W With the cornavirus disrupting our normal way of life, more and more people are finding themselves working from home. As one that as worked from home for four years, I know what it takes to be productive with all the distractions that come from working in the comfort of your own home. Running a blog is like running a magazine, the only difference is that you are usually a team of one. My job not only consist of creating beautiful content, but I am also my own accountant, marketer, videographer, photographer, personal assistant, social media account manager and so much more. Wearing so many hats takes a lot of organization. Here are 7 things I have done for the last 4 years of running Awed by Monica from my home office.
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1. Get in the right frame of mind
Pray, make your bed, workout, whatever you need to do to get your mind right for a productive workday is key. Starting the day with positive activities is important, and they help put you in the right headspace to work from home. Try to avoid reaching for your phone when you wake up. Instead of reaching for your phone or turning on the News, focus on empowering yourself for the day. When I wake up during the workweek, I pray, make my bed, read motivational scriptures for moms, and workout for 15-30 minutes. These activities help me get my mind, body and soul right for the day ahead.2. Get ready
I find that managing your home office the same way you manage a public office has been the most productive for me. Going into the office requires dressing for the office environment. Work dress codes have changed over the years, and is usually dictated by the work environment. Regardless of office culture we always groom ourselves appropriately to meet with clients and our fellow co-workers. Over the last four years of working from home, I have found that dressing for a day of success leads to a day of success. In the beginning I would roll out of bed with out dressing up and I found those days to be less productive. You don’t have to put on a fancy dress, or a full face of makeup, all you have to do is dress for success. That can be a pair of jeans, great lounge wear, or even a hoodie, just dress up in something that makes you feel good.
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Shop stylish lounge wear items
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3. Fuel up for a productive day
I find that I cannot start my day without a cup of coffee, hence before going into my home office, I grab a cup of my favorite coffee. If you are not a coffee drinker opt for tea or even a glass of orange juice. I recommend to start the day with whatever you need to wake up the mind and start the day.
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4. Schedule your time
I use both a large paper calendar and the Google Calendar app to schedule my day. I write all the things I need done for the week in my paper calendar and I allocate each task to each day of the week depending on due dates. My content calendar also helps me dictate what task I do each day. After determining what needs to be done for a day, I allocate a realistic amount of time to each task and mark the task as done once completed. There is something about check marking a task as done that is rewarding and pushes you to keep on going. Although it’s the same task, I checkmark both my paper calendar and Google Calendar once each task is done, hence I feel double the accomplishment lol.
5. Take breaks
I add breaks and lunch time into my daily schedules, because your brain needs a break. When I have a heavy work days and little room to take full breaks, I have working lunch breaks. I conduct these breaks in front of the news, or TV shows that require very little focus. Giving yourself a break throughout the workday prevents burnouts, hence breaks are extremely important!
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6. End your work day at a reasonable time
Being able to call it quits at the end of the day is important when working from home. This is probably one of the hardest task for me. I find that when I am working on a project I just want to keep on going until it’s done. However, knowing when to stop is important and allows your mind to take a break and get ready for the next work day. It is imperative that you give your mind a break from work and allow yourself to recuperate. Knowing when to call it quits also helps to prevent burnout. Ending the workday at a reasonable time will enable you to look forward to the next work day.
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7. Schedule your next work day
Before I end the day, I create my schedule for the next day. I usually do this 15 minutes before I end the work day. I refer to my week’s schedule listed in my paper calendar and include any task that were not completed the prior day to the next day. Creating the next day’s schedule gives me a head start on the day.
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Read 4 effective daily routines I use to ensure that I have a successful day here
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I intend to be a positive source for others during these trying times, and I implore you to do the same! Will you be using any of these “working from home” tips? Let me know with your comments below.
Moni
Moni
