Productive at Home

Courtesy of mrlovenstein.com

A few months ago, I was sitting in the office daydreaming of working from home someday. Little did I know my wish was 2020’s command. The thought of working from home always brought a big smile to my face. I imagined waking up and not having to rush out the door for my 45-minute commute.

I often thought of all the money I would save brewing my coffee at home without the temptation of Starbucks on my back. Most of all I envisioned no more office politics and being able to focus on work with minimal distractions. Essentially, I would be making all the rules on how I tackled work and on my terms. Well the reality of that was not quite how I pictured it.

Working from home easily provided new obstacles that I had no idea were waiting for me to experience. Having the freedom to start my day when I wanted created a disruption in my morning routine. I was brewing coffee when I was supposed to be working. I was on social media when I had emails to respond to. When I was bored with a tedious task, I took naps instead of following through. All because who was gonna check me boo!

I had to check my damn self and easily learned that freedom plus lack of accountability was not it. I ended up shaming myself for not being as productive as I could have or vice versa on the days when I work endlessly. It turns out working from home does prove to be more productive. I just had no direction with my time, and at first it was hard finding the right groove. I have nearly perfected my daily routine by implementing a task list and setting blocks of time for specific items.

Two of the major benefits was I developed a higher level of self-discipline and I am more attentive of when I need to focus on self-care rather than work. Like they say we want to “Work Smarter and Not Harder”.

The best part is I can now brew as many cups of coffee I want. ::Inserts a Smile::