How to Work Remote (When it Feels Impossible to Focus)

When I was a kid, my mom had her office set up in the basement of our house. I remember when she first began - when a dial up 56K internet connect was blazing fast and all of the productivity tools that we seemingly can’t live without, were probably barely even a thought.

At the time, even though she must have told me a million times (bless her), I would still insist on coming downstairs whenever I had a thought or a question. She used to tell me “pretend I’m at the office!” aaaand, let’s just say I basically ignored her. And remember, this is in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, so the whole ‘telecommuting’ thing wasn’t anywhere near the norm like we have today. 

As someone who now works from home myself, I look back on those days and I am impressed with her resourcefulness (and patience). Work days defined by a painfully slow (but fast at the time) internet connection paired with a hyperactive 10 year old who needed ALL OF THE ATTENTION must have been insanity-inducing. But here we are. She’s still working from home primarily and so am I. And I have been on and off since about 2012 or so. And over that time, I’ve tried planners, productivity tools, and a whole range of tips and tricks to ensure that things get done on time. I’ve also had the good fortune of learning to do so while also traveling, moving, and otherwise dealing with opportunities disguised as distractions. 

So if the last few weeks (OK, all of 2020) has been testing your ability to stay focused when you’re working from home, I hear you. And though there’s not much that I can do to help with the source of the insanity that is 2020, I can help you to ride the wave a bit more easily. 

And with that being said, here are few of my top tips for effective remote work (when all you want to do is curl up under a blanket) that cover everything from mindset to practical daily tips for becoming your most productive self. 

1 >> 

Breathe better.

This one is interactive. Take a deep breath and pay attention to it. Put your hands on the back of your ribs and lungs, right at the bottom of your rib cage and breathe in. Feel where your hands  are on the back of your ribs, and try to fill them up, rather than just breathing deep in the ‘front’ of your lungs. 

Seriously. Next time you’re stressed and it’s time to take deep breaths, really pay attention to how you’re filling your lungs. 

2 >>

Focus on the things you can control in your environment.

So you went from a corner office to a shared desk. Or perhaps you’ve always worked from home, but now you’ve also got a pet or a husband by your side. The reality is that you cannot control your spouse’s schedule any more than you can control what’s going on outside your window. But you can control:

1. How you react to both of these things (and others)

2. And how you use that reaction 

So if you find yourself getting frustrated and distracted by noises, the news, or anything else that is begging to pull your attention away from your work, start by recognizing that these things are outside of your control. And instead start thinking about the things you do have influence over.

What are a few ways to influence your environment?

• Invest in good noise cancelling headphones

• Go to another room 

• Create a system with your spouse or roommate to help make managing your schedules and work lives easier 

• Breathing exercises (hello, point #1) 

• Changing the temperature via central air or by curling up with your favorite blanket

• Leave it and come back (can’t miss something if you never leave, right?)

And you’ll be back to work before you know it!

3 >> 

Remember what you are working for.

There’s an old saying:

If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way. If not, you’ll find an excuse.

Harsh? Maybe. But it can also be an effective reminder if all you need is just a little tough love (we’ve all been there).

The point being here that sometimes it’s only a matter of remembering your why. And if you’re not sure what your why is? It’s time to start thinking about it. Because the ‘why’ is what’ll keep you going when the days get long and hard. 

And it doesn’t have to be complicated -- your why can be as straightforward as your significant other, as grand as becoming a billionaire, or as essential and simple as remembering to be happy. Write it on your mirror, your hand, even your forehead if you need to, but keep it in your mind and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

4 >>

Write. It. Down.

Simple yet true, sometimes we ALL need a little reminder. The best part about this is that since you are working from home, you can use all manner of creative methods to carry this out.

For example, why not dedicate an entire wall of your home to sticky notes containing tasks that you can categorize into: ‘need to do’, ‘blocked’, and ‘done’. If you juggle multiple devices and projects this can be a great physical way to track your progress.

One thing that I like to do is start with a blank piece of paper for each new day. Write down the items that are most important to you to finish that day, plus any other notes or meetings that you’ve got during the day. 

