Is the Working from Home Struggle Getting Real?

• June 29, 2021
• admin

Alright team! If you’re from Sydney we’re not newbies to the notion of working from home. We’ve just been plunged in to another 2 week (minimum) lockdown thanks to the lovely SUPER infectious Delta strain of COVID that is ripping through our city. Except this time…. it’s school holidays too. For those of us with kids, this can spell NIGHTMARE! Let me tell you, the struggle is real. But how to we get passed it and still be productive? Here are a few tips  

1. Get out of those comfy clothes!

I may say comfy clothes but read pyjamas… and before you say anything. I know, I know. It’s cold and miserable and your pyjamas are soooo warm and comfy. Well, studies have shown that we associate certain characteristics with those clothes. The first thing that comes to mind when I think about putting my pj’s on is bedtime and cosiness. Definitely, not something that goes well with my work day! So get in to something that makes you feel productive. If you want to wear that bright red power suit because you know you can get shit done! Well put it on, Girlfriend!

2. Establish a routine

Your days working from home should be seen as any other work day. Whilst the temptation might be there to take a break to get some housework done or tune in to Dr Phil (is he still on?) keeping in with your regular work day routine is going to keep you on track. If that is still a struggle, try setting yourself up with focus minutes. If you set yourself a target to focus for 25 minutes solid and then take 5-10 minutes to prepare for the next task (put that load of washing on) you’ll find yourself staying much more productive. You can use helpful apps such as Forest to help you track those 25 minute blocks. With Forest, when you set a timer, if you make it passed that 25 minutes a tree is planted in your forest. It’s pretty cool. This isn’t a shameless plug or paid partnership we just really like the reward of seeing a little tree planted every time we complete a focus block.

3. Declutter your home office

If you’re like me and usually have piles of stuff EVERYWHERE at home, but your desk at work is spotless… you can probably already see a bit of a problem here haha. Decluttering is also fun and great for your mental and physical health. Get rid of all that paper, file those documents away. Do you really need those 5,000 post-it notes stuck on everything? There is also something really cathartic about scrunching up unnecessary paper and throwing it in the bin.

4. Write a To-Do List the night before

This is a really helpful tool even if you aren’t working from home. Writing your to-do list for the next day the night before allows you to really focus on the immediate tasks at hand first. When we do this the items first on our list are usually things that we weren’t able to get completed that day. When writing lists in the morning we can often either forget the things we didn’t do the night before completely, or forget their importance. A To-Do list written in the morning can also often get cluttered with unimportant (or just filler tasks). Adding to your list from the night before will allow you to accurately prioritise your tasks.

5. Fire up that slow cooker!

It’s so easy to get distracted during a working from home day. I often find myself signing off earlier than normal as I think I have the time to plan and cook gourmet meals or bake those cakes and cookies. Planning ahead and putting the slow cooker on in the morning not only makes your house smell AMAZING all day, but it can also leave leftovers for the fam for the following days. I also find that doing as I would every school day, prepping lunches the night before or early morning stops the “Mmmmmuuuuuummmmmmm, I’m hungry” or in my case, the toddler crying, during the day. Because let’s face it. Kids DO NOT CARE. If Mum or Dad are home, it’s a free for all and nothing is more important than their wants or needs every second of the day. And how good do these apple crumbles look?! If you’d like to hear and see more tips from the team on how to keep your homes in tip top shape or your maintenance expenses down, head over to our new facebook group – All Things Maintenance We’d love to have you. If you’d like to check out our other blogs you can find them here You can also find us on facebook at facebook.com/mytradie don’t forget to like and follow