Working From Home and Managing Distractions

OOOH SHINY! Easily distracted? I am!

Many Cre8tive Housewives work from home, or at least use the computer to socialize. Suddenly 5 minutes turns into "Crap! I gotta start dinner!" :) In corporate world, as a team we'd all get together, discuss the problem for about an hour, then brainstorm best practices to mitigate the adverse effects of the behaviors, and finally go through training to relearn our habits.

How about we skip all that? I'll share a few techniques I use to keep my day from getting derailed, you share yours. And we'll all share a cup of tea or coffee while we daydream... I mean brainstorm. :)

Fun Timers


I'm a grown woman, I'm NOT going to set something to BUZZ or BEEP, BEEP, BEEP at me. Okay, I will if it's a reminder to stir because I'm ereading, but that's different. No, if I'm working on the computer, I like to set play lists that end when I want/need/must stop. When the music stops, and I have physically start the music again, it works as a reminder to get up. Naming the playlist what I need to get done helps too. Laundry, Dishes, and Pickup! are all on heavy rotation.

Eat the Bad Stuff First


As kids we always ate the nasty stuff we don't like first to get it over with so we could eat the good stuff to remove the taste. Or maybe that was just me being logical in a house where you were strongly encouraged to finish your plate, or no snacks later. I try to take on one or two household chores I don't like first thing in the morning. One, it helps me feel good about myself for the rest of the day, and two, the longer I personally wait, the less likely I will follow through because the more I think about it, the less appealing the chore becomes.

I'm On Break

I suck at turning myself OFF. I have ON and TOTAL SHUT DOWN. Once I sit down to read for a bit or play a video game, I usually don't stop until a critical event forces me to (dinner, kids home from school, etc.). I have found some success in "relaxing" in the chairs I find not super comfortable in our house. I'm still getting a break, which studies show leads to better productivity, but I'm not going into "all done" mode.

Keep My To-Do List Doable, Not a Marathon


The more line items I have on my To-Do list the more daunted I feel. This is why I use my notecard system to basically hide HALF of my day at a time. If the mountain looks more like a hill, or better yet, a grassy knoll, I march up it with a grin. But a day where I hate everything running so tightly if one goes into overtime my entire day collapses like a house of cards? I'm more likely to give in to defeat on those days than try to pick up the pieces. I feel less like I WANT to be distracted when there's not as much to be distracted from.

So there's 3 "best practice" what are yours? Share below! And since I'm being very productive today on 2 hours of sleep, I'm having an extra biscuit. :)