Want more #Productivity in your day? If you are treating this season like an extended vacation, you are missing the boat! It’s time to get #Productive! Here are my top 3 strategies for balancing productivity while everyone is at home:
Create a Cone of Silence
Deep work requires periods of intense focus punctuated by intentional breaks. To create a zone of focus, use technology to fight interruptions. Here are three tools for creating a virtual cone of silence, even with kids or coworkers nearby.
- White Noise Machine – placed outside of your workspace can block unwanted sound and put you in the zone!
- Noise Canceling Headphones – if you just need some plain quiet to focus
- Brain.fm – I love to get into Gear 5 with a little help from technology that puts my brain into focus mode
Clean Your Desk
I know. You have a pile for everything, and you know exactly what’s in each one. That may be fine as your personal filing system. But all that clutter kills your focus. Seeing all that stuff makes your brain slower, like a computer with too many apps open.Want to get more done in less time? Clear off your workspace!
Take a break every half hour
The problem with working from home is not working too little. It’s working too much. It’s tempting to plow through task after task without a break. But that’s counterproductive in the long run. Within an hour or two, your brain becomes fatigued and your productivity plummets.
- Use the Pomodoro technique: Set a timer for 25 minutes to do focused work. Then take a five minute break. Every two hours, break for 20 minutes. That’ll keep your mind fresh. Plus, the breaks allow you to check-in with your kids, if you have them at home. When they see you once or twice every hour, you’ll be interrupted less frequently.
It’s time to get serious about your business.
If you don’t, nobody else will, and there’s too many quality people on this team to let the business that’s out there go to someone else.
Let’s get to work!
