Staying Productive & Sane While Working From Home (or anywhere)

If you find yourself unable to get things done, but are constantly busy, you make want to take a peek at this presentation.

Transcript

1. alisonmf Alison Foxall STAYING PRODUCTIVE & Sane While Working From Home (or anywhere)
2. alisonmf Alison Foxall Video VIDEO
3. alisonmf Alison Foxall Our human potential is hindered by fear and laziness. But let’s dive deeper: DISTRACTIONS
4. alisonmf Alison Foxall I’M SO BUSY! You spent all day seemingly busy but you got barely anything done.
5. alisonmf Alison Foxall I’M OVERWHELMED. You are so overwhelmed with tasks, projects, and correspondences, you don’t know where to start. You end up more or less staring at the screen all day.
6. alisonmf Alison Foxall TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS Work,Virtual, Physical, and Social; Identify how much time you waste. Problems to Solutions.
7. alisonmf Alison Foxall IN THE HOME Children Family Members or Friends Pets Environment
8. alisonmf Alison Foxall CHILDREN Hire a sitter, whenever possible Keep them on a schedule Quality engagement first Independent play later Short bursts of working Most productive time = LO’s nap time Babywear! Laptops really help mobility. Mommy/Daddy helper Get used to staying up late TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » IN THE HOME
9. alisonmf Alison Foxall FAMILY/FRIENDS Lay ground rules and expectations Conflicts happen: take deep breaths TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » IN THE HOME
10. alisonmf Alison Foxall PETS Contain roaming animals Keep consistent walk/play schedule TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » IN THE HOME
11. alisonmf Alison Foxall ENVIRONMENT Keep desk clear of clutter, papers Giant mess in the kitchen? Natural light TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » IN THE HOME
12. alisonmf Alison Foxall WORK & VIRTUAL Social Networks Instant Messages RSS Readers & Blogs
13. alisonmf Alison Foxall SOCIAL NETWORKS, IM’s & BLOGS Turn off notification center (do not disturb) Turn off your phone notifications Install helper tools, if needed If you have to keep Skype on, stay invisible Time block news and blogs sites for a specific time TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » WORK & VIRTUAL
14. alisonmf Alison Foxall TIME BLOCKING Schedule your work, not distractions Pomodoro Technique
15. alisonmf Alison Foxall WEB BROWSER Kill your tabs. Just do it. Bookmark your important links you have open Save sessions for your tools, or minimize them TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » VIRTUAL & SOCIAL TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » WORK & VIRTUAL
16. alisonmf Alison Foxall EMAILS Turn notifiers off. All of them. (1) Remove the clutter out of your inbox Make use of your labels and filters to easily find things Try boomerang for gmail Schedule specific times to check your email Sometimes emails warrant “NOW” tasks 2 minute rule… TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » VIRTUAL & SOCIAL TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » WORK & VIRTUAL
17. alisonmf Alison Foxall 2 MINUTE RULE Starting is hard… Longer than 2 minutes?
18. alisonmf Alison Foxall MEETINGS & PHONE CALLS Scheduled calls and meetings Spontaneous calls Schedule more of your work and not your interruptions TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » VIRTUAL & SOCIAL TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » WORK & VIRTUAL
19. alisonmf Alison Foxall AUTOMATION Automate tasks wherever possible Use tools like IFTTT, Zapier, etc Mundane task services Keyboard shortcuts save you time Text expander Type and read faster Batch similar tasks together
20. alisonmf Alison Foxall PRIORITIZE Tomorrow’s tasks, today Don’t pile on the tasks Identify a task vs. project, break it down TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » VIRTUAL & SOCIAL TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » WORK & VIRTUAL
21. alisonmf Alison Foxall BODY & HEALTH Fatigue Cold & Flu Inactivity
22. alisonmf Alison Foxall WATER I bet the majority of you are all mildly dehydrated You need more than you think Avoid the energy drinks and stimulants Say no to sugar and carbonation TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » VIRTUAL & SOCIAL TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » BODY & HEALTH
23. alisonmf Alison Foxall EXERCISE & FOOD Walking is awesome! Especially with your dog. Eliminate processed foods as much as you can. When it’s time for lunch, break. TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » VIRTUAL & SOCIAL TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » BODY & HEALTH
24. alisonmf Alison Foxall CLOSING TIPS Don’t try to be productive all day, this turns into procrastination. You are not a robot! Take breaks. If you are distracted, you can’t do your best solving complex problems. If all else fails, try co-working once or twice a week if you are stir-crazy.
25. alisonmf Alison Foxall ALISON FOXALL 4 years and counting working from home Front-end web developer and designer WordPress theme developer Organizer of Tampa Bay WordPress group TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » Physical, Social TYPES OF DISTRACTIONS » VIRTUAL & SOCIAL CLOSING
26. alisonmf Alison Foxall THANK YOU!