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

Laptops are amazing tools! They are compact and flexible, easy to take anywhere. But with all their benefits, laptops are not designed to be ergonomic. The guidelines for ergonomics call for a separated computer screen and keyboard. Using a laptop creates a trade-off between poor neck-head posture and poor hand-wrist posture. At your home or office, you can add ergonomic tools to improvement comfort; but you can also make your laptop more ergonomic while you travel.

Here are some tips to maximize your comfort and make your laptop more ergonomic:

In Your Office

1. Raise your screen. If you don’t have a docking station, place your laptop on a desk or surface with the screen at eye level. This will allow for ergonomic posture for your neck and shoulders. If your desk seems too low, add a monitor shelf to achieve greater height.
2. Use a separate keyboard. The ergonomically-designed, mini keyboards are a great choice. Most mini keyboards and many ergonomic mice are wireless; no messing with cables every time you sit down.
3. Try a keyboard tray that allows for a negative-tilt, away from your body. The tray will provide the flexibility to maintain a neutral typing posture where the strain on your muscles is minimized. It also opens up your desk space for other uses.

On The Road

1. Find a good chair. Look for a comfortable chair where you can lean back slightly, and where you back is well supported. If you need more support in you lower back, try a rolled towel or sweatshirt, or bring your own portable lumbar support.
2. Place your laptop on your lap. This is the ergonomic compromise when using a laptop – good wrist posture or good neck posture? You are normally better off protecting the small muscles in your hands and wrists. With the computer on your lap, you can maintain a neutral wrist posture; find a good angle where you can keep your wrists straight and your hands and arms relaxed.
3. Angle your laptop screen up as much as possible to minimize the strain on your neck. Just remember that in this position you will need to take frequent breaks to stretch your neck and shoulders.

While many of us enjoy the flexibility of laptops, they also increase concerns about ergonomics. For better comfort and faster typing, bring your own. Setting up your main work space with a mini keyboard or other  ergonomic keyboard and use an adjustable keyboard tray maximize your ergonomic posture. These guidelines can help you make good ergonomic choices while at home or on the road.

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.