Last week, my husband joined me for a Facebook Live, and we gave some practical tips on how to work from home efficiently and effectively. He has been working from home since we’ve been married, and I’ve been doing it for around 7 years. We have learned how to work well at home, even with kids around! Here are the most important lessons we have learned and some easy to implement tips for working from home.
Maintain your Routine
This is key to success. Do what you normally would do if you are working. Get out of your pyjamas, put on clothes, wash your face, whatever you normally do, do it. Don’t fall in the trap of staying in your pyjamas just because you can. Keeping your routine and getting ready for the day puts you in the mindset to tackle work.
Plan Your Day
At the end of your work day, reflect on what went well, what you accomplished, and what needs to be pushed to tomorrow. Plan your next day. I have been doing this consistently for about a year, and it has really helped me become more efficient. When you know the plan for the day, you hit the day running.
List Your Work & Work Your List
Similar to plan your day, write down what you need to do. I list everything from responding to an email, making a phone call to the bigger projects (that I have broken down into smaller chunks). This way, nothing gets missed, and you can see exactly what needs to be accomplished.
Organize your Workspace
I’ve seen a lot of memes going around about how doing your dishes before you work is just procrastination, so get down to work. I personally cannot work well in a cluttered environment. When I work from home, I always clean up and get my space in order. It is worth the half an hour investment, because then I can focus for the rest of the day.
Working with Kids Around
When it comes to the non-brainy work, such as creating graphics or replying to emails, I work with the kids around. I don’t mind their noise or interruptions as much, because certain types of work can still be done well, even with distractions.
For the times we need to focus or jump on a call, we have mandatory quiet time. Either the kids are reading, doing homework, or any other quiet activity away from us so we can concentrate on our task at hand. We explain to them that we have work that needs our 100% focus, and they need to go do something for a while. They are at the age where they understand that. We also kick them out of the house and get them to play outside for a while. Remember, you are the parent, so you can set these expectations.
When you have little kids, it’s a lot tougher. It’s one of those work when you can situations. If they are napping, or playing nicely, that’s when you work.
Work from Home
Although I love my office, I do love working from home. If you have any questions about this article, feel free to email me. You can catch our Youtube video on it here. Working from home can be tough sometimes, but we are hoping these tips help you out!
Good luck to all of you trying to navigate this season! Email me if you have any questions sherri@purplebeanmedia.com
