HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL WORK-AT-HOME DAY

IF YOU DREAM ABOUT WORKING AT HOME, MAKE SURE YOU KNOW ABOUT ALL THE TOOLS AND TRICKS TO MAKE FOR A SUCCESSFUL WORK-AT-HOME DAY.

How To Have A Successful Work-At-Home Day

By: Kel Amstutz


Working at home. It’s the American dream. I mean there are literally so many benefits …

• You can earn a good living without the daily commute …
• You can work in your pajamas and bare feet if you want …
• When that movie comes out in the theater that you've been dying to see, you can go and possibly even avoid the crowds ... 
• You can turn your music up loud and dance like nobody's watching, if that’s what gets your creative juices flowing …
• You can be there when your kids get home from school … catch up with your friends over coffee in the middle of the day … and never get behind on the laundry again.

Working at home can be everything you have ever wanted it to be …

• Until you realize working at home means you have your kids under foot, household chores that are never “out of sight, out of mind,” friends and family who don’t quite “get it” that you actually have work to do. 
• Oh … and no boss or coworkers whose very presence helps to keep you on track.

But there is a little-known way you can do all of these things while still getting your work done.

The secret is discipline.

Fortunately, developing discipline isn’t as hard as you might think. 

Even better, you can trick yourself into being disciplined by developing a few helpful, positive habits.

Before we get to the habits, though, let’s talk about your work environment.

Set Up a Designated Workspace

With today’s technology, you can work from anywhere. 

• You can work out on your deck … 
• in the breakfast nook … 
• in front of the fireplace … 
• at the library … 
• or at the local coffee shop. 

 And, if you don’t need access to the Internet, you have even more options.
You’re not tied to your desk, and that’s a great thing. 

But you should still have a workspace. 

And I recommend you start out each day working from that space.

When you do, two things will happen. 

1. Sitting down to your workspace will become a trigger. 
2. It will quickly get you into the mindset of, “Now is the time to work.” It will also get your family used to the notion that you have work to do, and when you’re in your workspace, that’s what you’re doing.

This doesn’t mean you can’t spend time working in all those other wonderful spaces. It just means you’ll have a go-to space you can retreat to, if you need it … and your mindset will be primed for productivity when you get there.

Post Your Work Hours

Think about your average day. 

• What are the hours when you do your best work? 
• What are your other commitments during the day? 

Based on the answers, establish a daily work schedule, and then post your hours above your desk. If your schedule or commitments change week to week, you can update your posted hours weekly or even daily.
This is another trick that serves a dual purpose. Your family can see your working hours, and they’ll realize they should hold their interruptions until a better time. And, it serves as a reminder to you when you’re working and when you’re not working (which is just as important!).

Have a Do-Not-Disturb Signal

I have a blue piece of paper I put up outside of my office door when I really want to get into the writing zone and when interruptions would likely be extra-annoying.

If the blue "sign" is up, it signals my kids to either wait, or take questions to their dad instead of me. And it let's my hubby know to hold off on starting a new conversation with me.

Just make sure you’re not always in do-not-disturb mode, otherwise the signal loses its impact.

Okay, so you’ve got a go-to workspace ,and you’ve done what you can to cut down on interruptions … at least from your family.

The next step toward doing great work at home is to develop a few easy habits that will put you in a prime headspace for both creativity and productivity.

Easy Habit #1: Put the House in Order BEFORE you start your work-day

We all like to have a home that’s clean and inviting. When you work outside your home, you can put it in order and come home to a clean house. That’s less true when you work at home, because you’re actively living in your home all the time. Which means more opportunity to make little messes.

The second you’re working on a project and you hit a moment of resistance or uncertainty, all those little messes will become easy distractions. After all, you feel productive when you’re cleaning up, and you find it hard to focus when you know there are dishes on the counter …or in the sink …

This avoidance-by-cleaning phenomenon is something I’ve heard about from more writers than I can count. 

So, eliminate the temptation.

In the morning, I get up a little earlier than my day begins, before my family is up and moving just to spend 20 to 30 minutes cleaning up the house. I make sure the dishes are clean and/or put away, dust or sweep the floor or rotate the laundry … whatever you need to do to put your house in a state that won’t pull you away from your work for the day. You can do this in the evening, after dinner, and even enlist the whole family to tidy up together.

Then throughout the day, when you take a break to make yourself a snack or work out, take five minutes to tidy up when you’re done. Do this consistently and you won’t be able to turn to cleaning when you want to avoid work, because things will already be neat and tidy.

 Easy Habit #2: Get Dressed for Work … Most Days

Yes, one of the fun things about working from home is being able to work in your pajamas.  But as a writer, you want to present yourself as a professional. And that starts with looking like a professional in your own eyes.

So, most days, get dressed for work. You don’t have to be fancy, just presentable. Imagine you have a Zoom call scheduled, and make sure you look ready for that, and you’ll be good to go.