As new items come up, write them down on the back of that same piece of paper, with the date that it is due next to it. This way you can transfer any new and somewhat urgent tasks to the next day when you’re planning (more on this in point #7) so that things don’t get lost.

You may even find it helpful to upload your tasks to a project management software like Asana or even to your ‘to do’ list in Gmail. 

5 >> 

Set a morning routine.

I’ve tried it both ways. Getting up whenever I like and seeing where the morning takes me, and also being in a consistent routine that requires me to be up at a certain time and completing certain activities. As much as I’d really love to say that it worked just as well to be very casual in my plans, the reality is that in order for me to be productive, I have to have a morning routine that puts me on the right track from the start. 

So what this means for me is that every morning I get up, practice gratitude, have a glass of water and go for a run. I’ll take a shower, have a coffee, and be ready to work at my desk at 7:30AM, with a small snack around 9 usually. These simple, but effective patterns give me a boost of positivity and endorphins first thing, which I believe is the best place to work from.

Keep the unplanned time for when you want to remain unplanned. It also gives a nice contrast to have time unaccounted for when it usually is during your working hours. 

6 >> 

Give yourself the “choice”.

OK here’s a random trick that I picked up from the Unf*ck Your Brain podcast which has served me well. Have you ever been trying to find the motivation to work and somehow the time seems to just slip away? The work somehow always gets done, but it’s never in the steady and linear path that you hope for. It’s easy to just do something else if you don’t have external factors forcing you and you DO have endless distractions like laundry, or groceries, or cleaning, or your old email that you’ve been meaning to go through…. (all of which ARE valuable uses of your time, they’re just not the best valuable use of your time)

So what’s the trick? When you come to something in your daily activities that you don’t want to do, give yourself the choice between doing that item or doing absolutely nothing at all. So let’s say you need to do your taxes, but you don’t want to, and you also know you need to do some laundry. You do not get the luxury of doing the laundry here, as an activity ‘instead’ of your taxes, you get to do nothing. Because those are your choice: nothing or the task. And by giving yourself a bit of choice (and a bit of time wasted if not), you get to make an active decision in the direction of your goals. 

As for the ‘do nothing’ part? If you’re anything like me, the idea of sitting still and doing nothing, knowing how many things there are to do (work and recreation related), that I’d rather just use the time to accomplish what needs to be done. The time is going to pass anyways, right? 

7 >>

Plan your day and your week around your most important goals. 

There are low value items that you can spend your time on and there are high value items. I don’t have to tell you which ones are which because I am sure that deep down you do know which items are going to move the needle forward and which items are just procrastination in different clothing. 

By remembering those major landmarks at the end of the tunnel, but focusing on the incremental steps necessary to arrive there, you can help to be sure the time you do spend on something, is time well spent. Start by defining your three biggest goals for the week and then further define the steps you are going to take every day in order to achieve those bigger weekly goals. 

8 >>

Have a little compassion for yourself.

Really. It’s OK to not be your best self - regardless of whether you’ve been working from home since before it was cool, or have just made the transition over the last few months. Everyone metabolizes stress differently, so don’t feel bad if you have to take a step back and give yourself a break. It is OK to feel sad. It is OK to feel unmotivated. But it is also important that we do our best to keep moving forward. 

So be honest with yourself about how you’re feeling and if you just need some time to recharge; rather than forcing productivity. You are not a machine! 

We spend an increasing amount of our time in a digital bubble. More hours of both work and fun are transitioning to an environment defined by distance (and our ability to ‘overcome’ it). Add in a global pandemic and nationwide protests {at the time of this writing} and it’s no surprise that the change has taken its toll on us. Though I personally believe that the benefits of remote work largely outweigh the drawbacks, it’s not to say it doesn’t take some time to adjust to a new ‘normal’. So if you’re out there struggling with finding your flow in these weird days we have, take a breath. And write it down. Remember what you’re grateful for and move forward. 

