By Nick Ellis, Editor at The Water Coolest
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Not sure if you’ve taken notice, but the majority of corporate jobs are performed remotely nowadays. Even the most conservative companies that are typically in office work environments have been forced to admit that people can somehow still perform their jobs when not at corporate. I’m guessing just a crazy long ethernet cord from the office?
But while working from home certainly has its perks, it also has its challenges, namely motivation and productivity. How do you avoid waking up hungover and taking your Zoom calls every morning from your bed? How do you push away the temptation to binge-watch Netflix for hours on end, and instead get things done?
Let’s look into some tips that have helped me, and maybe they can help you too.
Keep a routine
Routine is important. Whenever I’d alternate days I’d go into the office and WFH, I’d still get up at the same time, shower, workout, and eat breakfast before work. That way it at least seemed like I had my sh*t together in the AM. Rest assured I most certainly do not.
Now that every day’s seemingly the same and I’m 100% remote, I still TRY to do this, but admittedly it’s hard. However, this is more of a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ post.
Get dressed
They say ‘dress for success’, and in my experience, it has actually worked. Granted I don’t know who tf ‘they’ are in this scenario. On days that I’m sluggish, lounging around in joggers while working, I’ll head to my closet and toss on a pair of jeans and a button up.
Does it seem silly? Absolutely, but something about dressing myself like an actual functioning human instead of a complete slug gives me the mental kick in the *ss to get back to my computer and get things done.
Have a ‘to do’ list
You ever just stare at your computer for a while and then realize twenty minutes eight hours have gone by and you haven’t gotten anything done? Not a great feeling, huh? Although I shouldn’t, and seemingly every therapist on the internet tells you not to, I tie a lot of how I feel at the end of the day to how productive I was at work.
I just feel better when I crushed it out of the park and accomplished a lot that day, and making a to-do list helps me do just that. I can look at the list and see all the items I crossed off, feeling that I didn’t waste my entire day and knowing I got things done. So if you’re staring at your computer, unsure of what to do next, pull up that to-do list and take a swing at bullet number one.
PRO TIP: add items that you’ve already accomplished just to cross them off. Take a sh*t AND create my expense report? Check and check.
Don’t drink
The temptation is real on this one. I love a good happy hour and an ice cold beer as much as anyone, but it’s wise to stay away from that mini fridge during work hours. It’s easy to say, well I don’t have meetings for the rest of the day, so why don’t I crack a cold one while I write out some TPS reports (cover page included). But that, my friend, is a slippery slope, as one can turn into two can turn into five. As anyone that’s been to brunch can tell you.
You can, however, keep that as a motivating factor to work hard throughout the day for a nice little treat at the end. Crush it 8 to 4 on Friday and start that weekend an hour early. You deserve it, baby!
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