Do you feel like time moves faster when you’re busy or when you’re idle?
I feel that time moves fast when I’m super busy and productive. For some reason, I’ve always thought that the opposite should be true.
When you’re busy working on the right things, you also feel proud of yourself and proud of your accomplishments. I literally feel my self-esteem rising when I cross out several items on my to-do list.
Either way, without a schedule, time just goes by…and it leaves you with a bitter taste of regret.
Work from home advice
I’ll share my schedule with you plus ideas that have worked so far.
Please note that I am not a morning person so my day starts at around 10 am and ends at around 1 am. Keeping this in mind, you can change the time slots. You can also add more ideas so that your schedule reflects your lifestyle.
The idea is to learn from my experience.
Before we get to the schedule, there’s a small activity you should do to ensure that you create a schedule that brings you maximum results. These results could be money, achieving life goals, or even feeling happier.
1. Take a piece of paper. Write down the 10 projects or activities that you should be working on.
These should be activities that are top priority and that will bring you results.
For example, some of mine are:
- My 9 to 5 job-currently working from home
- Writing for this blog-Blooms & Smiles
- Building a new website for my personal finance blog
- Exercise
- Listening to educational podcasts
What are your most important projects or activities?
2. Circle the two most important projects or activities.
These are the activities that you can’t compromise on.
There are consequences if you don’t do them.
From my list above, the two most important are:
- My 9 to 5 job – if I don’t do the work, I will get fired.
I wouldn’t risk losing a job during this pandemic. This is why it’s very important to be very clear on which are your most important projects.
- Writing for this blog
This matters to me because I love writing and I love sharing life hacks with you. Monetizing this blog is also my goal which I hope to achieve by the end of 2020.
Which two activities from your list did you circle? Why do they matter to you?
The other 10 (or more if you’re a busy busy bee!) also matter. You will need to allocate time for them in your schedule.
However, you want to focus on the activities that bring you happiness, money, self-esteem and moving you closer to your life goals.
You want to schedule these activities when you’re most productive.
Then the rest can follow when your brain is starting to slow down. Or when your brain is likely to be overtaken by distractions.
This life hack has brought about tremendous progress in my work. It has helped me to live each day intentionally. I learnt this from James Clear, the author of the greatest book of 2020-Atomic habits
Having done that, you’re ready to learn from my schedule as you create yours.
Work from home schedule
| Time | Activities | My Ideas & Suggestions |
| 10:00-12:00 PM | Wake up + setting up your day | Make your bed
Take a shower Make a healthy breakfast Enjoy your breakfast Journaling Meditate Don’t check your phone |
| 12:00-2:00 PM | 2 hour of focus | Check work emails
Pick 2 important tasks Use your phone as a timer |
| 1:00-1:30 PM | Break | Check social media
Stretch Call someone Take a walk 20-30 min workout Listen to a podcast Eat a snack |
| 1:30-3:30 PM | 2-hour focus | Pick 2 important tasks |
| 3:30-4:30 PM | Lunch | Have a healthy lunch |
| 4:30-6:30 PM | 2-hour focus | Pick 2 important tasks
Get stuff done! |
| 6:30-7:00 PM | Break | Exercise
Snack Call someone Yoga Dance Take a walk A house chore Social media Anything fun! |
| 7:30-9:30 PM | 2-hour focus | Work! Work! |
| 9:30 | Work is out! | Do any last-minute tasks
Or nah? Cool! |
| 9:45-1:00 AM | Eat a healthy dinner
Read a book Call family and friends Self-care Watch movies Sleep for 8 hours Repeat the next day! |
How to work from home
Whether you’re a beginner at this work from home experience or a have been on it for a while, you need to remember that it doesn’t matter where the work gets done. What matters is that the work gets done.
In this work from home tips article, I wrote that work is not something that you go to, work is something that you do. So yes, don’t feel as if work done from home is not valuable.
Here are other valuable lessons I’ve gathered from my experience so far on how to work from home.
1. On projects that look like they’ll take forever
Have you been thinking about taking an online course to learn a new skill or starting a side hustle at home but you have been procrastinating because well…it might take forever!!!
Whether you start the gig/project or not, time will still move.
Have you heard people say that they won’t enrol for the 4-year college degree or MBA because, by the time they’re done, they’ll be in their 30s? Whether you start or not, by the end of the 4 years, you’ll be in your 30s.
Start. That. Project.
2. On productive routines
From my routine above, I gave a disclaimer that I’m a night owl so my day starts a bit late.
Focus on creating for yourself a routine that is optimal. One that brings you results. A routine that ensures that you are living a wholesome and balanced life. Eat healthily, work productively, exercise, laugh, connect with your loved one, rest fully…
3. Have a basket or place in your house where you place your phone while working
I use a small woven basket. When I want to concentrate fully on a task, I put my phone in there. This basket represent ‘serious work time and zero distractions.’
This is a great environmental design trick that I also learnt from reading James Clear’s Atomic Habits.
Attention is a currency in the 21st Century. Manage your mind so that you get less distracted. Produce excellent work.
4. Use the downtime feature on iPhone
If you use an iPhone, follow the following steps;
- Go to settings
- Screen time
- Downtime
Click on it and set your downtime hours. This means your phone will automatically lock all your apps after you’ve exhausted your screen time.
You also get a weekly report that shows you how many hours you spent on your phone. I always aim at reducing the hours every week.
It’s a lifesaver!
5. Don’t kill yourself with work
Your self-worth should not be dependent on your work. Create a routine that’s easy to follow and includes other parts of your life. At this point in time, mental health is of utmost importance. Take care of yourself.
6. Live intentionally
Always be clear on what you need to achieve every day.
I usually write my to-do list before I sleep and leave it on my kitchen counter. Always include something exciting on your list to make you pretty excited about waking up the next morning.
I start with the hard tasks as it boosts my confidence when I cross it out.
On bad days (yeah, this is life!), I start with the one that takes the shortest time, crossing out something is motivating.
And then there’s the magic of using a habit tracker!
7. Always have ready to eat food
This enables you to focus when working because you know good food is waiting! And gives you something to grab when you need to…
And we all know nothing beats having your favourite snack beside you when working or reading.!
8. Limit social media time
Please don’t intentionally mess up your brain. Don’t jeopardize your ability to pay attention and produce great work.
Schedule social media time when you’re done with important work or as a reward for when you’ve achieved daily goals.
A lot has been written on the dangers of social media addiction.
9. Before bed, set yourself up for success tomorrow
Clean your dishes. Clean your kitchen. Waking up to a clean kitchen makes you feel proud and motivates you to make a healthy breakfast.
Clean your sitting space. Leave your couch neat.
Give yourself this gift. Wake up to some order.
10. Print this quote and pin it on your wall
First, forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habits will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit is persistence in practice. – Octavia Butler
Allow yourself to thrive by creating a mindset and environment that inspires you to work.
Which of the above tips was the most helpful? Share with us your best work from home life-hacks.
Leave a Reply