Working From Home
With all the notions going around about working from home, I wanted to pop on here and talk about some myths and facts around WFH and my personal experience with it. Please keep in mind that everyone is different and the things I’m about to share are what work best for me.
Fact: You should create a routine and environment that inspires you.
For me this looks like pulling up my hair in a scrunchie, making a cup of coffee, turning on a podcast (or some music), and burning a vanilla scented candle from Ikea. If I had the budget, I would probably burn candles at all hours of the day. When the topic of candles comes up (as it so often does), you may even hear me say that candles are the only therapy I can afford.
Myth: You won’t be productive if you wear comfy clothes all day.
I’ve seen this one a lot, so I feel the need to address it. What you wear only affects your productivity if you’ve created a mental connection between comfy clothes and laziness. Having that opinion is fine, but it’s not true for everyone. I know plenty of freelancers who will wear a buttoned-up shirt for the sake of their camera presence (i.e. recording a Youtube video or having a conference call with a client), while simultaneously wearing yoga pants (where the camera can’t see). There is no shame in working in whatever makes you feel the most comfortable and productive! When I have an unproductive day, I do not attribute my lack of productivity to what I am wearing — that’s just a mindset I don’t have.
Fact: Social media can either be a tool or a time-waster.
Even though clothing doesn’t affect my productivity, the way I choose to utilize social media can. At any given moment, I can either use social media to connect with my audience and create meaningful engagement or swipe through an endless amount of Instagram Stories for 15–30 minutes at a time (guilty). As a small business owner, social media is a key part of my job that can easily become a distraction. Unless I have a tight deadline and need to focus on one particular project, my days are filled with a variety of tasks. As of writing this, I don’t set aside a designated amount of time for social media, but I do check it throughout the day. Admittedly, I have room to grow in this department. Some days I need to be more diligent and structured in order to maximize my productivity. Just like everyone else, I have good days and bad days. I’ve heard that time blocking, bullet journaling, the pomodoro method, or the productivity planner helps a lot of creative entrepreneurs stay on track. Personally, I make a checklists on my phone and write daily lists in a college-ruled notebook.
Myth: You have to get an early start to your day.
They say the early bird catches the worm and that’s probably true. Statically speaking, I think people are more productive if they get an early start to their day. I’m on the fence about this statement in my own life because I struggle with implementing early starts. I enjoy slow mornings and I tend to work best when I feel well-rested (no matter what time my day starts). This is probably due to the fact that I’m not going to bed early enough to make my mornings productive — and that’s ok because everyone is wired differently. I usually reach my peak productivity between 11am and 3pm. I know someday kids will affect the flexibility of my day, but for now, I can still put in a good 5 to 8 hours of focused work. What time I start working doesn’t really matter to me as long as the time I spent working was productive. One thing I’ve done to ensure I get plenty of sleep is keeping my phone out of the bedroom at night. By doing so, I don’t stay up staring at bluelight and writing down all of the ideas that can keep me up at night. Since starting this habit, I’ve been falling asleep and waking up a little bit earlier.
Questions to Consider
Is there anything you do or don’t identify with about these myths and facts?
What are your thoughts and experiences with WFH?
Is there anything that helps you boost your productivity throughout the day?
At the end of the day, your ability to stay productive while working from home really hinges on knowing yourself. Only you can determine what will and will not work best for you. Some of the WFH advice I’ve seen are blanket statements that supposedly apply to all people, so I wanted to share my thoughts to demonstrate that I’m not like “all people” and I’m betting you aren’t either!