need to complete.
Bonus tip, plan for the next day. It is a lot easier to get up and get working if you already know what you want to achieve when you start the day, it just takes up less brainpower. At the end of each day, take 5 minutes to plan out the next day in your calendar.
You’ve Got To Keep It Separated
My next trick is to create a separate working space. It would be ideal if this was a separate room like an office but it can be a desk in a corner. The idea is that you are training your brain to think that when you are in this space, it’s work time.
Don’t use this space for anything else as you are then sending your brain mixed signals. This is a powerful mindset switch which gets your brain in a productive state just by using your surroundings.
Find Your Balance
This leads nicely on to my next point, the work-life balance. You may notice in the first few weeks that you struggle to shut off during your personal time in the evenings. Creating a separate working space will help with this a lot but you should also try to stick to working hours.
It doesn’t matter when this is, it could be from 8 pm to 2 am when the kids are in bed, it could be from 5 am until 3 pm. The idea is to discipline yourself to only work between these hours. The more you let your work life into your personal life, the harder it will be to relax and switch off. Not taking personal time and relaxing will quickly lead to burnout.
Bonus tip. Don’t forget to take regular breaks throughout the day. I take 5 minutes to get a cup of tea or play a little game on my phone every hour or so. This allows me to re-charge my mental power and be more productive in the upcoming hour.
Get Active
Lastly, I recommend exercise. It’s amazing how motivating exercise can be. It could be as little as doing a few star jumps when you get up in the morning. Getting the blood flowing gets you ready for the day and surprisingly gives you an energy boost.
Not feeling motivated or lacking concentration? Go out for a little run to reset your brain. Don’t listen to any music and just listen to the thought s in your head. You will come back re-charged and ready to do business.
Do you have your own trick that I haven’t mentioned? Leave it in the comments and stay safe out there.
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