“Everyone is self employed and your employer is you.” ― Todd Stocker
Quora Question: Are you working from home? What are the tips to help you stay productive?
I retired from the military in 2010. The last “traditional” job I had outside the home was in 2019. I currently manage two YouTube channels, a podcast channel and five Meetup groups. I also write a weekly blog working Monday through Thursday.
What has been the biggest ‘aha’ for me was realizing I have the right to create my own schedule. For example, I use to ask people, “what day did they want to conduct the recording for the podcast?” I no longer ask. Now provide the days and times I am available. If they are interested in being a guest most of the time, they have found the time to hop on my calendar. It’s like my mother use to say, “when there is a will, there is a way”. This also goes for our schedules and our productivity goals too. Once you determine what is important to you, you will find the time to get it done!
Here are a few of suggestions I would like to offer in helping you stay productive:
- Use a daily or weekly planner. Take time to brain dump all the things you want to get done along with the target date for completion. Seeing your tasks written out helps to get the things on your list done. If you are operating with the thoughts in your head, you won’t be able to get a clear picture of what’s going on in your head. Writing things down helps to make your thoughts visible.
- Implement daily exercise like a walk. Movement helps to gain clarity. With more clarity, you can determine what is your priority for the day.
- Eliminate distractions. One of the things I implemented was setting my phone to automatically enable the Do-Not-Disturb function daily. Most phones have an emergency override feature so you can always be reached. Use that DND time to work on important tasks that require your undivided attention.
- Make sure you get up and move throughout the day. As I mentioned, movement helps with clarity. With clarity comes focus. If you are having trouble focusing, get up and move. I sometimes turn on my music and just dance around to get my body moving.
- Use your smart devices to your advantage. I use my Alexa as my personal assistant. Use it to set reminders for daily tasks and appointment reminders.
- Say no to activities that are not helping you accomplish your goals. I had to scale back on attending networking events, “free” webinars, and scrolling social media sites of others. I learned to guard my attention like I guard my money. Remember: everyone is via for your attention these days.
- Celebrate your wins. Set personal target dates with rewards for accomplishing them. It’s amazing how hard we work on days just before we go on vacations. Use this kind of thinking to your advantage. Set daily, weekly, or monthly goals that will inspire you to work hard and then reward yourself.
Thank you for taking time out to read this post. I would love to learn more about who you are and what you do. Feel free to connect with me through a Meetup group.
Quote Source: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/self-employed
- Confident Strides Women’s Empowerment Network https://bit.ly/CSWENMeetup
- Confident Strides Personal Development Network Group https://bit.ly/CSPDNMeetup
- Confident Strides Women’s Professional Network https://bit.ly/CSWPNMeetup
- Confident Strides Entrepreneurs Network https://bit.ly/CSENMeetup
To connect with me: https:///confidentstrides
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