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.
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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:
How you react to both of these things (and others)
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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.