The last thing your focus will be on right now is work. Whether you’re used to working from home or not, the daily press conferences surrounding the coronavirus pandemic will interrupt your focus daily. It’s time to get your focus on work again, and I have the top tips for that.
You’re not alone when it comes to being unfocused. For the last two weeks, I’ve struggled with this. The first week, I didn’t know what day of the week I was on or what I was meant to be doing.
My productivity slumped to an all-time low and I just couldn’t get a clear head. I’m not ashamed to say that I spent more time refreshing the news trying to find out what was going on in the hope that the publications I’d read would update information even though there had been no more press conferences. I was keeping an eye on my phone to see if my husband had news about his work and whether he was going to be temporarily laid off.
I had to refocus. It was important to return my focus on work, especially since my WAHM business is a major part of our household income.
These are the tips that I followed to help return my focus on work.
Allow time to look at the news
You need the time to look at the news. I know we’ll have press conferences at 11 am every day. Throughout all of last week, I allowed myself the time to watch the press conferences live. I wanted to know if there was anything important.
This week, there isn’t likely going to be as much going on, so I’m limiting it to just every other day. However, I’m paying closer attention to our provincial updates.
Set your times that you can check the news. Once you’re done, you can then return the focus on work.
This requires the next step.
Set a timer for work
I told you last week that I was going to mention time and breaks. You need to allow yourself some breaks throughout the day. You just simply can’t focus your mind 24/7 on work. You can’t work 9-5 without taking breaks.
Some people like the Pomodoro Technique. I like a version of it. I can’t split my work in 25-minute intervals and do it in 50-55-minute intervals instead. So instead of a 5-minute break, I’ll take a 10-minute break.
Find a system that works for you. Set your timer so that you get the focus on work.
You can set a literal timer. If you have a Google Home or an Amazon Alexa, use that to set your timer.
Plan your day so you can focus on work
Starting your day off right is essential. At the end of every day, I’ll plan my day for the following day.
I try to get all my work planned out. Not only do I need to know how much I need to do, but I also spend time blocking my time. I need to know what I’m going to work on and when.
My idea is that I can focus on work right away. I’m not spending 30 minutes or so figuring out what I need to do next. There’s no need to decide what I’m doing after lunch.
Getting the right work setting
You need your office setup to be just right to focus on work. If your chair isn’t comfortable or you have noise around you that you can’t work with, then you end up struggling to get focused on the jobs at hand. It may also be good if you have a good cooling system. You may consider hiring experts from a place like AC Installation in Stillwater, OK or sites like airmaxsc.com to help you install the right unit so you could have a comfortable working environment. If you already have a unit and want to fix your leaking air conditioner, consider having a local tune-up service regularly like Home Heating and Air Conditioning- ac tune up boise for a well maintained system. Visit sites like energyprohvac.com for additional guidance about AC Maintenance.
Now, I know this is going to be difficult right now. One of my problems is hearing my children around the house, so I have to work around them. I opt for working during their school work or reading hours. They also have craft and nap times, so I can get a few things done then.
I also do a lot of work in the evenings when everyone is in bed.
But it’s not just about the right time. I need the right music for various projects. I have a playlist for my client work and a playlist for my revenue share work. Then when it comes to doing my own blogs, I prefer to work in silence.
On an evening, I’ll have some TV shows playing in the background that help to take my mind off things when I may start to get bored.
What’s your optimum working conditions? This can take time to figure out if you’re not used to working from home.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Working from home isn’t easy but you can do it. I promise.
