Clever Counsel #19 - The WFH Life
Few people know this about me.
I tried freelancing early in my career, and it was a disaster.
I was about 25 and had just moved from NYC to New Orleans to be closer to my family.
And while I never had trouble finding PR work in NYC, it quickly became apparent that good full-time jobs in New Orleans weren't exactly plentiful.
So I started taking freelance work.
I wrote articles for a few magazines, I produced SEO copy for small businesses, I did some blog writing.
It was all on my own schedule. I found my own gigs and delivered my assignments on time.
For the first time in my adult life, I was my own boss.
And I was miserable.
I slept too long and too late, I ate poorly, I stayed in my PJs all day. I isolated myself. I took no joy in my work. I missed going into an office.
I felt unwell and utterly directionless.
I couldn't have fully articulated it then, but from where I sit now - 15 years later - I can see that there was nothing really wrong with me. It just wasn't the right time and place in my life for that kind of change.
I was young, still developing in my professional abilities, and still growing into the woman I would eventually become.
I wasn't practiced with things like keeping a strict schedule, holding myself accountable, tracking results, caring for my well-being and prioritizing social connections.
Today, I know that all of these things are absolutely essential to my happiness as an independent (and I’m going to share some of my favorite tips for your well-being and productivity below).
But again, I didn't know all that then.
I stopped freelancing within a year, and went back to full-time roles.
For years after I told myself I would never go solo again.
"It just isn't for me," I thought.
In the end, I found that working independently was VERY much for me.
It just wasn't the right moment in my life cycle to discover that.
To wrap this up, I want to share a few practices I’ve put into place that have helped me stay focused, well and productive as an independent professional working from home.
Why not pick one to try each week for the next four weeks, and see what feels right for you?
Implement a morning ritual. For many people, the morning hours are the highest-potential time of the day. It’s also the time where many of us can go off track. How you prepare yourself for the work day will directly affect what you’re able to knock out in the first half of the day. Just as you would have when you went into an office, create a time-based morning routine for yourself while working from home. Wake up on time, make your bed, have breakfast, put on work clothes, and do all the things that make you feel switched-on and ready to go.
Start with three. Each morning, choose just three high priority tasks from your endless to-do list and make those three items your bar for success for the day. Put all your focus on completing those three things, and start with the one that feels like the biggest headache. You can always add in more tasks when you’re done - but just completing those three big things should feel like an achievement.
Try out batching. Many people (myself included) do best when we batch similar tasks together. Time block a period for outreach, a period for scheduled calls, a period for deep work, a period for admin. Don’t try to constantly hop between disparate tasks.
50 min on / 10 min off. When you time block a priority task for an hour, think of your actual heads-down productivity time as 50 minutes, with the remaining 10 minutes reserved for physical rejuvenation - stretching, moving around, playing with your animals or kids, or going for a short walk.
Keep a distraction log. Have a small notebook near your computer specifically for jotting down short notes about any distracting thoughts, ideas or random tasks that pop into your mind as you’re working. Don’t write at length, just capture it at a high-level and refocus on the task at hand.
Try scheduled email checks. If you’re like me and you can be compulsive about repeatedly checking your email throughout the day, try setting two alarms on your phone for scheduled email review - one in the AM and one before you wrap up for the day. Keep your email closed and your notifications silenced other than those scheduled periods. It’s amazing how much this little change can increase your productivity.
