How to Make it ‘Work’ (pardon the pun) – Part 1
Most of you probably never thought you would have to start working from home. We love it, but we know that it is not for everyone.
From 13 years of experience, we have some tips that might just make it bearable:
On Your Own Time
When you work from home your schedule is your own. For some people this is a huge advantage in making them more productive. Everyone who knows us, or works with us, knows that morning is not our thing (especially for one of us). So we do our best not to schedule anything before 10am and are happy to work well into the evening (on some days).
#1. Don’t force yourself into a routine that doesn’t suit you. Work when you are most productive.
In Your Own Space
Working on the couch or in bed does not cut it. You need to have a space set up that is for WORK. The space needs to be a different space than the one where you would watch TV. Normally we each have a work space at ‘home’ (where ever that may be) to do a 2 – 3 hour chunks of work. Then for the 2nd work session of the day we each leave the house and go to a different location. (Is anyone else missing Starbucks?) In the current situation we just switch locations or move things around at our current ‘desk’.
#2. Do not try to work from your bed, just because you think you can.
In Your Own World
Have only one or two work items or ‘projects’ in mind when you sit down. We don’t have the distractions of kids or pets that many of you are going to have to work through in this situation but if you can carve out even one hour of PURE work time in your own space and focus on one item until it is done you will actually shock yourself at how productive you can be.
With no one in your office, no colleagues to drop by and no reason to get up you can be super productive with a bit of focus. This means no getting up to do the laundry, no snack break after 20 minutes and if possible no answering the phone. The result will be that you get more done in a shorter amount of time than you would in your office and then you can use the extra time to go outside and walk the dog.
#3. Do not try to multi-task.
According to a study by AirTasker remote workers are more productive. One of the reasons stated in the survey was that office workers spent 66 minutes per day discussing non-work related topics with colleagues.
Just think what you can do with that extra 66 minutes per day!!
And as a bonus your commute has now dropped to 2 minutes.
Watch for part 2 coming tomorrow.
We, Jeff and Tara Ciecko of CK Golf write two blogs, one is our 19th Hole Blog where we share personal experiences and the other an Industry Blog where we comment on general business and internet marketing best practices, sales strategies and give golf industry related opinions. We have owned CK Golf for 12 years and provide business services to the golf and other industries. As of July 31, 2016 our life and our business became ‘location independent’. Our 19th Hole Blog is about the places we visit and the things we do. If you have any questions or comments, or happen to be in the same location as us please reach out and contact us anytime.
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