What to focus on and how to focus on work during Quarantine: 4 ways that really work!

What to focus on and how to focus on work at home: 4 ways that really work!

Here’s the dealio- I am having trouble figuring out what to focus on during this self isolation and I am sure you are too. We unexpectedly have so much unscheduled time on our hands we don’t know what we should focus working on. It’s hard to focus when so many things have changed and our work environment may now include children, pets and partners! This week’s podcast is about figuring all of this out- how to focus and what to focus on!

Online we are getting plenty of good, sound advice: How to Stay mentally and physically healthy - exercise, eat right, keep a schedule- all very important and helpful advice. 

But what do we focus on when we actually figure out how to have dedicated time to work? And I say “work” in air quotes because some of you have little kids you are trying to keep entertained and fed and calm too, while trying to find quiet time to actually work on your work. 

We now have an abundance of unscheduled time on our hands. Our commutes are gone, our quiet time away from the kids is gone, our time at the gym interacting with people is gone. 

So what do we focus on at home when we really need to get work done?

We are 1 week in to self isolation and I already not being diligent enough to follow my own advice of staying off social media except for allocated/scheduled time slots!

My anxiety goes up and then I feel bad about myself because I haven’t done as much as I promised myself I would do to work on my business. It’s a vicious cycle so I wanted to share a few solid strategies that can really help you figure out what to work on and focus on in your business while we are isolated. 

Oh! These strategies all work in concert with one another so the more you use these strategies, the better productivity and better outcomes you will have. But just like everything else in life, it’s really hard to start new habits and it’s ok if you start out trying just one of these strategies. Each of them will give you marked improvements in how and what you get accomplished each time you try them. 

1. Set a timer for 45 minutes and focus on one thing during that time. Why is this important? As humans we always over or underestimate the time we spend on something- time flies by when we are having fun and doing something we enjoy and time drags by when we are doing something we find tedious, right? By setting an old fashioned kitchen timer to 45 minutes we are making sure we stick to this particular task for a preset amount of time- 45 minutes. By being intentional and mindful of what you are doing in your 45 minute session you will not only be more effective and productive, you will feel like you purposely worked on stuff that was important to you. 

Why 45 minutes? Researcher who study our brains have found that we can be effective and focus for about 45 minutes and then we start to lose concentration. After 45 minutes we experience The Law of Diminishing Returns. Simply put, our outcomes and productivity are actually worse after spending 45 minutes on something.  Humans are wired to be able to hyper focus on a task for up to 90 minutes (conveniently, 2 x 45 minute sessions!) If we love what we are working on and are “in the zone”.  

If you have kids at home and it’s hard to find quiet time here is why the 45 minute timer thing is a good idea. It teaches them time management. It teaches them that their parents have jobs to do that require quiet thinking time and it gives kids that opportunity to feel part of a family team if they can work on stuff while you are working on stuff. Figure out 45 minute chores for them to do quietly or time the naps or time the reading a book. Whatever works for your age kid - it’s a good time to foster their skills at self reliance and having family conversations about how we can all help each other. 

Use the 45 minute timer to JUST check emails. Do this only 3 times a day. I could go on and on about this but I won’t. There is so much research out there about time blocking, chunking and how much more effective it is than answering emails continuously, sporadically and reactively all day long. See Tim Ferriss 4 hour work week, written in 2007! 

There are so many reasons to batch out/time block/designate working on emails only that I won’t go into it here. 

I have found this strategy of setting a timer also tricks my brain into getting me to stop procrastinating doing tasks I dread! I can psych myself up to start an arduous task if I know I only have to do it for 45 minutes. Nine times out of ten I get done with it faster than I expected! 

2. During one 45 minute sessions I want you to do nothing but sit quietly and think. 

Here is what I want you to think about: What is one thing that you kept saying to yourself when you were busy working and life was moving along - “if only I had the time to do XYZ, it would make my life so much easier”?  

Did you ever say to yourself “I could sure use an intern to do ABC”? 

What about “When I get a minute I am going to do XYZ”? 

Those are the tasks and projects I want you to complete now that you have more time on your hands. If it helps you to bring a pad and pen with you to brainstorm- that’s great. Writing all the ideas down in one place prevents them from swirling around in your head, taking up valuable mental real estate. 

I want you to spend time now on setting up systems, habits and/or programs in place so when business picks up again you have made it easier for yourself to succeed. 

My task to get accomplished is to set up my Mint App on my phone and to finally get around to setting up my QuickBooks account to do my invoicing. I am horrible at apps and setting up spreadsheets so I have delayed and procrastinated and never set it up. I kept putting it off. I knew it would make my business run smoother and tax time easier but I never got around to it. Now I am working on it in a 45 minute chunk every few days while isolating so when this is over and business ramps up- which I believe it will- I will have it in place and ready to use! 

3. Set up good sleep hygiene even if you have young children or pets who need attention! Then set up equitable division of household chores and responsibilities. 

