So many of us who run our Small Business from home faced a new reality, at least for this school year: Some sent their kids to school, but some others were homeschooled or the children continued with the Distant Learning. In my case, we continued with the Distant Learning.
Is this a time when we were or are in doubt? Will we be able to continue to do it all? Keeping the home clean, disinfecting everything that comes in, take care of laundry, preparing meals, being there with our kids to support their learning, helping with homework and making sure that they continue to make beautiful and enjoyable memories for their childhood, spending quality time with our spouses... and the list goes on and on.
Whoa, is this what you picture when someone says they work from home? Maybe not... we might not be working from our comfy sofa sipping our tea or drinking endless amounts of coffee but we can do some practical things to ensure that our work is as enjoyable and as productive as possible.
I have been working from home from quite a few years now but this last year has been filled with the unexpected, so I will share three things that have worked for me so I can make good use of my time. I will also include two tips from Giselle Secola. She is an expert in Productivity and works with companies and entrepreneurs so they can reach their full potential. Giselle is located in Argentina. Her Instagram handle is @gisellesecola so you can read about her regular tips to help us all Business Owners.
MY EXPERIENCE AS A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER WORKING FROM HOME
I have two cuties, 10 and 6 years old, and most of my time I am with them playing, reading, making crafts and everything else we can do together from our home in the country. I have my own Knitting Studio that is located close to their bedrooms so I can work at night as well, after they have gone to bed and I am just a few steps away in case they need me.
During the day, if I am knitting, I do so when we are working on activities that involve arts and crafts or if we are watching a movie. But most of my computer work happens at night or on the weekends when they can be just with my hubby for a while.
Before the pandemic, this routine was working pretty good, besides, my children have always been involved in my work. Now, they are more involved. As times are changing, I have been trying to adapt. I just launched my Website and my YouTube channel and my 10 year old is in charge of editing my videos and producing the music for them. Yes, he is into music production and I love the fact that he has been developing this skill and helping his mommy too. I cannot even tell you how much he loves this and the fact that his work is being put to good use. We schedule our team meetings and it is the cutest thing.
My daughter helps me choose yarns, organize my studio, package items, she chooses my outfits for photo shoots and she makes sure that when we are doing doing them, my hair looks good as well as the outfit in general. My husband takes the pictures when I am in front of the camera and that has been such a huge help. I gave him a mini photography course to make sure he uses the right angles for what I want to feature from each piece.
During the Summer, all of this was working great as well. I was able to work on more than I actually thought I would. But when school started I had to set up a routine that will help me to be more productive during the busy season.
3 TIPS TO BE AND STAY PRODUCTIVE
- IDENTIFY WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT SITUATION.
Knowing what I need to do and what is expected from me in my different roles helps me to focus and to avoid multitasking. This way I do what I have to do in the right way, not half way. Make a List of what has to be done in general and which ones of those tasks are priorities.
2. IDENTIFY WHAT TAKES AWAY YOUR TIME AND ENERGY
When writing down the things that can take my time away, like scrolling for a long time on Instagram without a purpose in mind, for example, we can see clearly how much we could have been done with that time. Being conscious of this, we can do practical things like setting a timer in our phones to be on Social Media or for TV watching and use our time wisely to take care of the most important things first.
3. APPLY TOOLS TO WORK BETTER WITH YOUR TIME THAT WILL HELP TO CONNECT AND INNOVATE.
Take time to notice through the day at what times you feel you have more energy. Save those times to work on your priority list. In my case, I am most productive in the early mornings. This is when I try to take more care of computer work.
I hope these tips are helpful to you and that you continue to adapt with the times.
I would love to read what have you find has helped you to stay productive or which from the suggestions above you feel would be helpful to you. Feel free to leave your comments below and to Pin this post for when you need to evaluate your routine!
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