Tips for Productivity

I love being productive and getting things done, whether at home or for work.  I thrive on being efficient and staying on top of things before they get out of control.  However, as much as I naturally love efficiency and productivity, I still have those days {or weeks} in which I just can't find my groove...or stay in it longer than half an hour.  I felt this way as a teacher and I feel it now as a stay-at-home, work-from-home mom of three.  I am often conflicted with how to divide my time between work and parenting, which is why being as efficient as possible is crucial for staying sane and keeping all the balls in the air.

Thus, I have come up with 3 steps for boosting productivity that I think are somewhat obvious, but still quite helpful.

Step 1: Getting rid of distractions

Distractions are a real time suck, as their name implies.  Whether it's noisy co-workers, neighbors, or even your own children {like my daughter asking me right now if I'm choosing to ignore her?}, these distractions interrupt our train of thought and therefore stifle creative thought as we struggle to wrangle our minds back into gear.

So, for those of you who work from home, I can’t emphasize how important it is to set up good boundaries for actually getting work done at home so you still have a place to work and place to relax at home.   For work, it's important to have a good home office, white noise, and general organization.

Once you've protected yourself as much as possible from distraction, you have to discipline yourself to use your time well.  What do you do if you are fresh out of ideas?  Or if you have a great one but can't develop it due to other commitments?  This is where step 2 comes in to play.

Step 2: Getting rid of writer’s (worker’s) block

Productivity Boosters

Getting it all done, and on time, has become increasingly more complicated and therefore challenging.  With the advent of great new technology {I shiver when I think of the pine system of email I logged into for college just 12 years ago} comes a new era of distractions.  Besides the typical office noise we all face, we're distracted by our own gadgetry as well. While I love being productive and crossing tasks off my to-do list, I can always tell when I'm in a mood for distraction by how frequently I refresh my email, Pinterest, blog stats, or Facebook.  I don't think I'm the only one either.  Guarding ourselves from ourselves can be just as difficult as protecting our time from office time sucks, such as seemingly pointless meetings and co-worker chatter.

Thus, in case you are not totally tech-savvy like me {meaning I'm not at all}, here are some productivity boosters you may not be aware of.  I have broken them into several categories: free Firefox add-ons, a free white noise online generator, and some ergonomic products known for efficiency.

First, check out these great Firefox add-ons.

• LeechBlock: a Firefox add-on that allows you to block sites so you can avoid their distraction.
• Customize Google: CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhance Google search results by adding extra information (like links to Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN etc) and removing unwanted information (like ads and spam). All features are optional and easily configured.
• FlashGot: Download all the links, movies and audio clips of a page at the maximum speed with a single click, using the most popular, lightweight and reliable external download managers.
• StatusBar: View and manage downloads from a tidy statusbar - without the download window getting in the way of your web browsing.
• Flashblock: Flashblock is an extension for the Mozilla, Firefox, and Netscape browsers that takes a pessimistic approach to dealing with Macromedia Flash content on a webpage and blocks ALL Flash content from loading. It then leaves placeholders on the webpage that allow you to click to download and then view the Flash content.
• URL fixer: URL Fixer is an extension for Mozilla Firefox that corrects typos in URLs that you enter in the address bar. For example, if you type google.con, it will correct it to google.com (asking first, if you enable confirmation).
• Tab Mix Plus: Tab Mix Plus enhances Firefox's tab browsing capabilities. It includes such features as duplicating tabs, controlling tab focus, tab clicking options, undo closed tabs and windows, plus much more. It also includes a full-featured session manager.
• ScrapBook: Helps you to save Web pages and organize the collection.

And, a final productivity booster for any browser:

• Free White Noise Generator: a free online generator to cover noisy distractions that any browser can use.

If you are like me, you feel drained at the end of the day and struggle to finish your work on time. Here are some tips for helping you reduce the energy drain throughout the day and recover some of your lost energy. Here are some tips to reduce the amount of energy wasted at work and help recover some of your lost productivity.

Sit up straight! Maintaining good, ergonomic typing posture minimized the movement and work required by your muscles and keeps you from wasting energy on strained muscles and a sore back. Start with a good, ergonomic chair that is adjusted to fit your body. Adjust the height so your feet rest firmly on the ground. Make sure you have enough support for your back or add more lumbar support. And lower your arm rests to allow free arm movement while you type or use your mouse. Improving your posture will increase your energy and productivity throughout your day.

Stay Hydrated! Drink more water throughout the day, instead of or at least in addition to coffee. Don’t wait until you feel thirsty, or you will already be dehydrated. Your body and your brain are primarily made up of water; even slight dehydration will decrease your energy and productivity by at least 20%. A  general rule of eight full glasses of water each day is a good place to start.

Try an ergonomic keyboard. Like poor sitting posture, bad arm and hand posture wastes so much energy and places significant strain on your muscles. Ergonomic keyboards are specially designed to help improve hand posture, making your typing more efficient and more comfortable. There are several different styles to choose from. Try several keyboards to find one that fits your hands and feels comfortable as you type.

