Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Find your balance
After nearly a year of working from home, it’s a struggle to avoid distractions. Here’s how to stay focused.
The main idea when beating household distractions is to act like you’re working from your office.
We’re nearing a year since the mass exodus from working in the office to working from home, which for many was a new frontier. For some, working from home was a productivity boon, eliminating commute time and minimizing office distractions, such as noisy open spaces and drive-by meetings. For others, it proved more difficult if they thrived on collaborative interaction with others or found themselves suddenly becoming a full-time teacher for children doing remote learning.
But now, as the novelty wears off and the virtual meetings drag on, the pull toward distraction can grow stronger. In a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit called “In Search of Lost Focus: The Engine of Distributed Work,” some of the top work-from-home distractions were the temptation to relax at 28%, household-related chores at 25%, and the need to respond to immediate demands from others, such as family, roommates and pets, at 22%.
Our brains weren’t designed to constantly focus. The office environment organically supports that reality with natural breaks as you walk to meetings and have informal chats with colleagues. Besides, there’s a physical separation between where you do most of your work and where you do most of your life. When you are in the office, the emphasis is largely on your job. And when you are at home, it’s time to relax, take care of personal items and interact with family and friends.
If you find yourself getting distracted as the coronavirus drags on and fatigue intensifies, these strategies can help you regain your focus and your productive spark.
Make time for relaxation
In my work as a time management coach, I’ve seen that people who get tempted into relaxation activities during the day — for instance, chatting with friends, reading articles or doing other nonwork activities in between meetings — are usually also feeling like they’re “working all the time.” From the time they wake up until when they go to bed, they have a vague feeling that they should be working, and they dip in and out of work throughout the day.
To increase your motivation to make the most of your time between meetings, as well as distancing yourself from doing personal activities, treat your workdays as you would if you were going to the office. Set a start time and an end time. Then give yourself permission to enjoy guilt-free relaxation before and after those times. During the day, schedule breaks similar to the amount of time you would take breaks if you were in the office. You also can take short times intermittently to stretch your legs or get a cup of coffee. I recommend you prioritize breaks, even when you’re working from home.
Another step I take to distinguish relaxation time from focus time is I get more dressed up during my work hours, then transition to comfy lounge clothes when I’ve officially wrapped up my workday.
Similarly, I work from my home office while I’m working, and then once I’m “off,” I transition to the living room couch if I have personal things to do on my computer.
Knowing you’ll have clear time for relaxation helps motivate you not to sneak it in throughout the day. And subtle cues of when you’re on and off the clock help you stay in sync.
Designate chore hours
Before, when most people went to the office, it wasn’t quite as disruptive if you left your home in disarray. You saw the dishes in the sink for a moment, just as you were heading out the door. That basket overflowing with laundry left your mind as soon as you started your commute.
But now that you’re stuck within the confines of your home, you frequently see those dirty dishes in the sink. Likely, you also add to the pile as you busily tackle work responsibilities. So, you’re making your home more messy — and you’re noticing this mess more and feeling a more powerful pull to handle these chores. To help avoid the siren song of tidying up, do your housework in the hours before and after your work time.
As someone who has worked from home for over 15 years, one of my longtime practices is to have the house in order — making my bed, putting all wayward clothes in the laundry basket and loading the dishwasher — before I start work.
This way, as I focus on work, I don’t have the sight of a mess nagging at me.
The one time where doing daytime chores could help your productivity is if you really need a mental break. Doing a chore in five minutes or less — and then going back to work — can give you an opportunity to both clear your head and get something done around the house.
Carve out personal time
If you’re working from home and find yourself taking on the roles of cook, teacher, cleaner, IT support, dog walker or counselor, it may be time to take some proactive steps to manage these reactive activities.
If the people in your household are mostly adults or older children, talk to them to establish what you can take on and what they can handle on their own.
Furthermore, touch base the night before your workday to ensure everyone’s concerns are addressed around schedules, technology and individual responsibilities. If certain family members can make their own lunch, do their own laundry and clean up part of the house, bring up these shifts in chores. To clarify everything, you can create a rotational schedule.
Keep in mind, you will be able to prepare for most areas of your nonwork life in advance, but there will be times — if you have small children and pets at home — when you need to help immediately.
Finally, for other tasks that take longer but are not true emergencies, set boundaries around when you are available for longer conversations or to help with bigger items before or after your work hours. As much as you plan, some unavoidable needs will arise. However, by taking a proactive approach and setting the appropriate boundaries, you can minimize the amount of time you lose to distractions during your workday.
The main idea when beating household distractions is to act like you’re working from your office. You’ll find you’re able to get more done during the day and more thoroughly enjoy your relaxing time, especially without a computer and messy house calling out to you.