Working from home (as you know for sure!) Can be even more challenging than working with your coworkers around you. Being a woman who works independently, as is the case with Virtual Assistants for example, you don't even have someone to pressure you - then you must motivate yourself.
In my personal experience, as a Virtual Assistant (I lead a team of VAs and work with several clients and a variety of businesses), Coach of Virtual Assistants, Wife and housewife, and last but not least, the most important of the list: Mother of one 2 and a half year old girl, I can assure you that what helps me maintain sanity while I achieve my daily goals, begins with the habit of SIMPLIFYING
Simplify. "But why should this be so complicated ?!" -may ask yourself. It doesn't have to be! Below I am going to share some tips based on the habits that help me the most in my day to day.
Take your to-do list. (Just looking at it can cause a migraine, right? Don't worry - we'll take care of it!) Consider the following strategies:
1. Eliminate all non-essential tasks.
Focus on the essentials. Choose two or three main goals each day from your to-do list. Once you have achieved the essential goals you can take care of the rest of the less important pending tasks of the day. Group 2-3 large tasks on one side and small tasks on the other. Evaluate your goals weekly.
I know: you will surely be thinking, “Three daily tasks ?! But I have so much to do! ” Listen - surely you never get the thousands of tasks you have, so what's the point of living so stressed? If you prioritize the essentials, your achievements will weigh more and you will feel much less stressed.
2. How to discern what is essential: makes identifying the essential a priority.
What tasks carry more weight in your professional and personal life? These are the essentials. Remember that “urgent” tasks are often not urgent outside of our overloaded minds. And sometimes the "necessary" ceases to be. Get used to delegating when you can and saying no.
Also remember that any small task is important only if it helps to complete an essential task.
Don't be afraid to delete. It is important to choose what will add to your life over the rest. Take control. Be happier and you will work better - and in less time.
3. One task at a time.
Multitasking wastes energy and diffuses brainpower. Achieve your 2-3 essential goals first and the rest of your day will be light and relaxed.
4. Reduce your distractions
RSS feeds, subscriptions of all kinds, activity on social networks and forums, television programs, magazines and newspapers you read, chat programs, etc. Limit your email accounts to one or two and program filters on them to avoid spam. Reduce your consumption of superfluous information (admit it: most are superfluous. After a while, even I could figure this out!). This will save you hours. If you start working before checking your emails, you can focus more easily on your essential task.
5. Reduce your work hours.
Retain your sanity and work more efficiently. Work a maximum of 8 hours a day. Can you reduce them to 6? Great. If you can focus intensely on your goals in those few hours, you will have the rest of the day for the activities that bring you the most happiness - your family, friends, sports, etc.
If you find yourself low on energy, take a 15-20 minute nap. (Ah, the virtues of working from home!) And take frequent breaks to avoid getting saturated - from 10, up to 20 minutes! What works best for you; there is no fixed rule for all. Take a walk, stretch, clear your mind, and get away from your computer!
6. What about work? Get rid of clutter!
Disorder is distracting.Examples: If you always leave things in the same place, you won't spend time looking for them. Teach your family to be orderly. Take care of all your errands at once, one after another. Do what you can via the Internet - pay your bills, log into your bank account. And if you can, hire someone you can delegate to: cleaning, cooking, babysitting, dog walking, administrative duties. If it's not a possibility, consider exchanging tasks with someone else.
They can take turns taking care of the kids, for example, so you'll have free nights without having to hire a babysitter, and your kids will have someone to play with.
If this all sounds overwhelming, start small. Creating habits and taking small steps will help you feel in control and adopt these life-changing routines.
I will continue to share more on this topic in future posts, and for this I invite you to share the habits and techniques that give you the best results when it comes to managing your time and enjoying your work from home.
What resources do you use? What challenges do you encounter when working from home?
Thank you and we read soon!
