Productivity and Self-Care Tips when working from home. 

How can productivity and self-care be in the same sentence? Good question. 

I worked from home one day of my work week for many years. It worked well for me as I actually managed to avoid distractions in my home. (Not so much due to discipline but because I would rather work than do household stuff.) 

Through the past year, most of us had to figure out how to be productive while working from home (when it wasn’t our choice) and keep that home life in balance. 

As some people get ready to return to the office, board room, or other in-person events many of us are continuing to work from home. 

If working from home has been a challenge for keeping work/life harmony I have a few productivity and self-care tips for you: 

Productivity Tips (for working at home): 

• Use half of the time you would normally spend commuting to work for household tasks – but no more; the other half is for productivity.  
• Don’t be tempted to pop a load of laundry in or clean the sink – you are working – do that later. The risk of distraction dominos is too great!  
• Have a separate room or space for work. Avoid the dining room table if possible. This is for two reasons; to avoid distractions, and when work is done you can close the laptop, leave, and shut the door! Now you won’t get sucked back in by the glow of your computer screen like a moth to the flame!  

Self-Care Tips: 

• Fit time in to your day for short breaks; for food, water, and rest. Research proves that taking that time makes you more productive afterwards.  
• Try this when reviewing your to-do list at the end of the day: Cross off what is completed, put tick marks beside items you made progress on, and this is key – if you did something not on the list – add it to the list and cross it off! Might seem silly but it feels awesome! 

BONUS TIP: 

Embrace mini mindfulness moments. I find it difficult to meditate for long periods, but short 1-minute sessions are a great way to recharge.  Take advantage of any small moments that you can – close your eyes, empty your mind, and concentrate on deep breathing.  When you are on hold on the phone, rebooting the computer or waiting for a Zoom meeting to start etc.  

So…if you didn’t complete your list today don’t beat yourself up – tomorrow is a new day. Be happy and grateful for what was accomplished, you live to love another day. 

Take care of yourself and strive for work/life harmony. 

~GP