I never really chose the path to working for myself; it was kind of forced upon me when our MMA venture, the IFL, folded 14 years ago, and really three colleagues, Meredith Geisler, John Genzale and Jon Pessah, made me jump in the pool.
With that came 14 years of learning, including how to best balance time, a good amount of it spent in my home office when not on the road or in New York City with clients, at Columbia or in any number of offices or coffee shops I can spend time in. Ironically that question of balance…not of work-life balance but of how to use the daily trip around the sun…has come up quite often these first few weeks of September.
So a few tips for all those who have asked, and those who have not…
Time Management
The biggest challenge we have is the time suck and getting too bogged down in what is productive or efficient or not. I am a big fan of learning from coaches as to how they run practices. While we don’t have a giant scoreboard around us, breaking down your day into periods and using those periods to finish tasks and then moving on to the next, can be very refreshing. Also it may sound silly, but keeping a timer on your watch or around you to know when it is time to finish, look back at accomplishments, or switch to something else is also very helpful. I have a friend who literally will play albums of music in the background…when he finishes eight tracks or the side of an album it moves on to something else, he moves on. Amazingly you can set Alexa to play something when the time comes as well. Time is really the biggest tool we have at our disposal, and now with work from home it is both a blessing, but if not managed properly, can be a curse. I still plan a day exactly as I would if I was commuting. Eat at regular hours, avoid the kitchen, try and get the door closed to stay focused and watch how the clock is positively or negatively affecting your work flow. It is easy to get distracted in any work space, let alone in your house. Effectively making a list and getting through tasks is really key. Then end of day look back to make sure you check the box; you will be surprised at how budgeted time can get you to finish the job when you get into the routine.
Dress For Work
I have an old friend, Chris DeMaria, whose dad worked his office job from home for years. He said every day his dad got up showered put on a suit and went down to his office. It kept him focused that he was working not playing and provided the mental divide he needed. Now I don’t think we go to those extremes today, but getting up, dressed and in a different mindset than sitting around and lounging seems to work with people who have gone through the process. The activity early on in the morning also helps set that mental divide, which really needs to be established to be productive.
Take Breaks
The beauty of working from home is you can dive right in in the morning. No need for commuting right? However that dive right in doesn’t provide you with the normal ramp up you may get from being able to travel in from home. That means your mental ability will burn out quicker during the day than you may be used to. So get up at the right times, walk around look out the window and decompress for a few. You now have the chance to be even more connected 24/7, but don’t be. Find the time to detach and then you can come back stronger.
Talk to People
Find the time to talk to those in your house during the day. You can’t go head down all the time and frankly, one of the things I miss the most is the human daily give and take in person with people. Having that non work conversation is invaluable to stimulate the mind, and we are humans who crave interaction, no matter how introverted we can become.
Leave the work at the desk
Toughest thing to do. Bad day, good day, medium day, most people can make the disconnect for a bit when they leave the office and head home. It is MUCH harder to do that when working from home. You need to find the coping skills to do that…your family needs their space too…we bring enough home with us don’t pull them into the work drama if possible.
Walk Somewhere
I can go for long periods of time at the desk and then get up and move around. However getting out in the air, alone of course right now, is so important to thinking. You lose creativity with the head down for the longer periods when home; get the break in walk around and it will lead to clearer thought. On side note, read this piece from Francis Sanzaro about the power of walking.
Lastly, Do Little Things For Those Around You
If you are out early and back late in a normal routine, you are now in other people’s…families…space probably more than ever. You are the visitor, maybe one disrupting their routines.. Take the time to go a little something for them while you are home and get a few minutes…a snack, a song, a quick game or a conversation. Who knows maybe it will improve relationships if there are issues.
One other thing on the time management side; you now have hours back in your day which you may not have had; you may love it, may hate it, may be ambivalent about it, but this time is a great learning experience for those who look at it that way. The new normal may be scary, but it is a chance to learn about ourselves, our colleagues and how we can be productive. Take the time to take it in and try and extract little things from a world we didn’t expect just a week ago.
Being negative does no one good; especially when work and home are so tightly tied together.
