A recent article on remote work habits caught my attention. The author of the article is Rebecca Holcomb from Associated Press. A link to her original article can be found at the bottom of this page. The article is well worth reading. What I am trying to do here is to discuss some of the reasons why these habits will work best for you. Whether you are working from home for a fulltime job or your own business, these 7 habits will only help to increase your profitability.
First is Time Management.
Whenever we are working in an office, we seem to have an automatic ability to prioritize our tasks, meetings, and appointments with almost a supernatural ease. For many of us, it would be like breathing. Our initial experience with this product is not just that we are capable of creating schedules, but that we are actually capable of adhering to them for the most part, as well.
Time management is probably one of the first things that is lost when you are sitting on the couch, wearing sweatpants and a crop top. Your business attire usually consists of business attire on the top and comfy sweat pants on the bottom. Not a problem until you happen to stand up during a Zoom meeting.
We get distracted all the time.
Postman comes. The ICE CREAM TRUCK is on your street. Gomer Pyle is on TV! I missed this episode. Gotta watch it now so I won’t miss the next time it’s on. Life will always bring something up that will distract you from what it is that you truly want your live to be. How can you resolve this issue? How do you make your schedule work for you?
Here are a few tips:
- Create a daily routine. As you practice each day, the routine becomes the focus of your day. Make sure your routine includes time for not only work, but family time, time with your significant other as well as me time.
- As you follow your daily routine, if something changes that needs immediate focus or a routine change, do what you need to do.
- Write your daily routine (with time allotted) on paper! Get a daily journal. Amazon has tons of them. Find one that works for you. One that you will use will be the best money spent. If you are more digital than analog, use your Google Calendar. One good thing about Google Calendar is that it is easy to use and is free.
- As each task is completed, be it getting up in the morning at the appropriate time, Cross it off the list.
- As you get better and better at following your routine, Celebrate! You will have earned it!
The Dreaded Calendar!
Zoom meetings… Interviews… Doctor’s appointments… the only way to keep on top of everything is “The Dreaded Calendar!” If you have children, the calendar becomes your best friend. Although for some, this piece of paper/software/app becomes an albatross around your neck. At times, it makes me feel like I can’t do anything I want to do. Can’t be spontaneous. However, if you take your time and be honest about your activities, your calendar will actually help to ensure your tasks are completed within a more than adequate time frame.
What goes into my calendar?
For me, the first thing I needed to determine was what was I going to put on my calendar. I knew that the variety of sticky notes on the wall and in my purse just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Too easy to lose and worse yet, being covered in whatever the kids had put in my purse that melted down into the “important” area of my purse.
I took about 1/2 hour and a legal pad to the park. Beautiful day so killed two birds with one stone. Got some outside time and made a list. The list comprised of anything I could think of that I thought needed to be scheduled. Things like doctor’s appointments, kid’s baseball games, meetings, lunch, etc. Then I added to the list things that I normally wouldn’t have included. Was it worth the effort to add a 15 minute breather after a scheduled 2 hour meeting?
Block time for everything!
Breaks, when to take medications, even a breather break after a long meeting. Everything goes on the calendar and becomes your routine. Time with a significant other. Even facetime with the great grandkids. I also include time for me that is purposefully to do things that are NOT work related. Dinner with the girls. Bubbles, Book, and Relaxation. Even a time to discuss life’s meaning with our Creator. EVERYTHING goes on the calendar.
If something comes up, then I deal with it as it comes up or I schedule a time when I can deal with it. True emergencies always usurps anything on my calendar. Kids, of course, always take precedence in my house. Skinned knee? Nana will kiss the owie and apply the appropriately drawn on Band-Aid. The 2 year old comes into the “office” telling me she’s hungry and needs food? Yep, Nana is on the job. These little life “interruptions” is one of the main reasons I work from home. I have the ability and the mandate to be able to juggle things as needed. I am truly blessed in this department.
Where did those saddle-bags come from?
You were once known as the fashion queen of the office, what the trends were, and you followed them religiously. You knew where the best sales were and how to mimic that “runway” look at the thrift store!
Then, the Armageddon called “the virus that shall not be named” hit our lives. This period of time was devastating for so many people Lost jobs, lost freedom, lost friends and family. All of our lives changed in what seemed like seconds.
During the lockdowns, we were required to stay inside thus enforcing on most of us with a sedentary lifestyle. We were given the chance to work from home. Some started new businesses. Others took a part of their homes and created mini-offices. We could no longer take our usual walk at lunch or even a quick loop around the office building. This inactivity along with the usual snacking started showing up on our waists. Perhaps we lost our necks without even realizing what was happening.
Numerous articles on the Internet relate this enlargement as being similar to the “Freshman 15”. Although some of us were overachievers in this area and that 15 became 25 or 30 and for some even more.
Now that we work remotely, we are more comfortable.
We live in our gym clothes, or shorts and oversized T-Shirts. Zoom meetings became interesting. Suits on top and shorts on the bottom. Didn’t have to worry unless you stood up. To combat this, make sure that you include some type of physical activity on your calendar. This helps with getting your blood moving. Helps keep you awake during the quiet times in between calls/meetings.
However, in order to get back to your pre-pandemic physique, you’ll need to do a little more than a walk around the house.
Saddle Bags Continued
