10 Ways to get Your Focus back while working from home
If you’ve been working from home and feel like a fish out of water and have been swinging back and forth between trying to learn new business skills and teaching yourself TikTok dances, you’re not alone. (Yep. I joined TikTok during the lockdown too). Whatever you’ve been going through over the past few weeks, the first thing I want to tell you is that you’re going to be okay. And I’m pretty sure that this list will help you refocus and get your groove back again.
Create a morning routine - Now, I'm using the word “morning” loosely, because, for some of you, your morning routine might start at 12 pm. Whatever it is. Make sure it includes eating breakfast, getting dressed (so you won’t have to scramble for the last minute Zoom meeting), and some other ritual to start your day off focused and centered. You can try meditation, a podcast, or even stream 30 minutes of a new or favorite show if listening to the news is just too much right now.
Have a dedicated workspace - This is pretty simple if you already have a home office. But if you are in a small apartment or shared space and you’re feeling scattered, I suggest getting up earlier than the rest of the residence and claiming space. Whether or not this is the living room couch, the kitchen counter, or the dining room table. If you are sharing your area, I suggest getting a caddy that you can pick up and take with you from your bedroom to another part of the house, or even investing in a wall-mounted unit like this one. These will hold all of your notes, paperwork and bills that you need to deal with throughout the day.
Set dedicated work hours - If you are used to working in an office, or have to work around roommates or family members, this can be tough. But you need to establish some clear boundaries to get your work done. At first, you might want to start small and let them know that for two hours in the morning, you cannot be disturbed. Then gradually make the schedule longer so that they can adjust to your new work schedule. When you’re blocking out your time, also remember to make sure that you have an end of day plan. Then stick to it.
Get up early - Getting up just 1 hour earlier is going to make all of the difference in the world. If you used to get up at 7am to go to work, try getting up at 6am and getting your morning routine out of the way so that you can start work by 7am before the rest of the house is up. If you can manage to get dressed and be back at your desk by 8am or you could be 4 hours into your day before your roommate has finished their mid-morning coffee. That being said, getting up earlier is also going to require you to get more sleep.
Go to bed earlier - I know. I know. Some of DJ Nice’s best sets are at midnight. But to be able to train yourself to get up earlier, you're going to have to get better rest. And you really need to be vigilant about this. Because not only are we dealing with a stressful 24-hour news cycle, but to keep your immune system healthy (the majority of it lives in our gut by the way), you are going to have to get some sleep.
Be ready to work - This means not just having a list of things to do, but having to tools you need to accomplish your tasks readily available. For instance, if you have a client call at 2pm. Then at 2pm, you need to be making that phone call, NOT scrolling through your inbox looking for the email. This means breaking down your time and your to-do list in a different way.
Use Time blocking and batching - I am a HUGE fan of time blocking and batching. My days have too many variables that are out of my control for me to follow a meticulous minute by minute schedule. Batching is when you designate certain days to work on specific tasks. For instance, Mondays, for me, is for writing. Articles, Pitches, blog posts, newsletters, social media scripts, etc. if it’s written, it happens on Monday. Time Blocking is designating blocks of time throughout the day for work, phone calls, chores, lunch, etc. I can do whatever I want within those time blocks as long as it comes from my to-do list and it corresponds with what I’m batching for that day. (Below is an example)
Only do 5 things - It’s okay if you want to have one gigantic master to-do list, but you will get nowhere fast if you try and knock everything off of that list in one day. Instead, prioritize your master list into a to-do list with no more than 5 different categories. And one of those categories MUST be personal. (That's for everything from “date night” to housekeeping). Then plan to do no more than 1 task from each of those categories every day. (TRUST me on this).
Meal Plan - This one thing has helped me be infinitely more productive. I don’t have kids, but I’m sure this would help if you had multiple mouths to feed too. Instead of sitting up every day taking away precious brainpower trying to figure out what I’m going to eat, I plan it all on the weekends and try to cook as much of it then as I can. Then I freeze or pack up individual servings so that when I get up for breakfast or break for lunch, I can take efficient breaks to eat as opposed to wasting time trying to figure out what to make.
Go Play - Listen, these are trying times and if you need Animal Crossing to keep you sane. I am all for it. But SCHEDULE IT IN. I’m serious. If you make one of your time blocks in your schedule for the day 1 hour playing a game or perusing social media while you eat lunch. Or make that your end-of-day project. You can also try using a Pomodoro technique to stay focused and take sufficient breaks.
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