April 10, 2020
3 Steps to Increase At-Home Productivity During COVID-19
The global lockdown from COVID-19 has you, like most people, working from home. And you’re quickly realizing that what used to be a “life goal” is harder than it looks.
Between the kids, partners, laundry, and 17 other nearby distractions, it can feel like your to-do list is more of a wish-list. Now more than ever, you need to find ways to get the job done in less time.
Luckily, TaskHuman coaches understand. There’s the saying, “Work smarter, not harder.” And TaskHuman coaches are here to do the “smarter” for you.
Here are the 3 things you need to do now to increase your work-from-home productivity. Don’t worry, they really are easy, and some of our coaches are here to prove it!
1. Keep Your Routine
It can be tempting to use the lack of commute time to sleep in. But that’s only hurting you.
By keeping the same morning routine, you tap into your hard-wired mindset that you’re “going to work.”
Coach Clarissa Pyles explains the idea perfectly.
It’s important to also know what you need to accomplish each day to reach your productivity goal.
If you’re a calendar person, blocking out the time that you should be working is vital. Time-blocking let’s you factor in what your family or house members need too. Don’t forget to schedule breaks – in nature if possible!
If calendars make you cringe, don’t worry…productivity isn’t gone forever!
Try using the “Brain Dump” technique from Coach Jamie Carroll.
2. Integrate Healthy Rhythms
The next process to implement is giving yourself healthy “rhythms” throughout your day.
Part of this strategy is realizing that your day can be just as productive (maybe even more!) as when you’re at the office—but you don’t have to be working the entire day.
This is important, especially if you have kids at home. They need your attention at least sometimes (honestly, how do they make it through a school day without a pantry nearby?), and you need to be with them too.
You should welcome that time in the day without guilt.
Coach Hally Pauslon says it’s important to “embrace that it’s not normal.” Listen as she explains it further.
Another simple way to find more time with children at home is to work in the off hours.
By putting in a few early morning or later evening hours, you can dial into your productivity while not asking your children to give you large swaths of time during the day.
In fact, finding those rhythms when you have kids with you is probably the first thing you should do. It gives you the mental space to realize what is feasible – and what isn’t.
Coach Ronee Welch explains this concept further.
3. Have the Right Mindset
It’s your mindset that will determine how successful you are at implementing any productivity strategy you try. Master it, and you’ll be well on your way to productive days at home.
You need to know what your distractions and weaknesses are and how you’re going to face them.
Do you fall down the social media rabbit hole? Do you turn on Netflix just to have “background noise,” then realize you’ve binge-watched an entire season of a show you’ve never heard of before?
Coach Andrea Caprio explains how to move past that.
If you understand how to set up your day and your space, and still struggle, here’s one more way to think about it.
Pretend you’re in a new job…
You were probably nervous on your first day at a new gig. Maybe you thought you were in over your head. Maybe you even felt you made a huge mistake and shouldn’t have shown up.
But you did. And you learned. And it got better.
The same goes for this journey.
The more you work at being productive, the better you’re going to get.
And if you have kids, showing them you can do it can be a big motivator.
They’re in a new role too – and seeing you tackle hard things while maintaining balance can go a long way to helping them grow.
Listen as Coach Rebecca Mills-Anderson explains it.
Hopefully, this “new normal” is only going to last a few more weeks. But it serves everyone, especially yourself, to function at your best possible.
By using the outlined steps, you’ll find you’re not just surviving, but thriving at home.
For more at-home productivity tips, tons of TaskHuman pros are available for 1:1 live video calls.
