When I first started working from home in April of 2019 I had such a hard time because part of my problem was I was just coming off of a toxic work environment, in addition to a very full schedule. At the time, not only was I working my 9 to 5 job, but it was also in the midst of starting this business since January 2018. I had a lot of rest (and recovery) that I needed to go through, in addition to a lot of work that also needed to happen.

I recall working all the time (even when I left my full time job). I remember trying to get myself out of bed every morning and having a really hard time changing out of pajamas into real clothes because who was I going to see that day? I went back-and-forth as far as the time that I would be waking up to what time of day I started working, and then what time of day I stopped working. I was juggling a lot of things at the same time, and even though I feel like I am an organized individual, there were times where I definitely dropped the ball on a lot of things! I had to create systems for myself in order to stay organized, and to stay on top of my deadlines for my clients.

I finally hired a couple of contractors to help me with my business. I think that's really what helped me offload a lot of the busy work, so that I could really hone in on my work from home schedule. It wasn't until I was able to move out of my smaller apartment into a larger apartment where I really felt like I was able to release a lot of the anxiety and stress that had built up over the years from working full time in nonprofits.

I say all of that to say, I know what it's like to have a schedule that is full and sleeping less than 6 hours a night consistently. I don’t know what it’s like to have a baby, but I often think it’s similar to starting a business -- this business is MY baby! My brain is nonstop 24/7 constantly thinking about my business. So sometimes it is really hard to turn it off. Especially in conversations with friends, I have a hard time figuring out what else to talk about! Again, it wasn't until I moved into a larger apartment where I had a dedicated office space when I felt that I was basically getting successful and efficient use of my work schedule.

1. GIVE YOURSELF A LOT OF GRACE: It took me between 10 months to 1 year in order for me to figure out and create a habit for working from home. Sometimes, it might take longer when you’re figuring out your routine. So I want to encourage you to keep trying to create a good habit, so that you can rely on it. Habits typically take two to three weeks to set in, and we need to remember that we are in this for the long haul. One thing to note is we have different seasons of life, and so what may work in one season of life may not work for others. For example, Winter habits might not work during the Summertime. I especially know this because I had a one-bedroom apartment that did not have Central A/C. In the summertime it was miserable to try to get any kind of work done in the afternoon. So during the summertime I had to change my schedule around so that I was working early in the morning, and then late at night instead of during the day because I would certainly lose productivity when it was humid and hot.

2. HAVE A DEDICATED WORKING SPACE: This piece of advice will actually go a long way. Pick a spot to create a dedicated working space. If you do have a separate room where you can create an office - make sure you design your space to be pleasing to your eyes. There’s something about wanting to be there that will help! If you don’t have a dedicated office, pull out a card table, find a corner in the living room or bedroom. The idea here is to trick your brain into thinking you are “going to work.” Your brain will know every time you go to that area, you’re headed to work! I like watching Jon Acuff’s IG stories where he has his morning coffee walking into his office playing music -- that gets him in the mood to get into work! That is so helpful! For him a mindset shift going from breakfast, or early morning with the family, into his day of work. Having these types of transitions will really help your brain get into “work mode” or “focus mode”.

3. PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH: It is no surprise that productivity is going to go a long way when you protect your mental health. Human beings are emotional creatures whether or not we want to admit that. So, creating spaces of time during the day for you to unplug, and step away from the computer and your work is going to be key. It’s especially important to give your eyes a break from screens during this time. How I do this is I have alarms set up on my phone to 1) take a morning break; 2) take an afternoon break; 3) an alarm that stops me from working at the end of the day. Now this doesn't always work 100% of the time because sometimes requests come through from clients where I need to shift my focus to get something else done, when I felt like I could be off for the day. It's also important to recognize what is priority, and what can wait until tomorrow. During this particular season a lot of the requests that are coming through are tax related, and so those are certainly moved up on the priority list and everything else gets moved down.

To be honest it's not until recently where I really felt like protecting my mental health was becoming more and more of a priority. I felt for many years that I was really trying to keep up with the day-to-day work of my full time job. Before that I was going to grad school while working full-time, and then for latter years of my professional career I was starting a business. It’s been nonstop, so yes - mental health is now a priority!

4. CREATE A SOLID MORNING ROUTINE: I really honed this in. Which was very key for me as far as developing good habit. I used an app to help keep me on track and get into the groove of my morning routine. Here’s what it looks like:

1. Make bed - I don’t even wait until I get out of bed anymore. I start straightening the sheets when my alarm goes off.

2. Wash face - This might be surprising, but I didn’t have a habit of washing my face every morning!

3. Brush teeth & floss - Again, another solid habit to create - that your Dentist will thank you for!

4. Make breakfast - Breakfast is my absolute favorite meal of the day… I could go without dinner, but breakfast - no way!

5. USE A TASK OR PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOL: I use and absolutely LOVE Asana! I won’t say much more about this, because I have a whole YouTube video below that you can watch!