I hope you all had a great weekend despite the current circumstances. We have been trying to do our part and haven’t left the house except for a few walks around the block to get some fresh air. I have to say, I am getting caught up on a lot of things on my never ending to-do list such as home organization, working on Wyatt’s baby book, and I even filmed my first ever IGTV hair tutorial yesterday! I know many of you will be working from home for the next few weeks so I thought I would share my top 5 tips for working from home and staying productive. Up until last year I worked in a corporate 9-5 job, so when I decided to pursue my blog full-time it was definitely an adjustment for me. Here are a few things that work well for me and I hope they may help some of you during this time. Let me know if you have any questions!
-
Have a designated work area
- Even if you don’t have a separate office space in your house, create a little setup for yourself that will become your “office.” I recommend this for two reasons. First, you are going to feel more productive having a dedicated working space. Sitting on the couch in front of the TV or in bed is not going to make you want to do your best work. The second reason why I recommend this is because you want to separate work life from personal life. I have to admit, this is a constant struggle for me as a blogger, but being able to walk away from your work space at the end of the day will feel like your day in the office has ended. You are also going to get less distracted when you are in your “office.”
-
Get ready for the day
- I am not suggesting getting up and putting on a full face of makeup, but somewhat putting yourself together for the day (i.e. getting out of your pjs, brushing your teeth and hair) will make you instantly feel more productive and ready to tackle the day. If I am not wanting to get completely ready for the day I still like to put on some tinted moisturizer and mascara. I’ll also throw on jeans and a tee, just do I don’t feel like a slob.
-
Make a to-do list the night before and prioritize your tasks
- Every night before I go to bed I write down everything that I need to accomplish the next day, both work related and personal. I create a work to-do list and a personal to-do list and then I prioritize what needs to be done first. I live by this planner pad. Once you have everything written down, take a look at the list and pick out 3-5 tasks that you MUST get to the next day. It’s ok to not get through your entire to-do list, but at least you will complete the 3-5 most important things. I like to get the most mundane tasks done first thing in the morning (after my coffee, of course) so that I am not putting them off throughout the day. It also allows me to enjoy my day more when I get the most dreaded stuff done early on. I also try to schedule my personal tasks for around lunch time or at the end of the day so that I am not going back and fourth from work to personal stuff all day long.
-
Have a good morning routine
- I think this tip is huge. Both Kevin and I work from home and we each have our morning routines that we follow every single morning. If you start your day on a positive note, it is going to set you up for success and you will feel like you are in a good head space for the day. For you this could mean starting your day with meditation, journaling, taking a walk, etc. Kevin wakes up every morning and the very first thing that he does is go outside on the patio and meditates for 10 minutes and then he comes inside to make coffee. For me, I like to get up before Wyatt, make the bed, enjoy my coffee, sit in peace and quiet at my computer to look over my to-do list and go through some emails. When I was in the corporate world I was rushing out the door every morning and I’m sure many of you are used to doing the same thing. During this time it could be good to establish a new morning routine and try something new that you might not have been able to do before.
-
Time block yourself so you do not get distracted
- There are a lot of great apps in the app store to time block your day so that you stay on track. I also love these time cubes that you can set for a specific period of time.
Productivity items that I love:
