How To Be Productive at Home During Isolation

By: Blake and Jen Goehring – PTs and Owners

 

The last several weeks have turned all of our worlds upside down, and have sent us through a roller coaster of emotions. With very little notice, most of us have been forced to drastically change our daily routines. It can be hard to be productive at home! At our most recent virtual meeting with our colleagues, we had multiple people express that they felt like they were working many hours, putting time in, but not feeling productive. Does anyone else relate to this?

We spent some time debriefing and connecting about this “lack of productivity” in our meeting. As new business owners and full-time physiotherapists, we have spent the last two years stuck in the routine of bringing work home. Together, we work to be productive at home, use a make-shift remote office, and learn to define a transition from work to off-hours. This has been no easy feat when it’s all in the same space!

Today, we’re sharing tips on how to be productive at home without work mixing with your personal life.

#1. Get dressed! 

Consider today a work day. What is your normal routine? Get yourself up, take a shower, brush your teeth, and put on your work clothes. Don’t let remote work give you free reign to stay in your sweats all day. Feeling and looking good will put you in the right mindset for work!

#2. Set up your work space. 

Set up your new office space to make it feel like a work zone. Wherever you choose to do this, make sure it does not serve any purpose other than work during your office hours. For example, if you choose to set up at your kitchen table, then make sure you are not eating there with your family at the same time. Once your workstation is cleaned up, then it can go back to being the family area. Consider this no matter where you set up. Your couch is not for relaxation time. The kitchen island is not for prepping and cooking food. Your kid’s bedroom is not for play and nap time. After work is done, these areas can go back to normal!

#3: Get organized.

Start your work day off by going through your normal routine, like checking e-mails and messages. Then write everything out that needs to be accomplished today on a to-do list. Additionally, you can set timers to keep you on track!

#4. Set clear, realistic goals. 

Try to complete three to five tasks per day. This means you need to look at your to-do list in the morning and prioritize your tasks.

#5. Avoid distractions. 

Working at home means you might have alerts coming from your computer, watch, phone, kids, spouses, and even your next door neighbor.  This is so frustrating! Pace your alerts where you can. For example, check your e-mail at set times: first thing in the morning, just before lunch, and at the end of your work day. If a task comes up from an email, simply put it on the to-do list. Unless it’s an emergency, avoid answering your e-mail immediately. The same principle applies to checking your personal phone. Have set times when you look at it. If it’s a personal message, respond during your allocated break. If it’s work related, put the task item on the to-do list, and then circle back to it. The formula below is not backed by science, but makes a lot of sense to us!

Checking your phone repeatedly provides instant gratification, which subsequently reduces your productivity.

#6. Take your normal breaks. 

Breaks are essential during your work day. They give you a chance to relax, re-focus, and re-energize. Prioritize timed coffee and lunch breaks. Ensure you follow the same time limit, from fifteen to sixty minutes, and get back to work on time. To stay alert and refreshed, you can include activities or movement in every break you take! Stimulating our bodies helps us stay focused.

#7. Be flexible. 

We know many of you have others invading your work environment right now. From school kids and toddlers, to pets and your spouse, it’s a lot. Your work hours might shift during this crisis! That’s okay. If you feel that these distractions are becoming overwhelming, or they are impairing your ability to be productive, try to set boundaries with everyone.

#8. Clean up your workstation at the end of your work day.

Particularly if your office has an off-work function, like the kitchen table. Put everything away, including your computer, papers, pens, mug, and more. If it is out of sight, it is out of mind. Your work day is finished and now it is time for personal or family time! Plus, tomorrow you might want to set up your workstation somewhere else for a change of scenery.

In Conclusion

These tips are simply suggestions and strategies that have worked for us! We know that the weeks behind and ahead of us are unusual, resulting in stress. These are exceptional circumstances. This time is new and unknown. It’s okay that you might feel a bit lost, slightly less productive, and potentially exhausted. We are all there with you!

And if you’re reading this during when we are finally open again, give us a call at 403-343-8891. We can help you get back to feeling active.