I’ve been getting questions from many of you about how to work from home EFFECTIVELY.

Most of you are entrepreneurs,

OR

you want to be an entrepreneur,

OR

you’re being asked to work remotely during this time

It can feel exhausting, lonely, chaotic and out of control to work from home if you aren’t used to it.

In this webinar, I’m sharing the mindset of working from home so you can get more done in less time while reducing time-wasting that can bleed into mental and emotional overwhelm.

How to work from home – EFFECTIVELY.

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Step 1

Brain dump everything you need “to do” onto paper.

Get it all out of your head. The things you need to get done for your business, for your job, for your life.

I do this once a week, usually Sunday night. You can choose to do this every morning but I like to schedule out a whole week at a time, so I get all the things out of my head and onto paper.

After you’ve gotten everything out, remove all the things that are NOT tied to actual results you want, are not actually necessary, that you realize are “busy work” or that you’re doing for people-pleasing or obligation reasons.

Step 2

What can get in the way.

Write down all the obstacles in the way of getting the things on your “to do” list accomplished.

This includes things like learning new skills, research, purchasing what you need to get things done or scheduling collaboration time.

Step 3

Schedule it all into your calendar.

In the beginning, if you haven’t done this a lot, you may have to guesstimate the amount of time it will take you.

That’s ok, DO NOT let it stop you from scheduling it out anyway.

Doing this is a skill, it is making decisions ahead of time – using your prefrontal cortex. That’s the adult part of your brain that you WANT to be in charge around work.

I use Google Calendar. The tool you use doesn’t matter. What matters is that you schedule and plan in advance. Each activity has a start time and an end time.

I use the Notes section of each entry in my Google calendar to bullet point all the pieces of each particular task.

Step 4

Get rid of your “To do” list.

This is so fun and freeing. Since it’s all in your calendar, it’s out of your head and you don’t have to worry or feel anxiety about “What if I forget somethings?” 

Your prefrontal brain has made all the necessary plans and decisions ahead of time.

This is wonderful because now when you END working, you can stop constantly thinking about work and instead, be present for your downtime.

Step 5

Manage your toddler brain.

Now this is VITAL.

When you get to your schedule, many times you will NOT want to do what you pre-planned and pre-scheduled.

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART.

If you think:

• “Oh, I really should be doing something else.”
• “that can wait until later.”
• “I don’t wanna.”
• “I probably should do [this other thing] instead.””

That IS your sneaky toddler brain trying to get you to avoid the pain and discomfort of doing what you said you would do.

Try This:

Give yourself 2 minutes. Take the tiniest first few baby steps to begin this task. the first moments of beginning ARE the most difficult. 

Just like the rocket analogy I mentioned in the video.

Some of the thoughts I think to help me get through the first couple minutes of pain:

• “I’m just going to do the first thing…”
• “I’ll just give it 2 minutes.”
• “The hardest part is getting started and I can do that.”

When you give into your toddler brain and go OFF schedule, it will be harder next time to retrain your brain.

Step 6

Quantity over quality

Many years ago, I used to be a “starter” – I had SO many projects I had started but had never followed through to completion.

Deciding to be a recovering perfectionist changed that for me and allowed me to laser focus on creating results.

In this blog post I share research that shows that doing imperfect work, but getting it done actually creates better quality of work over time.

Let the focus of your work be getting it done within the time scheduled and your work will become better than it has ever been.

Step 7

You are the boss AND the employee.

This is about taking 100% ownership or the results you produce, whether you’re an entrepreneur or an employee.

Your brain will rebel.

It will NOT want to do this.

That’s the instant gratification, primitive toddler brain.

Don’t let it be in charge of your efficiency, productivity and effectiveness.

Other considerations:

Working from home CAN feel very lonely sometimes. To deal with this, you can use this as an opportunity to:

• truly connect and be 100% present with loved ones in your home for a moment each day
• connect with one friend or peer each day in a significant way
• practice connecting with yourself and giving yourself what you need – you can put your hand on your heart and say out loud “This is loneliness and it’s OK, I’m with the most important person right now… me.”

I used to feel lonely working from home, but the relationship I’ve cultivated with myself ensures I NEVER feel lonely.

Why?

Because I know that my feelings come from my thoughts.

• I choose to love my alone time creating results I’ll be proud of.
• I am a person who does exactly what she says she’s going to do.
• This is a time of connection with myself.

If you have kids, ask them to get on board with you at this time.

Also, it’s OK if kids are bored sometimes.

That will give them the SKILL of either sitting with the feeling of boredom OR doing something – like using their creativity – to solve their boredom.

Click the image to download Heartwork Journaling Resources. 

There are paid resources and free resources in that document.

Including hours of Heartwork Journaling mini lessons and a coloring book for the kids!