As some of us are still stuck working from home, the team at WG thought what better occasion than now to share my 5 go to tips on how to be productive while working from home. Those of you who know me, know I love to talk about happiness at work – mostly through my personal account @LarasHappyWork.
If ever given the choice, I would actually always choose my home as the ideal working space. Part blogger, I actually enjoy being able to jump into my small bedroom studio whenever I want to film something. Working from home also allows me to have a bubble bath mid-day or sneak in some self-care which is always a plus!
So without further ado – here are my 5 go-to tips to having a joyful, productive day working from home:
Wake Up Early
This tip always has to be my number one tip. I wake up at 5 AM everyday to be able to get at least 4 hours all to myself. It’s honestly when everyone’s sleeping that I get most of my work done. Your first couple of hours in a day are also when your mind is sharpest. So you’ll want to do the important tasks that require more brain power in the morning.
Waking up early is a productivity method thats been around for years, too! Almost any personal development guru has recommended it to boost productivity and get work done morning time.
Time Yourself
If you’re like me – you probably do a bunch of different things. My day is usually split between coming up with and curating content for Woman’s Guide and Lara’s Happy Work (my personal account) and content consultancy for other brands. There’s usually a lot happening for me in a day – so I find that timing myself is extremely important!
You’ll always want to make sure you time certain tasks. For example I only spend 3 hours a day on Woman’s Guide, 4 hours a day on content consultancy for various brands and 2 hours a day for creating content for Lara’s Happy Work.
I also consider myself a creative – and I think that’s why I tend to get taken away by the moment and by certain tasks especially when I’m really enjoying them. That said, I easily lose track of time while I’m working / creating often.
In a nutshell, I find that its super important to time everything. Make sure you don’t spend all your day on just one task!
Give Yourself a Treat
I always like to look forward to a little mid-day treat throughout the day. It’s my way of treating myself for working hard and telling myself “hey, you’ve done well so far! Here’s a treat to keep you going for the rest of the day!”.. For me – that treat is usually a bubble bath (as you guys probably see from my stories on Lara’s Happy Work) but it can be anything you want it to be! A masking session, a bubble bath, perhaps some sketching or painting, maybe baking… I can go on and on!
If you’re too pressed on time, you can even do the dishes as you’re watching The Holiday on Netflix (Yes, it’s on Netflix). Some movies can be such mood boosters and may just be what you need for a little mid-day pick-me-up.
Create Routines
When you create a routine, you’ll know exactly what you’re doing at every point in time. You cannot imagine the amount of time you can waste just trying to figure out what exactly you should be doing – especially when you work on your own. Build a plan and follow it!
Now I’m not saying you’ve got to follow a rigid routine religiously – but it does help to know what you’re supposed to be working on at every point in time.
Make Time for Collaboration
If there’s one thing that adds joy to my work day and allows me to tackle the day with more enthusiasm and passion – it has to be collaboration! Add a little love and joy to your work day with collaboration. It could be a team brainstorming, a work call or anything you want it to be. I personally love to start my day with a team brainstorming with the Woman’s Guide team. As an extrovert, I also enjoy sharing ideas with the team to hear what they have to say. Brainstormings are exciting!
Create Your Power Environment
Light up your go-to candle, wear your favourite cardigan and get comfy! I always feel a lot more in the zone when im surrounded by some of my favourite things. It can be as simple as a mug or a candle – so long as it does the job!
Keep a Calendar
Something I do that has proven to boost my productivity and totally eradicate that feeling of being lost is keeping a calendar. When you work alone, it’s actually really easy to lose track of time or get a little unproductive. You don’t have a boss over your head telling you what to do or giving you deadlines. You’re working for yourself!
When you keep a calendar with reminders of what you need to do – You’ll find that reminders will lead the way. They’ll get you started on the right foot so you don’t need to feel confused at any point in time.
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