The Art Of Working From Home
My youngest son walks in my home office, grabs the Apple keyboard, and runs out with it.
I chase him, blurting out, “you break my only keyboard…”
I couldn’t finish the threat, because I didn’t have one.
My oldest walks in and says, “Dad, do you have to work?”
“Dad, do you want to watch T.V. with me?”
“Dad…”
Or both my sons blast through the office door since I forgot to lock it, or when I do lock it, they bang on it until I answer them.
Working from home is a distraction pit.
One distraction after the other, and it’s not just the kids.
It’s the cabinet with all my favorite snacks in it, a limitless supply of mouth pleasure.
It’s also not having a routine.
One of my team members claims his fame for no showers.
If you’re thinking, “eww, gross,” you’re not the only one.
Over the last week, I’ve noticed things that are required to make working from home a success.
It’s not usual things like, make sure you schedule video meetings and having a virtual water cooler.
Those are great, these are necessary.
Keep your morning ritual as if you were going to the office.
I’m a creature of habit.
If you’re working from home, keep your morning routine.
Take a shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast at the same time. Put this on your calendar if you have to.
Some of you might like your no-pants-meeting, but I’ve found, getting dressed kicks my mind gear.
It tells me, okay, it’s time to turn it on. It also helps keep me confident.
If I dress like a slob, I’ll likely act like a slob.
Dedicate time blocks.
It’s hard to focus when you have children tickling your toes and making demanding requests.
I have no solution for this.
In an ideal world, you’re working from home, and your kids are at school.
In our current predicament, you’ll need to create a time blocking schedule with your spouse (if they work too) to handle your most important priorities.
Each time block is 90-minutes long dedicated to one top priority. Plan four time blocks a day.
Here’s what it could look like:
Time Block 1: Important Project Task #1
Time Block 2: Important Project Task #2
Time Block 3: Client Calls
Time Block 4: One-on-ones
Say no to snacks.
I look into my pantry, and I want to eat everything in sight.
The cravings start at NOON!
All my “snacks” are relatively healthy, like Cassava chips, but it’s not what I eat that’s the problem.
It’s how much I eat.
Most of us overeat for boredom, stress, or another negative emotion.
The best way to resist the urge is to resist it. Can you say, epiphany!
To overcome this, I talk to myself about how snacking will negatively impact my life’s goals:
“Eating all this won’t help me achieve my half-marathon goal.”
“Eating all this is going to slow me down mentally, and I need to be mentally sharp.”
“If I’m overweight, out of shape and not mentally and physically strong, I’m not giving others’ my best self.”
It’s like a mantra for not stuffing your face.
Your computer is a distraction. Focus on one thing at a time.
Between my messages, emails, company project management comments, I can bounce around my computer screen like I was a kitten on cocaine.
It’s ridiculous.
For me, just like snacking, I have to continually remind myself to focus on one thing at a time.
Otherwise, it’s mentally draining.
The best thing you can do is dedicate time to your most important priorities and schedule a time to answer emails, messages, and any other house-keeping items you need to complete.
Your daily priorities are what’s going to push your goals forward, not reacting to messages on fifty different platforms.
Working from home is a blessing, if you take the right approach, otherwise it may feel like a prison.
Be grateful for this time, as you may never get this chance again.
