productivity

I have a theory.

Your work space is either set up in such a way as to invite you in and support you in what you are doing, or it is somewhere else on the spectrum up to and including compelling you to run screaming from the building!

It has been documented that many of us will spend at least one hour a day looking for things.

If you set up your office (or wherever you work) to work FOR you (rather than AGAINST you), you can eliminate most of that time.

Schedule time to prepare for meetings and conferences

Have you ever looked at your calendar and discovered you had a meeting scheduled and you just weren’t ready for it? What happened?

Most likely, you knew you had work to do to get ready for the meeting, but you didn’t set aside the time to do that work. Probably you didn’t even look when you were scheduling the meeting itself to make sure you actually had time available to do any preparation required.

Get out a piece of paper and write “Could Do” at the top.

I like “could-do” lists because I find “to-do” lists too dictatorial.

They make me feel pressured and antsy and reluctant and even belligerent — like a pouting high schooler who’s being harassed to do her homework.

But the words “could do” put me in a place of choice.

I could do the laundry, or I could walk around in dirty, smelly clothes.

I have a choice.

There’s no question that working from home has its perks — free coffee on tap, no commute (which contributes to a lower carbon footprint!), and the freedom of working in your pajamas all day long if you really want to.

However, if you’re anything like me; owner of a needy cat, comic book fiend, Netflix addict, then you know that working from home can tempt even the biggest workaholic. With these distractions silently gnawing at your productivity throughout the day, how the heck are you supposed to get any work done?