Try using white noise. Most people lose up to two hours a day from interruptions and distractions. Working to block out these distractions can significantly drain our energy and increase our stress levels. Turn on a personal white noise machine to block out office conversations and work with focused energy.  

Limit Energy-Draining Tasks – We all have to do tasks, or work with people, that leave us feeling drained. Determine what or who they are for you and be deliberate about how you approach them. Find a good time of day for you, when you are not hungry or tired, and spend only 10 or 15 minutes on this work. When you finished, work on something that energizes you.

We all encounter things that drain our energy, but we can minimize this energy loss. Try using a white noise machine to block out office distractions and interruptions. And upgrade to an ergonomic chair that provides the support you need. Small changes can help restore wasted energy and boost your productivity.

I recently posted some basic tips for balancing working from home with small children.  This time, I thought I would offer some tips for actually finding the time at home to work because if you’re anything like me, squeezing in a few hours of work in between meals, preschool/school, snacks, swimming lessons, sports activities, church involvement, and plain old quality family time can be daunting.  You end up feeling like a circus juggler with one too many pins to in the mix. 

Thus, here are some ideas for working in work at home.  I am writing from the perspective of a mother of young children who are still home at least part of the day.  For those of you who have older kids in full-time school, your battle will be to use that time professionally and not just for errands, catching up at home, and personal matters.   

Tips for Finding the Time

• Before they wake up & After they go to bed   If your kids are later risers or you are good in the mornings, it might benefit you to get up before the kids and squeeze in an hour or two.  For some, this means 3 in the morning, so I’m not advising it for all!  However, those quiet hours of the wee morning can be quite productive with a cup of coffee.  In contrast, your kids may be early risers, which hopefully means they go to bed at an earlier time!  Thus, another good block of time is evening, after the kids go to bed.  I know it’s sacred down time, but it might be some of the quietest, most focused time you get during the day.
• During Down Time    An alternative is to work during preschool, nap time, or movie/down time.  Our family has a fairly set schedule I know I can count on for getting some work time in.  One child naps 1-3pm and one usually attends preschool then.  During the holidays like summer, I try to provide a craft or movie for my older, non-napping child to do while I work.  I try to have something quiet that my child likes and can look forward to doing while I work so that she doesn’t have negative associations of my work.  There might be a special toy or puzzle or movie you can save for these times.
• Co-Op  Lastly, you might consider switching off with another stay at home mom.  You would each take turns watching kids so each of you gets some time to yourself.  Even if she doesn’t work from home, she could certainly use some by herself errand time.

Regardless of when you work, distractions are inevitable.  I have been working from home for 3 years now, and from kids being rambunctious to dogs barking to neighborhood sales kids with cookies, there is an abundance of noise.  I can honestly say one of the best investments you can make is a sound machine.  Choose one that suits you and your needs (it can even double for a sleep aid at night!) and use it so you can tune out a distracting world around you.

Finding the time to work from home can seem impossible, especially when you have to tune out distractions.  Try these simple tips for carving out some work time so you can balance home and work life.

Top 5 Favorite {Portable} Products

Here are my favorite portable, and even ergonomic, products.  Why portable, you ask?  Well, if it's good enough to have, it's good enough to have anywhere!  There's no point in loving something and not being able to have it on the road or when staying with friends or family, say for the holidays.

• Travel Sound Machine.  Whether you're struggling to focus at work or just trying to get a good night of sleep on the road, a good sound machine can be just what you need.  I personally love mine for use at home- I both sleep and work form home, so it's handy to have a lightweight, portable machine I can plug in or battery-operate anytime anywhere.  It has proven helpful for our children as well when we're traveling or they share a room.  Like I said,  our travel sound machine is lightweight, very small, has 20 sound options, and comes with easy adapters for any country we can get to.  
• Portable lumbar support.  Once you've found great back support, why not be able to transport it to whatever chair you're using?  Your car, your office chair, your chair at home, an airplane seat, you name it.  Keeping your back in shape and not angry with you is essential.  Thus, having back support literally anywhere you go is priceless for those of us with achey backs.
• iPad bundle.  iPads are awesome until you try to use them for long periods of time- they're just not that ergonomically friendly or comfortable to hold.  They really need a stand of some sort so you don't throw them out of frustration.  Why not make your incredibly portable iPad even better with ergonomically friendly and equally portable accessories such as a carrying case, a mount, and a mini keyboard.
• Wireless mice and keyboards.  Once you're used to a specific keyboard, it's nice to have the advantage of using it all the time and not having to get used to something else while traveling.  Keep your favorite mouse and/or keyboard handy (pun intended) and comfortable wherever you are without the hassle of a cord.
• Mobile stand.  A great mobile desktop you can use from any point in the classroom, conference room, or office.  Okay, okay, so maybe this isn't pocket-sized portability, but for those of us who have ever had to present things or teach from multiple classrooms, this is a fabulous resource for professional presentations and mobile work surfaces.

Portable products like wireless keyboards and travel sound machines can keep you in ergonomic style and comfort no matter where you are!