{"id":36797,"date":"2021-01-14T13:01:04","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T18:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mominthecity.com\/?p=36797"},"modified":"2023-05-12T15:26:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T19:26:33","slug":"productivity-tips-for-work-at-home-moms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mominthecity.com\/productivity-tips-for-work-at-home-moms\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Practical Productivity Tips for Work at Home Moms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Productivity<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It can be challenging to be productive and get things done when you\u2019re working from home. Adding \u201cback-up teacher\u201d to the mix (since many of our kids are practicing distance learning) can make the work-life juggle harder. Fortunately, as moms, we tend to have the \u201cmake it work\u201d<\/em><\/strong> gene. \ud83d\ude0a That is why I am sharing some of my favorite productivity tips in this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been working from home for over 15 years BUT last year\u2019s unexpected remote schooling reality was an adjustment for me too. If you are still adjusting to this new reality, you are not alone. To assist, I want to share 9 practical productivity tips based on personal lessons from 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9 Productivity Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Create a Morning Routine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Start your day with self-care \u2013 whatever that looks like for you. Some people are dogmatic regarding what morning routines should look like. I am not. In reality, it doesn\u2019t even need to be a morning routine. It can be whatever time that fits the best in your days. Personally, if I don\u2019t get my routine done in the morning, it\u2019s probably not going to happen. That\u2019s why I do a morning routine.

The point of a morning routine is to take time to care for yourself in the midst of taking care of everyone and everything else. It\u2019s the \u201cput on your own mask\u201d concept. (On airplanes, you are directed to put on your own mask before aiding anyone else if there is an emergency.) My routine includes reading my Bible, praying, journaling and doing a half-hour workout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The great thing about a routine is that it is flexible. If you want ideas about what to include in yours, Hal Elrod\u2019s The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8AM)\u00a0<\/a><\/em> is a great resource. It\u2019s the book that introduced me to the concept of morning routines with its SAVERS (Silence<\/strong>, Affirmations<\/strong>, Visualization<\/strong>, Exercise<\/strong>, Reading<\/strong> and Scribing)\u00a0<\/strong>concept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Plan Ahead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Planning is key. I plan work like I plan the rest of my life (3-year vision, 1-year vision, 3-month goals, 1-month goals). I will focus on how I plan my weeks and days though.

The way that I plan is to do a \u201cbrain dump\u201d of everything that I need to do for the upcoming week. In the past, I did this on Fridays, the end of my work week, but I now do it on Sundays when I\u2019m planning everything else.

I\u2019m a paper person, so I take a piece of blank paper and write down everything that I want to accomplish. It\u2019s very rare that everything on my big list gets put on my actual work calendar though. Everything isn\u2019t equally important so I ask myself the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • What do I absolutely need to do myself?<\/li>
  • What can I delegate to someone else?<\/li>
  • What can I delay\/defer (schedule for a later date)? I added that question after being introduced to Rory Vaden\u2019s book Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time<\/a><\/em>.<\/li>
  • What can I dump (completely take off my list)?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Next, I take out my calendar and write down which day of the week I will do each of the things on my shortened list. Although I LOVE paper, my new favorite planning tool is Trello<\/a>, an online list-making\/calendar tool. It is AMAZING. I have already loosely planned out the first 3 months of 2021 on it. Try it out (for FREE)\u2026it might benefit you too.

    Lastly, at the end of each day, I plan my top 3 work\u201cto-dos\u201d for the next day.

    I have been pretty consistent with the way that I plan over the years. I have made some \u201ctweaks\u201d but my planning routine is still very similar to the one that I shared in my January 2018     4 Habits That Will Increase Productivity at Work<\/a> post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Consider Working in Time Blocks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Splitting my day into blocks of time is very beneficial. I basically have three 2-hour blocks of work each day. Since I\u2019m a content creator, one block is for email, social media and research (curation). The other two blocks are for creation. My Mondays and Fridays are a bit different though. On those days, I have blocks for strategy, tech, advertising, customer smiles\/service, etc. on those days.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cal Newport, a Georgetown University professor and author, also advocates partitioning your days into\u00a0blocks of time\u00a0and assigning specific work to the blocks. He writes about it in his book Deep Work (Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World)<\/a><\/em> and often discusses it on his podcast, Deep Questions With Cal Newport<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can get so much done in focused time blocks. In the past, I have used the Pomodora technique method to split the time. Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, this involves using a timer to break down your work into segments of work separated by short breaks. Traditionally, it\u2019s a repeated 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break. I preferred to do a 50-minute\/10-minute split though.

    Now, I take a short break after my first 2- hour work session and take an hour-long lunch break with my family after the second block. Another option is entrepreneur trainer Eben Pagan\u2019s 60-60-30<\/em>\u00a0Solution. With that one, you work in 2 blocks of 1 hour lengths before taking a 30-minute break. These are all great options but ultimately, do what works best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Have the Right Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    I will not go to deeply into this because I covered my favorites in the 11 Helpful Work From Home Gift Ideas 2020<\/a> post last month. In it, I mentioned that I had bought 5 pairs of\u00a0noise-canceling headphones<\/a>\u00a0for my family during these stay-at-home times. (They really do<\/strong> provide boundaries and mental space.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"noisecanceling<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    I will add that getting a fresh journal, planner and\/or calendar is a fun way to kick off a new year. Last year, I spent time making my own quarterly planner. (See How to Make Your Own 3 Month Planner<\/a>.) This year I\u2019m not even bothering to do so. The cute, basic 2021 weekly & monthly planner<\/a> that I received for Christmas is good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n