Need more tips? Want to chat about this or life in LA? Drop me an email at: hello (at) fjcelik.com. Talk to you soon! 

How to Overcome a Creative Block

Ever been blocked?

Sat staring at a screen, wishing for inspiration?

And then gotten frustrated when it never seemed to arrive?

If you have, you are definitely not the only one. When I started this post, I was planning on making it about something practical, like tools for keyword research, but then I realized that A) there are already a million, very well written blogs on this topic and B) the creative process is something that can be kickstarted at any moment; maybe one of these strategies / ideas / ramblings could be a catalyst.

So, if you’re stuck in a creative rut and don’t know what to write about, let me give you 5 strategies for coming up with new content ideas. 

Read - but strategically.

When you can’t seem to find your own voice, try listening to someone else’s. It doesn’t have to be a book, in fact, if you’re on a deadline, sometimes the worst thing you can read is a book. Why? Because you’ll get stuck reading it and justify it as a reasonable step in the creative process until it becomes too late to procrastinate and you have to just throw something together. 

Need some ideas about what to read instead? Why not try:: 

• Really old magazines

• A random page from that college textbook you still have

• A blog from a totally different side of the internet (so, for me, it would be something like a blog about crafting or maybe foreign exchange trading)

• Your own previous work (pick a confidence booster)

• A newspaper article from a small town on the other side of the world (how about this?: https://www.croatiaweek.com/zadar-wine-festival-2019-to-be-held-in-april/)

Or anything, really. 

A caveat: don’t spend hours searching for the perfect piece of content either. The above is just an example - the point is to get your brain out of the rut and thinking about something totally different. With an entirely different perspective, it’s possible to create a story or find an angle that you didn’t previously see. Setting a timer can be helpful.

Go for a run

But don’t just put your music on or listen to a podcast (not saying you shouldn’t do these things, but there’s a point to this run). Run with a purpose - to return with a clear plan of how you’re going to write, plus a healthy dose of endorphins. 

If you’re writing non-fiction, for marketing projects or other corporate-style pieces, running can be particularly effective if done correctly. Here’s how: when you’re working on a project and you’ve got something that’s blocking you, write it down before you go to sleep. If you’re short on time and need to do it same-day, skip these steps. Be as specific as possible. Go to sleep. 

Wake up, read your notes, drink a glass of water and go run. Or bike. Or swim. Something that requires your cardiovascular output and your heart rate to increase.

Now visualize what the complete version of your project will look like. Write your closing paragraph. Can’t find it? Write ANY paragraph in your mind, keep going until something makes sense and then go home. 

Write it down, quickly. 

Then follow your standard routine and get back to it. I don’t want to make any promises, but this method has helped me through a few rough creative patches and it might just work for you as well. 

And if you’re writing non-fiction? Use your surroundings to create stories and to act as inspiration. Try to imagine the craziest, silliest, or least likely story behind that pharmacy, or the girl with her dog, or the police officer sitting in his patrol car. Or follow the same method as prescribed for non-fiction and see if that gets you past it.

The point is to refresh your brain and give you a strong dose of dopamine.

Go through your old texts / emails / blog posts

Try to find something where your voice is most genuine. Sometimes when finding the words is hard, finding the tone can be easier. Once you have a tone, you can at least start to build an outline and a direction. 

If your voice is hiding, sometimes it just needs a reminder that it’s safe to come out. Seeing other things that you’ve written that normally remain quietly in the background can be both gratifying and centering. Or, depending on the topic, they can take you back to a certain time or feeling. 

Bringing the past into the future isn’t generally advisable, but it can be a good way to get that little bit of inspo necessary to get going. 

Watch foreign films

But with the subtitles left off. Listen to the words and look for their emotions. Create a backstory based only on what you see and your spectrum of experience. Feel the story through the character’s emotions and use those feelings to shape the direction of your work.

This may not be so effective for those in the non-fiction or technical writing side of things as it may just serve as a gateway to procrastination. But if you’ve got the time, a little break from something heavy into something beautiful could be just the reset that a tired brain needs. 

