Best Tips For New Work At Home Friends
Hey guys! Another coronavirus related update here, but since there’s going to be a ton of first-timers working from home (it’s a blessing and a curse, trust me) I’d thought I’d give you some of my best tips as a seasoned freelancer!
MORNING ROUTINES ARE KEY
Seriously. Make yourself still feel like you are getting up to go to the office. Working from pj’s is great and all, but sometimes it’s harder to get yourself to mentally focus on your task for the day when bed and phone scrolling are so dang tempting. I have found it helpful to write down a morning routine and tape it to the wall next to my bed! I’m a very visual person, so this helps me. But if you are solid without that, then more kudos to you my friend. Make that cup of joe. Wash your face. Get lunch things ready or do your morning meditation. It helps so freaking much.
MAKE A SCHEDULE / TO DO LIST
So you’ve done your morning routine. Great. But now what? Emails are probably still flying. You might be getting calls at home. It’s so much easier to be distracted by home chores (and children) and forget what really needs to be accomplished THIS day. Make yourself a schedule! Write down when you want to tackle particular tasks, or just take an extra minute to write down and figure out what ABSOLUTELY needs to be accomplished today and just focus on those things.
SET ASIDE TIME SPECIFICALLY FOR WORKING OUT AND MEALS
When I make my schedule, I make sure to write down WHEN I’m taking my breaks and set alarms on my phone. For those of us that are hourly, this is a seriously helpful reminder since it’s so easy to forget to clock in and out for breaks when you have to do it at home. BUT, since you are working from home, don’t be afraid to schedule mini-workout breaks or small blocks of time to do simple tasks around the house. Sometimes stepping away from work for a second will make you more productive when you get back.
DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS
This is for sure the hardest part. With the coronavirus keeping EVERYONE at home, you most likely will have pets, significant others, and kids who are wanting your attention. Finding balance is key, and I know how incredibly hard is it. Try talking to your family and see if there’s a way for you to score some uninterrupted alone time for an hour or so at a time.
For those of us without kids, STAY AWAY FROM YOUR PHONE. As someone who does a lot of social media marketing, it’s WAY TOO EASY to get lost in the scroll when your intention was to write a post, share, create a story, or whatever it was you were accomplishing. If possible, try to use your desktop or laptop version of your programs and social media schedulers. This is probably less difficult for other fields, but this is definitely a small trap I have fallen into multiple times as a creative and social media manager. Again, schedule a time when you want to do particular tasks and accomplish them before your allotted time is up!
Another note, try to avoid working with the TV going in the background! Especially for writing and certain creative tasks! If it’s something physically repetitive, it shouldn’t affect your productivity to have some mental stimulation while doing the same thing over and over. Also, if you do feel like its totally ok to watch TV/ Movies while working, choose something that’s a favorite rewatch, so you don’t feel the need to pay attention. I cannot tell you HOW many times I’d be working on a commission when my fiancé wanted to watch a new show, and I found my apple pen idle in my hand while I was watching. Choose something you can mostly listen to, and you’ll be a-ok. Podcasts, audiobooks, and music are also a great alternatives if you need something going on in the background while working.
GOD SPEED TO ALL OF YOU! I hope you found some of my tips helpful. Some of them seem like no-brainer common sense, but trust me, THEY HELP. Especially when we are faced with lots of anxiety around what is going on in the world, figuring out a way to structure your day will make accomplishing work while at home that much easier.
Now it’s time for me to get back to work. :P