FRIDAY!!! We made it to the end of a short week, and I am not going to lie… I spent most of my time trying to figure out what day it was. I’m heading into a few weekends that are light on weddings, and I am SO excited for some time to relax and travel to a few of my favorite places. This weekend, I have a sweet engagement session, and the rest of Saturday, I’m off to relax in DC! I don’t know if I will know what to do with all of this free time!! On Tuesday, I realized that I worked my twentieth wedding of the year on Sunday, so this girl is welcoming a quieter weekend to recover!
I’m newer to the work-from-home crowd… and I’m not going to lie, it took me a while to find my groove! Working in the space that you call home can be pretty difficult at times, and transitioning from having an external office space to having your office space literally be next to your bed can feel kind of crazy. I wanted to share three things today that I have tried my hardest to stick to to increase my productivity while working from home. These THREE practices have made the biggest difference in my confidence, accountability and productivity as a work-from-home gal, so I wanted to share them with you today! Let’s do it:
Set and stick to your work schedule.
This may just be the point that I struggle to stick to the most! When your office is your bedroom and your bedroom is your office, it is easy to work literally from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. This just isn’t healthy, and I am here to tell you that boundaries are necessary if you don’t want to go crazy. I’ve tried my hardest to set regular business hours over the last couple of months, typically working from 8-4 most days during the week and a little later on the days where I am at the studio in the morning! I’ve also gotten a lot stricter on when I do and do not check my inbox, as this has been a huge distraction trigger for me. I typically check some items off my to do list before I check my email in the morning, and I try my hardest not to check my inbox after I check out of the “office” for the day.
Now, I also want to be clear that your work schedule doesn’t just apply to the start and stop times of your work day. It is important that you are also using the time that you are “on the clock” in a productive way. Meaning… all of the household tasks, Netflix-ing, lunch dates etc. that you feel needs to happen during the day can wait! DO use your valuable work time as work time. Even though you do have the convenience of a flexible schedule, it is so important that you are utilizing your work time well.
Make it a priority to get out of the house.
Ok… I know this one sounds way silly and a bit contradictory to my last point, but DO make it a priority to leave your home workspace a few times a day. As someone who literally works from a desk in her bedroom, this is one is just necessary to stay sane and to stay productive. When I first left my day job, I scheduled appointments to get me out of the house because I started to get nervous that I would be spending all of my time within the four walls of my bedroom. From fitness classes to dog walks to working from a local coffee shop, I cannot stress how important it is to get out and get some fresh air and human interaction. Now, my schedule flows pretty naturally to keep me in and out of the house! I am still teaching barre classes quite a few times a week and these classes are SO necessary to keep me sane! I love the clients that I get to work with daily!
I added a weekly marketing content prep day.
As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats. I manage my own social media, answer emails, run marketing, edit images, shoot sessions, keep current on my and financials, try my best to stay on top of my calendar…. the list goes on and on. Once busy season got under way, I realized that, even though I am able to work on my business tasks through most hours of the workweek, if I really wanted to stay on top of things, I would need a FULL day to prep just my marketing content for the upcoming week! Without a day to strategically plan my blog posts, social media posts, work calendar and time off for the upcoming week, it just wouldn’t get done well!
Now, I set aside my entire Monday to draft blog posts, lay out my Instagram posts and sync up on my emails and calendars for the week. Blocking off this full day to tend to, what I have started to call, my weekly tasks has really allowed me to enjoy the creation process and to feel like I can take the time to produce something with more intention and of better quality. It has made a huge difference in de-cluttering my mind and my time, so I can spend the rest of the week focusing on what really matters: serving my current clients well and growing my business!
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