#WFH Tip 5: Wrap it up

I'm basically paraphrasing @theproductivityzone here, but there are legions of us who have learned this through experience, so I expect we're all somewhat repetitive:

Pick a time, and stop. As mentioned in previous posts, it can be easy to let our work demands overtake other life considerations. But you are only as good to your work, your clients, your vocation, as you permit yourself to be. Work / life balance. Regenerate and recharge.

I take a minute or two to make sure I've wrapped up loose threads, including my desk. It can be easy to flee the day's work flow, but your next day will be immeasurably improved by making sure you've prepped your work space for the following day, rather than leaving it to be tackled in the morning. Just one or two minutes at the end of the day of looking at what needs following up works much better for me than trying to sort it out the following morning. It also gives me the peace of mind to detach.

And really: detach. If you are in full or semi work mode all the time, you're not at your best. I will check in to my phone occasionally and acknowledge receipt of an issue (VAs are never entirely shut down). But 95% of issues can not only wait till the following day, but are more successfully tackled then.

Let go. Turn it off. It will be there, and handled more efficiently, tomorrow.

#WFH Tip 4: Mid-day step-away

Back in my corporate days, I was always perturbed at the number of people who would chain themselves to their desks from arrival to departure. I plead guilty - I remember those days early on when it hit me late in the afternoon that I'd been too absorbed to "wash my hands" for hours. Through both third person observation and personal experience, I eventually made it a mandatory rule to take at least a 20 minute break from my desk, leave all my devices behind (it can be done) and depart the building: to get lunch, run an errand, or just take a walk around the block. I even managed to convince a few of my supervisors to do the same, with universal gratitude.

With the transference of office duties to personal spaces, that impetus may become even stronger. Resist it: give your brain the rest it needs. Now that I work from home, I schedule my working hours to allow me at least 30 minutes sometime between 12:30 and 2:30. Now I usually keep my phone with me: in my field, clients expect immediate access during much of the day, emergencies may occur, and the best VAs should be able to respond immediately or nearly so. But I still allot myself that time to turn off, focus on something else - great time to check in on that social media you've had blocked.

Your work flow, and your overall well being, are only improved if you don't stretch them too thin. Pace yourself.

#WFH Tip 3: Rock your day

Plot your day out to your personal strengths. As a morning person and with the energy of my workout to boost me, mornings are when I try to do content. Afternoons, when my brain is a little bit sluggish, are for routine admin tasks.

Time saving tip: set up your preferred browser to automatically open your most important tabs.

If you're going to maintain a healthy work/life balance - and the present circumstances make it even more vital - you want to get through your work in an organized, concentrated manner, to increase and improve your non-work time. Which means minimizing distractions, at least the digital kind. Which for me means blocking social media, including on devices. Turn off any notifications you may have set up. It will all be there.

Get up every thirty to forty-five minutes. Set a timer. Really. It's easy to get lost in the demands of the workflow and only realizing the physical toll after the fact. This includes if you’re on long virtual calls, which should be treated just as if they were in-person events: at least a ten minute break every fifty minutes. (This is a routine I've instituted for several clients that has become very popular, especially as virtual conference calls are now the norm). If you have children or pets, interact with them. If not, run your vacuum, run the dishwasher, unload it, start a load of laundry, dust something, make pastry or stock or prep something for dinner. All these interim but vital physical reliefs are one of the reasons I've loved working virtually for the last five years. This is multi tasking at its most useful, for all sides.

Virtual conference call tip: these can be an optimal time to do a little stretching, especially if it's a large call and you don't have to have your video on. It's easy to have your concentration on the call while you give your work-related joints the relief they need.

.