Working from home can present its own set of challenges, We idealize it as–unlimited delicious homemade coffee, and pajamas until 12–or later. Sometimes, It’s not like that at all. It might look like–distracting yourself with housework when you are avoiding work for a deadline, or having small children making messes or pulling on your leg while you’re trying to sit at a computer and answer emails. The time-sucks and lack of motivation can just start to overwhelm us. We often aren’t sure how to get re-focused, re-inspired, and to set up a set of routines that can put us into FLOW with our work. So we experience the benefits of flexible work, and fewer of the downsides.
And first of all, I want to pause for a moment to acknowledge what a blessing it is, in this moment in time, to have work opportunities available to us that we can do from home, in the middle of this enormous crisis. We do not take that for granted for an instant.
I’ve had a lot of experience over 7 years of working flexibly, of how to manage my time working from home, expectations of what I’ll accomplish, and daily re-inspiring and motivating myself to chip away at work goals, to-do lists, bringing joy and a sense of fulfillment to each moment of the day (or many, at least).
Let’s start with these 5 tips, and see how you can boost your mindset around working from home, or just develop some new strategies.
- Adjust expectations–to fit your reality.
- Set up your work space to optimize joy, focus and productivity.
- Time management & blocking: give yourself things to look forward to your breaks each hour.
- Set a schedule you can stick to (even while enjoying flexibility).
- Focus on the big picture.
1) Adjust expectations–to fit your reality.
I’ve learned the hard way that a long to-do list and a working from home lifestyle can sometimes frustrate you (and others). Of course, you can have productive pockets of time, but you also need to manage expectations (your own, and other peoples’) about what you’ll accomplish. For me, that starts with having a top 3 list in my planner–the 3 most important things that need to be done, and tackling those first, so that anything else that’s on the list, or “extra” is gravy. Help others understand your realities–try to under-promise and over-deliver. I’m often very clear with those I’m in communication with: this particular task will happen at this time of day (during a toddler nap) and not before, so that the expectations are clear, and you’re not always scrambling to re-adjust.
2) Set up your work space to optimize joy, focus and productivity.
This is your chance to create your ideal environment, and to add to your productivity and enjoyment of your work. Choose a beautiful, quiet, well-lit & decorated spot and set it up to be a place that brings you joy as you approach. Along with this, set up rituals in your day that help trigger your brain to look forward to focusing in–that could be a simple as a delicious cup of pour-over, or a steaming mug of tea, a great soundtrack, and more. Even better if you’ve been able to do a quick 20 min walk or yoga session to get blood flowing to your brain! These are proven methods that highly successful folks use daily to power up their focus, and you can do them at home with even more control of your environment than at the office.
3) Time management & blocking: give yourself things to look forward to in your breaks each hour.
Similarly to your office environment, you have even more control over your focused work times–when they occur and why. You can take quizzes that help you determine what time of day you’re most productive, and you can tailor your calendar and work day around that. For example if mid morning is your peak productivity, avoid letting mtgs be scheduled then, or calls, and try to do your deeper work/content creation, etc then.
Brendon Burchard–in his book High Performance Habits, and elsewhere–talks about how the ideal window for peak productivity is to work in 50 min chunks (on a single task or set of related tasks) and then take a 10 min break, to totally reset your brain. This fits well with my experience (if you’re a mom, you might be thrilled with 30 min chunks while kids are occupied), and the point is that during the hourly breaks, you move around, stretch, get a different perspective, maybe do a small chore, household project or email check/communication moment, and then dive back into another focused block. Try this out in different intervals and see what works. You’ll be amazed what happens when you close a few browsers, stop checking email and social media on your phone, and just focus in on something for 45-50 min. Magical things can occur. I love having a small thing I’m committed to doing during my “breaks” whether it’s reading to a kid, having a snack or stretching series, or even tidying so that my environment stays the way I like it. You’ll get into a good rhythm that works for you.
4) Set a schedule you can stick to (even while enjoying flexibility).
I enjoy the freedom of a whole day of working from home (while mothering) but we all benefit from a bit of structure as well (the #1 reasons why bosses are wary of people working from home). So I suggest that based on the things you understand about your productive pockets, the overall schedule off the day, related to school schedule, or anything else, you craft some daily rhythms that help you stay on course. If you know you’ll always start your day with a block of email and communication, followed by your biggest project of the day (the meat of what you need to accomplish); I like to plan calls and zooms with clients/partners/collaborators for 12 or later, so I know that the first part of the day has been my own to really make things happen with. Later in the afternoon, I’ll come back to my computer for tying up loose ends, or communicating with folks about deliverables for the following day or scheduling out items for later in the week; it all depends on the work you do, but you’ll benefit from having a clear sense of what each part of the day holds. Plan your day with a loose structure that works, or your day will just simply slip away from you. Additionally, I always schedule things like down time, or exercise or self-care moments into my planner along side my work. That way I know I’m taking them equally seriously, so I can be at my best for the moments I’m in work mode
5) Focus on the big-picture.
On any given day, some of the challenges of juggling work while doing laundry, managing kids, seeing dishes in the sink or any number of other small work from home annoyances can get you feeling deflated. But keep a big picture perspective in mind. Having more control of your schedule and work does give you more joy & fulfillment in the long run, and also allows you to be more productive (less water cooler time or random interruptions from “drive by” coworkers)…plus, look at all that time you’re not spending exhausting yourself in a car or on public transportation. Even just getting back 30 min each way from commuting is 5 hours per week–that you can use to explore a new hobby, go on runs, or read, or be with your family more. Focusing on the big picture brings gratitude and the right perspective for the challenging moments.
Final note (may have learned this the hard way ;)): you’re happier if you set good boundaries about not working during the hours you want to be with family, doing other things, etc. Working from home does not equal working all the time, as many in our workaholic culture want to assume. You’re better off if you keep yourself disciplined with your “on” hours, and your “off ” hours, and your work and life will benefit greatly.
Cheers to working from home–with all the blessings and challenges…
it’s a great life indeed.
x ~maddy
Some fantastic reads related to these topics:
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