COVID-19 Series – #7: Staying Productive While Working From Home

Let’s be real.. it can be pretty hard to stay productive while at home because we have every distraction possible looming around every corner. But thankfully, here are some ways you can stay productive while working from home! 🙂

• Accept the circumstances

  The first step in staying productive is to get out of the mindset that “this isn’t really happening” or that “it’s not a big deal.” The truth is, this pandemic did happen and it is a big deal. So once you can accept the circumstances and not complain, or get mad (not saying you specifically are.. just emotions that have been rolling around everywhere in the world) then the faster you can start focusing on getting tasks done!

• Let yourself be angry, vulnerable, emotional – but for a time.

  I’m sure you’ve heard this a thousand times, but it’s okay to not be okay. Let yourself feel everything that you may be feeling, but just don’t stay there forever! Push yourself to move forward and pivot. You may be wondering, what does this have to do with staying productive? A lot actually… because the more sad we are, the less likely we will feel motivated to do anything.

• Be strict with your schedule

  If you are naturally a more go with the flow person who shoots from the hip, this is especially true. The people who are more organized or crave normalcy will probably not have a hard time maintaining a schedule. But this is so important to ensure that you remain productive. Because the less organized you are, the more easily you’ll get distracted by a multitude of things. Have you ever started to do something, but then got distracted by another task to be done and so you start doing that one, and then it became a snowball effect to a bunch of other tasks too? That’s usually a result of not knowing where your day is going because new tasks keep popping up, but if you create a to-do list – yes, I’m old-fashioned – then you know how to attack the day because you know what need to get done!

• Get rid of distractions

  Your phone does not need to be right next to you. If you know you’re not expecting any calls for the day, put it in the other room and just start working. Designate an area for work so that you can at least separate work from home as much as possible. Don’t watch TV while doing work… actually, just don’t watch something that you know will reel in your attention. I like to work with background noise, so I usually put on a childhood Disney movie, or something that I’ve seen a thousand times because I don’t need to physically be tuned in and watching it in order to stay focused on my work. But if it’s a brand new show/movie, or one that requires you follow along every step of the way – you will not be able to work! Or at least work as well as you could if the TV was off. Put away all the distractions and just get it done. You can reward yourself later 😉

• JUST DO IT

  Speaking of just getting it done. So you’re sitting there, staring at your computer screen, still a little unmotivated to open up whatever you need to do. Or maybe work isn’t computer for you, maybe you’re staring at a messy house, or a list of phone calls – whatever it might be for you. You’re staring at it head on and you still don’t feel motivated.. so you think “Oh wow.. my desktop is super messy.. let me clean up the screen so I can focus better” and then that turns into, “Oh wow, I forgot I wanted to put these old files on an external hard drive, let me do that right now!” and even though you are telling yourself you’re still being productive, the truth is, you’re not. Because you are still procrastinating on the task that TRULY needs to get done. Sure, you might need to organize your desktop, but that is not a need that should be fulfilled RIGHT NOW. The assignment you were given that’s due tomorrow morning? Yeah, that’s something that needs to be done RIGHT NOW.

  It’s a crazy thought, but procrastination doesn’t always have to look like Netflix or movies. It can look like accomplishing a million other tasks to get out from doing the one or two tasks that truly need to be done. Never thought of busyness as procrastination huh? But it most definitely can be!

• Stay in touch with others

  This is probably more for the introverted people out there, because we are relishing in this quarantine time living our best lives hahaha I wouldn’t say I’m a full introvert, because I do definitely draw energy from others and I do desire that. But I’m also 100% okay with being alone or isolated. If you’re anything like that, it’s important to push yourself to stay in touch with others. And guess what? That doesn’t have to be a boring phone call. It can be a virtual board game, a photo shoot (wait, what? Yep. It’s true. Check out this post to learn more!), or even a virtual hang out where you all draw or paint the same thing, I mean… you could even do a virtual scavenger hunt if you’re feeling especially adventurous. The point is, don’t lose contact with family/friends. Humans thrive on connection and intimacy, so don’t lose that part of yourself during this time!

• Set boundaries with family

  If you still live at home with your parents/siblings, they might be ecstatic (or not haha) that you’re home more and want to soak up every minute with you. Or they might be wondering why you’re not as eager to spend time with them. If you’re actually avoiding them… maybe you should work on that, but if you genuinely can’t hang out with them or talk every second because of work, then it’s important to communicate that with them and set some boundaries! If I’m in X room, that means for the whole time I’m in there, I need to focus and not be distracted. Or, if I do come out for lunch or a snack, sure! We can chat for a second, but I have to go back in and work some more. Or, every day I will be available to hangout at X time. If you haven’t caught on yet, the common theme is communication. Just communicate with them and set realistic expectation so that everyone isn’t constantly on edge or annoyed with the other.

• Take breaks

  For us workaholics (hi, that’s me) taking breaks is like a sin. It’s unacceptable and shows weakness… haha okay, but actually, taking breaks can be SO beneficial. Especially if you’ve chipping away at a project for more than 3 hours. If you take a break and take a walk or listen to music or cook.. you can actually be MORE productive than if you had stayed.

  Now don’t get me wrong, there are definitely times when you’re in the zone and breaking that would cause utter catastrophe, but if you can tell you’re struggling to stay focused then set a a realistic time limit on a certain task, and when the timer goes off, take a break! It’s not unproductive, and does not show weakness. Soak in that short break and then hunker back down for the next portion of time!

• Laugh

  Is your brain mush, and you can hardly form sentences? Is your family or spouse making fun of you for seemingly going crazy? Don’t take yourself too seriously. Joke along with them. Make fun of yourself. Allow yourself to laugh and have some fun too! My dad once said, “If you can’t laugh at yourself…………..” and I can genuinely never remember exactly what he said after that hahaha but that memory in our family’s kitchen always stuck with me for not taking myself too seriously, and to just laugh and have fun.

• GET GOOD SLEEP

  I know for me, this has been such a fun time to do movie marathons with my husband and stay up late and play games. But it’s important to remember to get good sleep during this time too. Not getting restful sleep, or the right amount of sleep, can tend to make us feel yucky and feed the different amounts of sadness or “meh” feelings inside us. Sleep not only helps productivity, but it also helps our immune systems, brain function, stress, acne, and I’m sure there’s more. So be proactive, and get those Zzzz’s!

• Exercise

  I don’t know about you, but exercise is a struggle for me. I mean I definitely care about the functionality of my body, but it’s SO HARD for me to stay motivated to work out. I think it’s because I know that there’s so much more that goes into staying healthy than just exercise, what I put into my body is a huge factor as well, and how I take care of myself after I work out is huge too. So I think maybe subconsciously in my head my thought process is “if I can’t do it all right, I’m not going to do one part” which definitely lends into my natural “go big or go home” mentality. I mean, another legitimate part of it is that I have asthma and don’t have access to get an inhaler right now, so exercise tends to flare up by coughing spells which is not fun and is really exhausting. So if you’re the same boat, or have other health issues that could hinder you from exercise, obviously don’t kill yourself. But even just simple walks every day can keep your body energized and healthy!