At Straight Up PR we embody the concept of work-life-integration and we will often work from a cafe or at home. However, it is important to make sure you are still being productive when working away from the office, and for some, this may be a struggle.
Vanessa Bennett, CEO and founder of global high performance coaching company, Next Evolution Performance, shares her top tips with MiNDFOOD on how to stay on track and make the most of working out of the office:
1. Plan ahead – make sure you plan your workday the day before with realistic expectations about how much you can achieve, and draft some time limits to ensure you stay on track. The beauty of working from home is being able to juggle work and life, so it’s fine to throw in a few household chores if you need to, but not while you’re in your productivity sweet spot work-wise. Factor them in during those times that you need to step away from your laptop.
2. Create a comfortable work friendly environment – while working from your bed or couch sounds ideal, it’s crucial to find a spot where you will be productive. For some, working from their dining table works, but for others, it’s not ideal ergonomically and it’s more likely to have distractions. I’d recommend getting a good desk and chair and a space that’s conducive to work.
3. Run your day like a workday – treat your home office like a normal office. Make sure the kids are at school or in daycare, or depending on their ages, have someone watch over them. Working in a focused manner is more efficient and productive, so figure out what’s going to work best for you and your family.
4. Schedule time to move for your brain – make sure you factor in movement throughout your day. Going for a walk or going out to lunch is key to better brain function. The recommended amount of steps to achieve each day is 10,000, which is often a struggle to reach when you’re working from home and not moving around much. You’ll need to work a little harder to make sure it happens. If you need to think about something strategically, don’t sit at your desk and do it, walk around the block so that you can do it more quickly when you get back to your desk – and you’ll feel better physically for it.
5. Work at your pace – if you have a short attention span, work with it not against it. If you have a longer attention span, ensure you’re managing your distractions. If you’re a morning person, crush through harder tasks in the morning when you would normally be commuting and watch your productivity skyrocket. If you’re not a morning person, don’t try to be. If you’re juggling household chores, schedule them in between tasks and count them as your pieces of movement you’re implementing throughout the day. This will be best for your productivity.
Check out the full article at MiNDFOOD: https://www.mindfood.com/article/how-to-stay-productive/
To find out more about Vanessa Bennett and Next Evolution Performance, follow Vanessa on Instagram at @high_performance_ness and head to the Next Evolution Performance Website: https://nextevolutionperformance.com.