Good sleep hygiene is exactly what it sounds like- consistent 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. How in the heck can I get good sleep And/or good quality work time if I have small kids at home? If you have kids at home here is something that worked for my family when my kids were little and both of us worked full-time. We talked about and set up a plan for alternating nights we each got to sleep uninterrupted. It really works if you both agree up front to the idea! 

Here’s how it works- Each of you get every other night where you get to sleep a solid 6-8 hours without getting up with the kids in the middle of the night OR the morning. That way, one of you is always rested and grateful for the sleep and both of you aren’t tired and frustrated. 

This works with diaper duty, walks to the park too! Whatever you two want to work out for your family unit is open for negotiation! 

Oh and here’s something not to forget! Be sure you tell the children what your new game plan is so they understand what is happening on your family team to let mommy and daddy or mommy and mommy or daddy and daddy get good sleep! They can learn good sleep hygiene while this quarantine is happening too. 

Here’s a wrinkle I didn’t expect to hear from a bright, successful woman who took my Healthy, Wealthy & Wise workshop. She said she could not do that plan because helping with the children while she took a bath or worked from home was “Not my husband’s strong suit”.  Take a breath Kathy. Ok- well that is just not acceptable. You are equal partners who have equal responsibility for parenting and helping the family unit run smoothly and peacefully during this uncertain time. Each of you have equally important roles in the family and right now- each parent needs to step up and help run the household so you can both stay mentally healthy and maintain your jobs and businesses. Have a conversation with your partner and make a list of all the chores and responsibilities that need to get done every day and then go down the list and mark down which chores you each like doing, don’t mind doing and dread doing and work out an equitable system. 

In my house at the time we had kids at home and both worked full time, we figured out I did the laundry and my husband didn’t mind folding the clothes. I liked to plan the meals and buy the groceries and both of us liked being in the kitchen making dinner and we both dreaded clean up. Figure out what will work equitably in your house and work together to make it a sustainable situation. 

So a quick recap thus far

1. Set your timer to do tasks for only 45 minutes. 

2. Spend 1 of those 45 minute session deciding what you want to work on for your job or business that you never had the time to work on. Make a list of tasks, projects, ideas you want to execute in the next 2 weeks or so. 

3. Set up good sleep hygiene and equitable family chores. 

Here’s my 4th piece of strategy that works in concert with the other 3. 

4.   You are going to sit and think about how you can solve one problem you are having in your work life right now during this one 45 minute session. This is a proven, effective business strategy for you to practice that helps you feel purposeful and productive in your business, career and work. This strategy works during a quarantine and it works in the future when life gets back to “normal” and we start checking our devices 24/7. 

Right now we are full of anxiety and our brains are working overtime to handle the new stressors in our personal and work life. How do I deal with all the family members at home? How do I make money?  How to take care of loved ones? How do we all stay healthy physically and mentally? How do I work remotely for an uncertain amount of time? 

So here is what I suggest you do now for your business:

Set that damn timer for 45 minutes. You probably already know of SEVERAL problems or concerns you wish you could fix- right? I know I do. Pick one. 

Sit and think about how to problem solve that concern for 45 minutes. 

Research is coming out that supports the idea of business people intentionally spending time  “just thinking”. Sitting still and thinking quietly with no interruptions or distractions is necessary for us to effectively problem solve, to be creative, to come up with new ideas and concepts. 

That’s why we come up with the best ideas in the shower! We have no distractions, we aren’t being interrupted and we allow our brains to wander. Voila! We come up with great ideas or awesome ways to solve a problem, right? 

So setting 45 minutes aside to focus on resolving a business issue is a good business strategy. 

Don’t think of this as wasted time that you should be using to “do” something. You are doing something! You are being productive for these 45 minutes because you are being proactive about what you are going to do with this time you have intentionally set aside today. 

If it helps you to bring a pad and pen with you to write down ideas that pop in your head- that’s good. Writing down the ways you can take action steps is critical to making this a viable plan you can execute in another 45 minute session. 

Do NOT bring your computer or your device. 

This is time purposely designated- PROACTIVELY - to solving/ resolving/ figuring out a solution to a specific problem. During your 45 minutes resolve just one unresolved issue so you can actually cross it off your list! 

Here are issues facing entrepreneurs right now that need 45 minutes to resolve:

Client communications need to be altered/updated in this time of uncertainty. Create templates for each of your typical email scenarios so you don’t have to compose emails from scratch every time.

Website updated to include online offerings now that brick and mortar is not viable 

Negotiation strategy with vendor, client, customer, venue, employee, freelancer 

Updated household budget due to reduction in income- what expenses can we reduce or eliminate? 

Strategy for getting new clients, customers, revenue stream 

Here is the beauty of this strategy: At the end of each day if you only find one 45 minute chunk of time to think about work - you will have proactively and purposely worked on something that mattered to you right now. 

At the end of the day we want to feel like we spent our time and energy on what matters to us right now. 

During this time of uncertainty- you can control little chunks of time in your day. 

And you can control how your family unit works as a team to make this easier and more calm and more meaningful for each other. 

I hope you found this podcast helpful. Feel free to email me or reach out to me any time with questions! 

Let’s make it a great week.