Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
Speaker 1: new world of work where location and hours are more
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is about how
Speaker 1: to avoid the urge to work on household chores during
Speaker 1: your designated work hours. You aren't Cinderella, and just because
Speaker 1: you're working from home doesn't mean you should structure your
Speaker 1: time to take on the whole household's work. Working from
Speaker 1: home has a number of undeniable benefits, including the fact
Speaker 1: that it often allows complete or near complete control over
Speaker 1: one's immediate work environment. Want a warmer temperature great, Want
Speaker 1: to burn a cinnamon scented candle or paint the walls
Speaker 1: bright pink awesome. However, this control can sometimes have a
Speaker 1: time stealing flip side. When household messes, dirty dishes, and
Speaker 1: unfolded laundry are part of the view from your workstation,
Speaker 1: it can be tempting to take breaks and tackle chores
Speaker 1: through the day. Many people also assume that because they're
Speaker 1: skipping the daily commutant, thus saving time, they should have
Speaker 1: no problem keeping a clean house and getting more chores
Speaker 1: done during the day. If other family members are not
Speaker 1: working from home, they may not mind you turning into Cinderella.
Speaker 1: This temptation seems noble. After all, cleaning and tidying feel productive,
Speaker 1: but it can also undermine your ability to work on
Speaker 1: the things you actually want to get done. When we
Speaker 1: fall prey to the Cinderella effect and spend prime work
Speaker 1: hours flitting back and forth between our desks and other
Speaker 1: household distractions, the result is often a feeling of tiredness
Speaker 1: and dissatisfaction. At the end of the day, we feel
Speaker 1: as though we've been working for hours but haven't gotten
Speaker 1: much done. Psychologists have a term flow for the state
Speaker 1: in which a person is in the zone adequately challenged
Speaker 1: and performing at their best. Distractions prevent us from being
Speaker 1: able to enter a flow state while we work, so
Speaker 1: if you want to perform at your peak during the
Speaker 1: work day, it's best to minimize them. One way to
Speaker 1: come about the Cinderella effect is simply to set up
Speaker 1: your workspace so that messes are out of sight and
Speaker 1: therefore out of mind. This can be as easy as
Speaker 1: closing the door to your office or even setting up
Speaker 1: your desk so that it faces away from key distractor areas.
Speaker 1: Put the laundry elsewhere. If you're working at the kitchen table,
Speaker 1: do not face your sink. My desk faces a window,
Speaker 1: which is great for many reasons, but one of them
Speaker 1: is that I do not see the mess my children
Speaker 1: have created in the house behind me. Clear communication with
Speaker 1: your family or roommates can also be helpful. Set designated
Speaker 1: work hours and make sure the people you live with
Speaker 1: understand that you will not be doing any household chores
Speaker 1: during those hours. Ask them to hold you accountable by
Speaker 1: reminding you of this rule if they see you folding
Speaker 1: laundry at two pm. And reach an understanding with household
Speaker 1: members that just because you're working at home does not
Speaker 1: automatically mean all housework is your job. It is definitely
Speaker 1: not your full time job. You have another job. If
Speaker 1: other household members do not routinely dust the base boards
Speaker 1: in their offices, then this shouldn't automatically be on your
Speaker 1: plate either. You may decide, for practical reasons that it
Speaker 1: makes sense for you to start dinner if other parties commute,
Speaker 1: but then those folks could be responsible for the dishes afterwards.
Speaker 1: Over the long run, it might make sense to outsource
Speaker 1: some housework too. Yep, even if you're working at home.
Speaker 1: That way, if you see a carpet that needs to
Speaker 1: be vacuumed, you might feel a bit more relaxed knowing
Speaker 1: that it isn't your job. The cleaning service will get
Speaker 1: to it when they come tomorrow. Finally, you can counter
Speaker 1: the Cinderella effect by lowering your standards. This will look
Speaker 1: different for each of us. Perhaps you want the kitchen
Speaker 1: tidied every day, but having clothes folded and put away
Speaker 1: at all times this less of a priority. In any case,
Speaker 1: the house will just get dirty again, but you will
Speaker 1: never get that hour back. You don't want to live
Speaker 1: in squalor, but no lived in house ever looks like
Speaker 1: a magazine. I once had my house staged for something
Speaker 1: and the designer remove the waste basket. It's trust me.
Speaker 1: You still need those when you're working from home in
Speaker 1: the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's
Speaker 1: the succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New Corner
Speaker 1: Office is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts,
Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your favorite shows. H