Leave the _______

Office, city, state, country.

The more stuck you are, the further you should go (in my opinion); within reason of course. When you’re extremely blocked, sitting still will only encourage your mind to do the same. Getting out of your normal surroundings forces you to pay attention. To be a little more aware of yourself and what is happening around you. When you’ve got a feedback loop, sometimes that’s exactly what you need - a trigger, something else to pay attention to, in order to break out of the loop. Traveling can be that trigger.

I know it’s not always practical or even possible to leave the country or state on a whim, but when it is, such an opportunity should always be taken. This is because it’s one of the most effective ways to give your brain more options, more ideas, and more space and connections to store them between.

Experiences make for great stories. They lead to analogies that resonate. And the ability to empathize and see from another’s perspective. And if you’re writing the novel of your lifetime, your master’s thesis, or anything else that has taken a part of your soul along the way, sometimes a little time on an airplane is exactly what you need to put it back.

A day’s reflections

These are the things that I can recommend because I’ve tried them and found luck in them. Inspiration comes from the strangest of places sometimes, so trying new things is really the only way to find what works for you.

When I started writing this, I had a block.

I chose to run.

So I ran. For 10 miles. 

And now I can calmly write this and see that on the other side of every block there is lucidity. That clear understanding of what you need to do and how to do it.

If you’re reading this trying to find your own clarity, try something on this list. At the very minimum, you’ll feel refreshed. And who knows? Maybe you’ll find the key to your own writing freedom along the way.

Introducing Myself (and to 2020) - Plus 5 Thoughts on Squarespace for Beginner Bloggers

It’s interesting what finally motivates us to make the changes necessary to achieve our dreams, big and small, in life. Whether it’s moving to another country, starting a new job, creating a blog, or anything else that takes some amount of effort and bravery, the catalyst sometimes comes from the most unexpected of places.

So, if you’ve recently started something new, or are looking for the courage to do so, I’m rooting for you. (and if you’re only reading this for the Squarespace part, go ahead and skip to the bottom)

With that being said,  welcome, bienvenido, hoşgeldiniz, I’m happy you’re here. This is the first ‘real’ post here (we’ll call the older ones practice, but do feel free to take a look at them as well!) - because this will be the one where introductions are made and expectations are set. 

My name is Francesca and I’m a British / American writer and marketing professional based in San Diego, California. When I’m not working, you can find me traveling, running (marathon training), reading,  and trying out new recipes (some of which turn out nicely). I’ll be documenting some of these things, with honesty, minimal photo editing, and humor (mostly). 

Some topics you can expect to find from here on out include:

• Nutrition and some variety of cooking / baking {the latter could be more entertaining than valuable to start}

• Languages - tips for learning them, interesting tools etc

• Marketing - particularly content marketing and real estate marketing as these are the areas I feel I can best expand on

• ½ and full marathon training tips 

• Book reviews! Yay :) 

I imagine over time I’ll whittle these down to a focus, but let’s start broad and narrow down. In the meantime, back to the topic of the day: this blog and what I’d like to achieve with it.

Writing a blog has been something that I’ve considered (and attempted) to do on a number of occasions. For whatever reason, I did not pursue it - I think primarily because I hadn’t found the right motivation to continue. And I look back on those days and do think it would have been nice to have a written account of the travels and experiences that I had previously. 

So there’s goal number one: to consistently keep track of the days and experiences, while hopefully finding patterns to things to improve from.

As for goal number two, I’m also hoping that keeping this record could help others who are trying to find their own inspiration. Or could even benefit from some of the things that I’ve learned along the way. It’s worth a try at least. :) 

And that catalyst I mentioned at the beginning? This time it was found in a moment of quiet and balance at a yoga studio in Purcellville, Virginia. Maybe one day I’ll write a post about that by itself. Though I built this blog in September, I would say this moment was the one that actually sealed my commitment to it for at least a year. Here we go! {Did you recently start a blog? Are you considering starting one? Let’s connect: hello@fjcelik.com) 

But enough about me and this blog, how about something slightly more useful? I promised some notes on Squarespace for beginner bloggers, who like myself, have a reasonable understanding of how websites should look, usability, marketing, and how to use Google to fill in the blanks. 

