WEBVTT - Kick work-from-home distractions

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>This week, we're talking about remote work and how people

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<v Speaker 1>can make it work for them. Today's tip is about

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<v Speaker 1>how to keep from getting distracted when you work from home.

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<v Speaker 1>I recently received a question from a Before Breakfast listener

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<v Speaker 1>named Mary. She wrote that I work from my home

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<v Speaker 1>office a spare bedroom, and I'm on the road traveling

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<v Speaker 1>when not in my office, which is two to three

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<v Speaker 1>times a month. I know I am not as productive

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<v Speaker 1>as I can be when home, as I am constantly

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<v Speaker 1>distracted by things in my home laundry, dishes, eating. I

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<v Speaker 1>find myself working a really long work day into the

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<v Speaker 1>evenings to get my daily work complete. She asked if

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<v Speaker 1>I could suggest a structure to help with this problem.

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<v Speaker 1>The first thing I want to say is that distractions

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<v Speaker 1>happen everywhere. This is not a unique problem to working

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<v Speaker 1>from home. In offices, people get distracted by other people's

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<v Speaker 1>phone calls and by chatty colleagues. They waste time doing

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<v Speaker 1>things that look productive even if they're not. Indeed, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>wager that the distractions of offices far outweigh the distractions

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<v Speaker 1>of laundry. In any case, I'd like to point out

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<v Speaker 1>that Mary's work gets done. The distractions means she just

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<v Speaker 1>cuts into personal and family time, rather than failing to

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<v Speaker 1>deliver on what she said she'd do. I think is

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<v Speaker 1>this is the case for most people who work remotely,

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<v Speaker 1>So my advice on dealing with distractions is given in

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<v Speaker 1>the spirit of helping people who do work remotely maintain

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<v Speaker 1>a good work life balance, rather than as a general

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<v Speaker 1>concern that people who work from home are slacking. My

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<v Speaker 1>first suggestion is to be proactive about your schedule. Map

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<v Speaker 1>out your intentions for the day. What work tasks do

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<v Speaker 1>you need to tackle, when do you plan to do them.

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<v Speaker 1>Distractions often happen when we're figuring out what to do next.

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<v Speaker 1>If you know what you plan to do next, then

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<v Speaker 1>this isn't as big a problem. The schedule mapping can

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<v Speaker 1>also help you figure out when you're done for the day.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've done what you inside yourself to do for

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<v Speaker 1>any given day, then you are done. You can call

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<v Speaker 1>it quits and go do whatever you want, laundry or

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<v Speaker 1>anything else. It also might help to create a schedule

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<v Speaker 1>for the home tasks that tend to distract you. Then

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<v Speaker 1>you can assign these tasks to set times. Possibly has

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<v Speaker 1>consciously chosen breaks during the day. So, for instance, if

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<v Speaker 1>you wanted to do laundry on Mondays and Thursdays, you

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<v Speaker 1>might put in a load right before starting work, then

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<v Speaker 1>move it to the dryer at your mid morning break.

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<v Speaker 1>Then you could put it away during a planned lunch break.

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<v Speaker 1>As for that lunch break, if you find your breaks

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<v Speaker 1>wind up longer than intended because of distractions, that might

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<v Speaker 1>help to set an alarm for thirty minutes. Feel free

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<v Speaker 1>to eat, read, putter around the kitchen, but once the

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<v Speaker 1>alarm goes off, it's back to work. I also recommend

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<v Speaker 1>shutting your home office door if you can't see the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of the house. Sometimes it's easier to pretend it

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't exist, which honestly is probably the best policy. People

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<v Speaker 1>who work from home are working. Just because you work

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<v Speaker 1>from home doesn't automatically mean all household chores are now

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<v Speaker 1>your responsibility or that they should be done during the

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<v Speaker 1>time that you are working from home. And you can

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<v Speaker 1>give the same answer to anyone who thinks they're entitled

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<v Speaker 1>to your time because you are working from home. No,

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<v Speaker 1>I cannot walk your dog no, I cannot wait for

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<v Speaker 1>your delivery person. I will be working then, no need

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<v Speaker 1>to explain anymore. Spend your work hours focused on work

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<v Speaker 1>and you can get done earlier. Then you can use

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<v Speaker 1>that time for whatever you want. Listeners, if you work

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<v Speaker 1>from home, how do you make sure you don't get

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<v Speaker 1>distracted by household chores? Feel free to email me your

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<v Speaker 1>suggestions at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.