I get a lot of questions and comments about how do I make it all work between working from home and traveling.  So today I figured I would share what helps me keep my sh*% together while working from home.  However I fully believe these can be applicable to working in the office too – let me show you how.

1. Get Up Early ~

 Look, just because you work from home doesn’t mean y0u necessarily have a “sleep in until noon and stay in my pjs all day” pass.  Real life just doesn’t work like that.  The earlier I’m up the more productive I am.  Fact.  So get up, grab a good cup of coffee, and make a really good breakfast.

2. Plan Your Day The Night Before

 How does this help?  It saves me time when I sit down to start in the morning .  The list is there, I have a plan, I get it done.  also by doing it the night before I can work in tasks I wasn’t able to complete the day before.  Make a list.  Lists are your friends.

3. Have Your Own Space

 Right now in my home I have a beautiful office where I have designed every inch to work for me. (Home posts to come in next few months!) It is amazing how much I accomplish when I go in and shut the door.  When I first started working from home we were living in San Diego.  No Office.  I made the dining room table my desk.  And every night I cleaned up my stuff and it was a dining room again.  Was it ideal? Hell no.  But it worked, I made it work by creating my own space where I could accomplish my projects.  Even if its a chair in the corner next to a window – make it work.

4. Get Out

If you work from home it’s easy to g0 stir crazy.  And lonely.  Honestly I have even turned more into an introvert as I realize how much I can get done.  But that doesn’t stop me from getting out.  I go to the gym, and I love my gym friends! Every day, even when it’s freezing I take the dogs on a 2-3 mile hike.  I try to make it into the city to work from a coffee shop or park at least one day a week.  In fact I am currently sitting at my favorite coffee shop in Boston writing this and enjoying a fabulous latte!  Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you are on house arrest.  Get out and get inspired.

5. No T.V.

Yup, you read right.  No T.V.  your life is so freeing when you let it go.  I would love to get rid of cable, however my husband enjoys the news so we haven’t cut the cord yet.  When he asked if I wanted the 2nd t.v. in my office I was like NO!  That t.v. is currently sitting in the basement.  Don’t get wrapped up in all the crap – record it and set certain times to watch it.  Within time you’ll probably get sick of half your shows and cut them down.  Need background noise? Listen to spotify or pandora, or my personal favorite, download audible and listen to books.  It’s amazing.

6. Complete the Larger Tasks First

Each day when you start try to tackle your largest projects first.  Once those are done take a break (refer back to #4).  When you come back to finish your day it’s almost like a vacation because you fly through your little tasks and before you know it you’ll be high-fiving your dog.

7. Work Weekends

Say what???? Yes, work on the weekends.  I find that weekends are actually some of my most productive times.  I don’t feel the stress of a deadline and I am able to knock out some smaller to-do’s that make my weekday workload a lot easier.  I’m not saying work 5-8 hours, but try putting in an hour or two…it makes a huge difference.  Besides when I travel I definitely utilize weekends to my advantage because it allows me to double up on things I can’t do while I’m gone.  The more I accomplish before I leave on a trip, the more sane I am when I return.

8. Know When to Stop

I know, I know…contrary to #7 you have to figure out when to stop.  Hear me out, when I first started working from home there were nights I was working until 10pm.  When you have everything at your disposal its easy to keep going.  Whereas at the office you turn off the computer at 5pm and head home.  There are still a lot of days I work into the evening but its rare that I’m working until 10pm these days.

All of these tips are pretty easy, and common sense.  However working them all into a smooth running routine takes a little discipline.  Hopefully this helps, and you can find a way to become more productive, creating more time for the fun things you want to do!

XO, Shannon