Without further ado, here are four things you should know about using Squarespace to build your first blog: 

1. It’s easy to make your site look good.

It took me about an afternoon to create this site from zero. Of course, I’ve since then made some changes to the structure and copy, but the overall site was quick and easy to get up and looking nice (in my opinion). On a scale of 1-10, I would rate my  ‘techyness” at around say 4. Which means if I can build a half decent site in that much time, it’s worth the effort.

There are certainly some things that still need to be done for me to get the site where I want it to be, but I would say it’s overall quite intuitive and easy to use. 

One other major bonus? The site goes mobile with literally no extra steps on my behalf - something that isn’t always the case with other site builders that don’t require coding.  

2. It’s not as customizable as say, Wix (but this is for the best).

Last year I built a site for our video production brand on Wix, and while the site turned out quite well, it was not an easy process. It took a few weeks and because unlike Squarespace, where the templates are quite a bit more constrained in what can be done, everything can be moved. In other words: you have literally an entirely blank slate in front of you.

Now, if you’re ready to spend some time learning a new software and you have a clear vision of what you want, this is fantastic. You can build (almost) anything that your mind can create, without having to do any coding. 

But there are some drawbacks to this:

• It’s very easy to get ‘lost’ in the site and overwhelmed by choices

• The site can get very heavy and slow down, quickly

• It does not always translate to mobile well, and oftentimes you have to rebuild the mobile version yourself 

Here are a few screenshots from that website:

To sum it up: if you want something that is quick, easy, and straightforward, Squarespace is the way to go. If you want to get fancy and build the site of your dreams, you may want to give Wix another look.

3. Hosting, analytics, and email are incredibly easy to set up.  

With some platforms you have to take the time to go to different sites to set up hosting, domains, and email. Not with Squarespace. It was so nice to be able to pay once (though a monthly plan is available) and have everything be done for a year. The pricing is also quite competitive for what you get.

If you use Google Analytics or Ads, they are also easy to integrate with just a few clicks. 

4. It has the option to integrate shopping capacity.

Though this isn’t super valuable for me at the moment, I can definitely see the potential for many types of brands. I spent a little time setting up a shop as test; and comparatively speaking,  it did take a bit more effort to understand than the majority of Squarespace’s features. I was able to figure it out, but the first few steps were not super intuitive to me. Having said that, if I get to the point where I need to ever products, I’m confident that I’ll be able to figure it out without too much difficulty. 

Thoughts overall? If the reason why you’re not building a site is because you don’t think you can do it, Squarespace could be exactly what you’re looking for. I’m impressed with the value and ease of the platform so far and hope to remain this way (stay tuned for an update if that goes south, though). 

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope that you stick around and find some value (or at least entertainment) from the content that is here. And if not? I hope you find some content that does resonate with you, wherever that may be on the internet.

Wanna keep in touch and see when I write another equally as fun post as this one? (ha ha). Make sure to sign up for my newsletter or join me on Instagram. 

See you next time! 

How to Stay Motivated Over the Holiday Season

So it’s almost the holidays and you’re getting daily offers of eggnog and cookies. And if you’re somewhere that actually gets cold in the winter, it’s probably proper cold by this time of year. This means that every day it’s just a little bit more tempting to stay in bed with a hot drink and a bad movie instead of eating clean and running or exercising.

In San Diego, even though the temperatures don’t really drop, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have the temptation to slack off and otherwise derail from my standard routine. Somehow the slightly warmer temperatures do help with forcing yourself out the door in the dark evenings - though 40 degrees in the morning is still something of a shock to me. Our holiday trip to Virginia is sure to be a treat (with the temps getting into the low 20’s overnight). ☃️

In any case, if you’re struggling to find ways to stay motivated this winter, I hear you. And if you’re asking for ways to do so, hopefully the list below of 5 ways to stay motivated in the holiday season will help. 

