Balancing work and life when you work and live in the same 1000 square feet. Roll out of bed and start work in your pajamas. It sounds wonderful... until you wake up suddenly on your couch to your boss' fifth phone call. Eeek. Over the past few years, these have been my tried and true tactics that have taken my daily productivity from questionable to optimal.
Start Early
Our homes are distracting. Pets, kids, roommates, and spouses are everywhere. Does your dog also only bark when you're on the phone? No? Just mine. My husband is perfectly quiet all day until my boss assigns me something that needs to be done within the next hour.
I start my day as early as possible so I can beat the noise and get a couple hours of work in before my dogs schedule their morning wrestling and my cat starts zooming up and down the basement stairs.
Create an Office Space
I feel like this is so cliche and no one ever addresses how difficult it is to give up space in your home for your job. I get it. In my last apartment, my husband and I fought over k̶̶̶i̶̶̶t̶̶̶c̶̶̶h̶̶̶e̶̶̶n̶̶̶ ̶̶̶t̶̶̶a̶̶̶b̶̶̶l̶̶̶e̶̶̶ office space like children and packing away our computers felt like a full-time job. In our house, we are privileged to have several non-common room spaces to work, but we've found that our working styles are even more different than we thought.
My husband works best on the couch. He plays tv in the background and balances his computer on the armrest and has a fully productive day.
I NEED a dedicated office space. I have taken up residence in our weird, windowless center room. I need a big desk and lots of room to work. I use two monitors and my tablet. Sometimes I pull out my phone, too. I think some of this speaks to the nature of my job, and how many tabs I need to keep my eyes on. I make it comfortable by using a loveseat instead of a chair, but my office is a work-only space.
So what do you do when you don't have a room where you can shut the door?
Do your best to create some kind of separation that is sustainable and reasonable for you. Sit in a different seat at your dining room table than you typically do to eat. Use headphones as a mental cue. The goal here is to tell your brain that it is time to work and not time to play.
Make To-do Lists
Oh, wow. Revolutionary. To-Do Lists. I really brought a new idea to the table today.
I love a good to-do list. I color code. I set reminders. I could check off those boxes for days. I want to live and die by the to-do list.
But here's my little secret. I am really, truly, abysmally bad at keeping an updated to-do list. Like scary bad. Why did people trust me with the wellbeing of children? I make 600 tiny lists and sometimes the tasks crossover between lists. The lists are too long and I always feel behind. It's upsetting.
So I now use a chart system where I track my daily progress as I complete tasks. It helps me keep track of my work AND gives me a sense of daily accomplishment when I get to look back at my productivity. If you also can't keep it together enough to make a decent to-do list, I highly recommend keeping a list of completed tasks.
It's Okay to Start the Dishwasher
Every employer with work from home employees is shuttering right now. They might be whisper screaming at their computers: NO! MY EMPLOYEES ARE SUPPOSE TO BE WORKING.
Mhm. I agree. Work from home jobs come with serious responsibility. Sometimes it can be difficult to start your day when no one is watching. To my work at home customer service representatives, I salute you. Coffee with my coworkers and chatting in-between Karens was the only way I stayed sane working with people. Getting out of our (hopefully) relaxing homes and walking into the office is a great way for our brains to make a mental switch. And you've tried to create your own office space and divide home from work... but the house is a mess from last night.
So, pick up a little. Be reasonable. Don't scrub those baseboards and try not to reorganize the pantry. But maybe swap out your 10 a.m. Facebook break for putting your cereal bowl in the dishwasher. You can't waste 15 minutes showing all of your coworkers those new baby pictures, so go ahead and move the towels over to the dryer. A few quick 5-minute chores won't shatter your workday—it will actually improve it. You need breaks. If your plan is to lock yourself in your office for 8 straight hours and buckle down, it's time for a reality check. You are not effectively managing your time and energy.
Try this, next week tackle every day with the Pomodoro Method.
25-minutes of work
3-5 minute break
(repeat 4x)
30-minute break
(REPEAT)
See if you are able to complete just as much or more work than you normally do.
Routine
I do nearly the same thing every single day. I get up, do my hair, and brush my teeth. I feed the cats and measure out the dog food. Next, I unload the dishwasher and start a load of laundry. I make coffee and portion it out for my husband and I before dragging him and our pets out of bed.
Then I sit at my desk and start my morning reports. I typically light a candle and listen to Youtube videos while I'm working. After a couple of hours, I wash the morning dishes and move the laundry over before going back to work. Before lunch, I fold the laundry and I always put my dishes in the dishwasher before returning to work. At the end of the day, I always update my list of completed tasks before logging out and moving on with dinner and recreation time.
This routine helps keep me on task while also not compromising the quality of my day. I make time for little things.
Know When to Walk Away from Your Desk
There are two kinds of work from home people: those who struggle to get work done and people who cannot shut off their computer at 5. I definitely fall into the latter. Even though I start my day at 7 a.m. PST, I often find myself afraid that I will be labeled as "lazy" if I'm not on my computer as late as my coworkers on the west coast and honestly, that's insane. When I start my day, it's 4 a.m. PDT. I'm definitely the only one working. And even if I were to stay active on my computer until 5 or 5:30 p.m., I would be working 10 hour days. Yikes. I have found a compromise point. I walk away from my computer at 4 p.m., but I stay logged in. If someone sends me an important message, I see it at 5:30 p.m. when I fully shut down my workspace. If I know I'm going to have a late meeting, I take a long lunch in the middle of the day.
Don't be afraid of looking lazy if you are working all of my hours and completing all of your work. It is okay to end your workday on time and move on to family life.
Life is balance and doing everything in the same space is difficult. It's constant work. Some days are perfect—you slept for 8 hours, the house is clean, and your boss loved that presentation. Some days suck— you logged back in at 7 p.m. and work all night on a Friday. Strike that balance. You're doing just fine.
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