It is a strange world this Covid-19 world that we find ourselves in, and for many of us, it means working from home in ways we haven’t before. Not to mention the pressure of the kids being home from school!!
So having been a work from home Mother to 5 kids, I thought it was about time I shared my tips and tricks for keeping your productive. You might find a few that will help you too.
Nic’s 6 Top Productivity Tips for Working
From Home
1. Use The Daily Action Journal
We’re having these conversations around productivity in our various member spaces all the time at the moment. We are all feeling overwhelmed, and with kids needs and the business keeping on, it can be difficult to feel like you are doing anything but being pulled in every direction.
Focus is the first thing to slip in times of stress (and my goodness aren’t we stressed right now!!) adding in the complication of a lack of available hours to get your work done and we feel like we are not accomplishing anything.
Using the daily focus journal will keep your list of MUST DO work right at your fingertips, so when you have that window of time to work in, you know exactly what needs to be done.
Better yet, you can then reflect at the end of the day over what you did get done, which is a brilliant tip for keeping your head in a positive space.
The daily focus journal is our most often downloaded resource in the Trade Desk, you can grab it there.
2. Set Up A Dedicated Work Space
Time and time again I see parents setting up their work station in with the kids with the thought this will allow them to supervise the kids while working. More like it will allow the kids to disturb you every time you’re ready to work!
Instead, set yourself up a dedicated workspace, that you can ‘visit’ when time permits. Jump in, check your daily action journal and power out what you can in the time you have.
Then, you can leave the space exactly as it is, ready for your next burst of time. The time we don’t lose to children is often lost in setting up or packing up, having a dedicated space will give you more time in your day.
3. Work In Flexible Blocks
Warrick and I bang on about the importance of time blocking, but with kids home, those blocks of time need to be flexible. Nothing will frustrate you more, than thinking you are about to hit your project in the 60 minutes you have blocked, only to be interrupted in the first 10 minutes.
At this time, be flexible in your expectations of what you can get done, and work in a focused way in the flexible blocks you have. Don’t forget, there is NOTHING wrong with setting the kids up with a movie, toys, or an electronic device to give you some work time.
4. Turn Off Your Notifications
Oh man, this is like an arrow to my heart, but if you really want to be productive, TURN OFF YOUR NOTIFICATIONS, and if you can TURN OFF YOUR PHONE!!! Yes, I am yelling.
It is impossible to resist the temptation at this time, our phones are pinning every minute or two, so remove the temptation while you work in your flexible block. You can turn them back on later.
5. Keep A Notebook Handy
This is my number one life hack! As a busy Mum to 5, and an owner of 3 businesses, my mind is always running, always. (especially at 3 am) I want to capture those moments of brilliance (don’t listen to Waz, I’m the real talent here) when they happen, I don’t want to try and rely on my overworked brain to remember it when I return to my office hours later.
Carry a small notebook and a pen with you everywhere, alternatively create a notes shortcut on your phone and keep running notes when you think of them. You might not get to them today, but you’ll know where to find them when you need them!
6. Find Tools That Help You Get It Right
We all want to spend the least amount of time on a task possible while getting the best results. There are shortcuts to this, one of which we have here at Tradies in Business.
Our Trade Desk (Currently free for the first month) has all the templates, flowcharts, scripts and how too videos you could need. If you want to be productive with the little time you have, implement systems and procedures to ensure that you get the jobs done as efficiently as possible!
For example, once you’ve implemented a sales system, it just rolls on with little input from yourselves until you’re ready to meet the customer and covert the sale! Getting the right tools, should not create more work in your business, they should lessen the time you are currently taking to get a better result.
My final piece of advice is, be kind to yourself. We are facing an unprecedented time, trust that you are doing all you can with the time you have and permit yourself to pat yourself on the back. Being a business owner is hard, being a parent is tough, doing it at the same time can feel impossible! But you’ve got this!!
If you haven’t yet signed up for the Trade Desk, you can do so HERE, use the code TRADIES4TRADIES for your first month FREE. We’ll even remind you 7 days before you roll over to a paid membership so you cancel if It’s not your thing.