1. Start your January New Year’s Resolutions early.

Why is December the best time to start a new resolution? Because it means when it’s actually the expected time to start your resolution, you’ve got a serious advantage. How? Well there’s a few reasons:

1. Whenever you start building a new habit (running, reading, eating cauliflower, whatever), the first few weeks are undoubtedly the hardest. Get these out of the way now, rather than saddling that extra responsibility later on.

2. Anticipation and disappointment. If you spend the month of December wishing for it to be January before you start your resolutions, you’re going to be disappointed on February 1st. And when anything goes wrong. 

3. It gives you a distraction and a goal to help keep you on track between parties, late nights, and cold morning.

No matter when you’re reading this, it’s never too late to start. And if your resolution has something to do with the gym, imagine being a ‘regular’ when all those people who waited till January first to let their new year’s resolutions begin.

2. Be easy on yourself.

Cliche but true. And something we all need to hear way more often than we do in our daily lives. If you’ve got a tendency to want to be superwoman (or, superman for the gentlemen out there), it can be easy to spread yourself thin. This leads to being tired and grumpy.

Guess who doesn’t want to go running and eat healthy when they are tired and grumpy? How about most of the population.

Avoid the hole of the holidays by stepping around them. Feel free to say no, and if something doesn’t go exactly as planned, don’t go so hard on yourself about it; as this is the fastest way to start a lovely little downward spiral that leads to all sorts of decisions that your calm and rational self likely wouldn’t even consider.

Once more, louder for those in the back: it’s OK to say no. 

3. Try a new exercise or fitness activity.

Preferably of the indoors variety, if you’re feeling a bit wimpy about going outside. The benefit of this is twofold:

1. You get to find a new activity that uses your muscles differently and doesn’t require you to go outside.

2. A change from the ordinary exercise routine can be super motivating when the alternative is to chill on the couch.

If you are an endurance runner, think of now as a time to hone your flexibility, reflexes, and muscle control. When the air outside is particularly frosty, you may even be doing yourself a favor by choosing to spend your exercise time in a temperature controlled environment. 

And besides, if you take a few days off from running, it gives you a little bit of a chance to start to miss it. :) 

4. Find a new signature recipe to try out on the family

Why is it that so many holiday dishes seem to be full of heavy fats, oils, sugar, and other things that generally make food tasty, but at the cost of your arteries? 2019 is the end of the decade and the perfect reason to create something new for your friends and family. 

Find a tasty food that can serve in the place of some of the most calorie dense options at the dinner or dessert table. Need ideas? Check out these delicious vegetarian appetizers and vegan desserts. 

5. Plan a springtime vacation somewhere tropical 

If you can’t escape from the chill physically, how about mentally? Booking a spring or summer vacation somewhere gorgeous can be incredibly motivating. Not because of restrictive diets to fit into bikinis, but rather because it can be seen as a reward.

Imagine - if you’ve got a nice holiday on the horizon, will it be so tempting to buy an extra gift for yourself as part of holiday shopping? Or when you’re stuck in line outside on the tarmac of a freezing airport, imagine how next time you’re in the same place, it could be on the way to the trip of your dreams.

In other words, it’s easier to stay happy, nice, and focused on what’s important to you if you’ve got something beyond the winter holidays to plan (and save) for. 

Staying healthy in both your body and your brain can be hard over Christmas and New Years - particularly if your family doesn’t follow your beliefs or otherwise isn’t in your life. As tempting as it may be to spend the evenings drinking and the days eating, it’ll just make January 1st that much rougher.

Having said that, total restriction is almost never the answer. Enjoy that glass of wine or tasty chocolate. And if you do go overboard, don’t beat yourself up. It’s so easy to get in the trap of self blame and fall off the wagon. If you have a day of delicious, but unhealthy foods, don’t stress. Start by drinking a glass of water and taking a deep breath. Every day is a new chance to get it right.

Got other tips that help you to stay on track during the coldest winter days? Tell me about them in the comments below!