Currently I work a full-time job in addition to running Just Dandy Events. This means that from 8am to 5pm five days a week, I’m in an office with a lot fewer distractions than I have at home. While my heart isn’t really in that day job {my big goal is obviously to run JDE full-time and leave the corporate world for good}, a setting like that definitely allows me to be a bit more productive than my office at home.
There are just so many distractions when I work from home. Aside from wanting to spend time with Wes and Wyatt, there’s also always something else that could be benefitting from my attention. Like laundry and dishes. I swear you’d think an army lived in my house with the amount of laundry and dishes that always needs taken care of.
So I’ve finally learned a few things that I can do to keep myself on track when working from home. A few things that help me stay focused and productive. I figured I’d share in case any of you are like me and are easily distracted by puppies and dirty dishes. :)
Lists:
Every time I sit down to get work done, both at home and at my day job, I start a list. It’s never anything fancy and it’s very rarely pretty. But it helps me to lay out what my priorities for the day are. Otherwise my brain sort of starts to shut down and I never accomplish anything. My lists also give me that incredibly gratifying feeling of checking things off as I’m done with them. On the busiest of days when I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything at all, it’s always a nice reality check to look down at my list and see a few things marked through with my highlighter.
Music:
I don’t know about you, but I cannot focus in silence. I pretty much always have music playing while I work. Thank goodness for Pandora. And thank goodness for different stations for different tasks. If I’m blogging, I like to listen to Adele, Ellie Goulding, or Charlene Soraia. If I’m working on wedding day timelines, I prefer Killswitch Engage, Pepper, or Shinedown. And pretty much everything else calls for Corey Smith, Cross Canadian Ragweed, or Josh Turner. Don’t question it….it’s a science.
Snacks/Drinks:
If I have to get up from my desk to get a drink of water or a snack {because I’m perpetually hungry}, I’m bound to fall out of my groove. So I usually try to bring a drink and snack with me when I sit down to start working. If I’m at my desk, you can guarantee I have in front of me either a can of Diet Mt. Dew or a glass of wine...depending on the time of day and the task at hand. My favorite snacks while I’m crossing things off my list are a big bowl of parmesan popcorn or a plate of cheese & crackers.
Comfort:
I know they say that you should dress like you’re going to the office if you want to be productive at home. And sometimes, that rings true for me. But more times than not, I just need to be comfortable. I need my best broken-in yoga pants and the softest blanket I own. Otherwise I fidget far too much to be productive.
So those are a few of the things that help me to stay productive while working at home. What are some of your tricks to knock out your long list of to-do’s in the home office?
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