I was chatting with my friend who's currently teaching in Exeter. She was struggling to get focused and do some proper work and asked me what I do to buckle down. It's a great question and one that I have paid particular attention to since I started working from home. After all, I am a big procrastinator and love to be driven by that sense of panic.
The first is that as much as people think a perk of working from home would be wearing LuLus, I find if I'm dressed like a slob, my work matches it. My brain is distracted and I spend more time surfing than working because I flit from one thing to the next without getting anything accomplished.
The second, like I noted yesterday, is that getting up and out of the house first thing in the morning is a great way to still pretend like you're going to the office. Whether it's going for a swim, doing a load of laundry, or grabbing a latte, when I walk in back in the door I tell myself I'm now at work. Sounds silly, but it works.
The third is making sure I'm not hungry. I mean, I can always eat, but am I hungry? I will admit I'm the worst for skipping breakfast and when I can't settle into things in the morning, it's usually because I don't realize I'm hungry. As I really don't like eating when I first wake up, I find that an apple with pnut butter around 10 usually does the trick.
And lastly, staring out the window. I cannot work facing into my living room. The TV is there, the magazines are there, the picture that I want to move is there, the wall I want to paint is there.... yes, just too many distractions exist if I look into the room. So, I moved my desk to face out the window. Good ol' Vitamin D. Fun times.
That's about all I have for now. So far it's working. Let me know what works for you - I'm sure there'll be a day when I need a new trick!
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