Mondays tend to get a bad rep. It’s the beginning of the work week for many and 5 longs sleeps till the weekend.
With most of us finding ourselves working from home it may be extra challenging dealing with the distractions and keeping motivated.
Believe me, I’ve struggled having no desire to work and just stay in bed and binge watch something on Netflix. But I find myself in a better mood when I set up a plan to execute and implement ways to being effective and productive.
I found multiple articles from different industries and business backgrounds on how to stay motivated while working from home during quarantine and a lot of them shared many of the same points. Here are my favorites points.
SET AN ALARM AND WAKE UP EARLY
Rumors are true: the early bird does get the worm.
When I find myself waking up later in the day, the hours seem to fly by and I never have a chance to catch up.
But by setting an alarm and waking up early I’m setting myself up for success. I have more hours in the day to accomplish my to-do list.
Remember to eat a filling and brain boosting breakfast like avocado toast or a green smoothing with berries.
GET DRESSED
Believe me it’s very tempting to stay in my PJs and sweats but it’s a proven fact that getting dressed up even though you’re just going down the hall will help boost your mood.
Because our clothing has a lot of meaning behind it we tend to adopt a different personality when we wear certain pieces. Imagine how you feel when you wear a blazer versus a hoodie or bikini versus a dress.
If you wear something that you’d normally lounge in, you’re more likely to get less done. If you can try to avoid it do.
MAKE A SCHEDULE
If I don’t write down what my day-to-day schedule I’m asking for it. I’m more productive when I physically write things down as opposed to putting it in my phone.
Also give yourself a timed lunch break and quitting time. I know for me since I freelance and work for myself as well as as nurse in a hospital, I have to plan out my days so that they are the most effective and the hours don’t creep into my bedtime.
DON’T WORK WHERE YOU SLEEP
If it’s possible do not work from bed. It’s just a lost cause. You will be more productive if you can have a separate space to work from so you don’t associate rest and relaxation with deadlines and emails.
GET ACTIVE
Carve out time to get some physical activity. Remember what Elle Woods said,
“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.”
You won’t kill your husbands and you’ll be tackling that to-do list in no time.
I personally always feel better after doing some sort of exercise. I just have to remember the feeling of feeling crappy when I don’t do anything and allow those negative feelings to keep me in bed. Remember how good you felt the last time you got moving. It doesn’t have to be an hour long routine but just get moving.
STAY OFF THE ‘GRAM
How is it an hour (or two) can fly by while scrolling on the ‘gram? When you have work to do cut off major app distractions whether it’s Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat or Facebook.
You can get lost in the nothing and the next thing you know you’ve reposted 20 memes, pinned 4 banana bread receipes and haven’t finished that one email response.
Keep your device away from your work station and keep your phone on “Do Not Call” so you don’t get distracted by others. Instagram will always be there, so try and remember that scrolling can wait.
GET A CHANGE OF SCENERY
Go outside and see some nature. It’s a calming and it’s free and can act as a reward for finishing up a project.
As an ambivert I sometimes enjoy and thrive working at home but other times I absolutely hate working without an adventure.
So having moments to get out for a change of scenery forces me not to isolate and reward myself with only something on TV. A quick 15 minute walk around my neighborhood does the trick.
No, it’s not the same as doing 2 hours of work at my local Starbucks but it helps switch things up.
Hope you found these tips helpful! Please feel free to bookmark this post so that you can refer back to these reminders. I’m rooting for you and for all of us.
Stay home, healthy and be well.
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