If you really feel like you’re missing out, not working in your pjs, make your casual Friday into a pajama day and enjoy the best of both worlds.

 

Easy Habit #3: Take Breaks

When you work full-time for someone else, you get at least two 10-minute breaks and a half-hour for lunch. Treat yourself at least that well when you work at home.

It’s even better if you base your breaks on your ideal focus time — that’s how long you can really focus before you start to get antsy or your eyes start to glaze over. (For me, it’s 40 minutes.) Work for that amount of time and then take a quick five-minute break to do something physical, creative, or fun.

You could do a quick Tabata workout. You could sit and breathe deeply for five minutes. You could dance or read a few pages of your book, or catch up on Facebook. Whatever. Just do something that refreshes you — and keep it to just five minutes.

Then work for another block of time. And repeat.

Easy Habit #4: Develop a Morning Routine That Primes You for Work

It’s tempting — so tempting — when you work from home to grab a mug of coffee as soon as you wake up and head straight to your desk. After all, you have things to do, so you might as well get started.

I’ve found my day goes much better in terms of productivity and creativity if I take some time with my family and to myself in the morning. I chat with my girls as I help them get ready for school and then I spend some time cleaning up before I get into my workday. When I do this, I’m really awake and at my best when I start writing.

 

Easy Habit #5: Have a Close-of-Day Routine

Just like you want to prime yourself for work time, you also want to give yourself clear signals that work is done for the day and you can relax and have a little fun without work worries cluttering your mind.

A close-of-day routine can be simple. 

• Look through your email one last time. 
• Close out the programs on your computer (this is especially important if you use your computer for leisure activities, too). 
• Tidy up your desk. 
• And finish up by making your to-do list for the next day.

One of the biggest frustrations writers have, once they have goals set, is that they’re always busy with work.

The reason you want to be a freelancer, in part, is because it gives you more time to focus on the things you love. 

It’s important not to lose sight of that. 

Be sure to schedule time for fun things during each day.

Make time to do things with friends and family. 

And, when you take days off — whether that’s on the weekend or during the week — make sure you indulge in whatever relaxes or excites you.

Follow these five habits and you’ll find it really is possible to work from home without giving up your work-life balance.

MEET YOUR WRITING GOALS BY KEEPING PROMISES TO YOURSELF

KEEPING THE PROMISES YOU MAKE TO YOURSELF IS A POWERFUL TOOL TO HELP YOU REACH YOUR WRITING GOALS AND BOOST YOUR SELF-WORTH. 

Meet Your Writing Goals by Keeping Promises to Yourself

By: Kel Amstutz

Promises.

They are easy to make... but harder to keep. Especially when they are to yourself.

I mean... it doesn't sound that hard... right?  You make a promise to yourself... and you keep it. Is there really anything more to it than that?

Well... for anyone who has made a promise or promises to themselves and NOT kept them....then you know what kind of struggle you can face.  And more often than not, the things that really trip you up and halt your overall success are not even that obvious.

But, keeping the promises you make to yourself is a really POWERFUL tool that helps you reach your writing goals and boosts your self-worth.

As we continue to go at light speed towards the second half of our year, right now is the perfect time to learn the SECRET RECIPE to help you keep the most important promises of all - the ones to yourself.

When you are armed with this knowledge, you can review your goals and use your promises to stay on task and on track with what you want in your writer's life.

Why are the promises you make to yourself so important?

When life's demands come along, the promises you have made to yourself are often the first ones to fall by the wayside.  You make one excuse... then another... or even worse, you just pretend they aren't even important.

But, this shouldn't be the case at all. A promise to yourself is just as important as any of the others that you make. 

Making and keeping promises is a test of your integrity.

Integrity is doing the right thing in all circumstances, even when no one is watching. In that light, promises to yourself are the ultimate test of your integrity.  They're a measure of the value that you place on your word and your commitments.

The easiest and best way to understand WHY your promises are essential is to think about how you feel when someone breaks a promise they made to you.

You feel disappointed... hurt... betrayed, right. You probably had to process a painful message- that you weren't important enough to keep a promise to.

You send that same powerful and painful message every time you don't keep a commitment to yourself.

By not keeping a promise to yourself, you:

Go against your values of being honest and acting with integrity. Compromise your trust in yourself to keep your word and follow through. Diminish your self-worth and importance.

I know.. it's a lot, right.

You Can Reverse The Negative Toll of Broken Promises

But, you can reverse the negative toll of unkempt promises when you keep the commitments that you make to yourself.

Knowing that you can rely on yourself again to keep these promises to yourself feels great. And, when you start keeping these promises, that is when you will start to see big changes in your progress toward your overall goals.

You will begin to create a self-perpetuating cycle of success.  Keeping your promises to yourself leads to accomplishments, which helps to encourage you to keep more of your promises to yourself. The possibilities are endless in this cycle.

Instead of going against your values and integrity, you are creating a perfect alignment between your words, intentions, and actions. This lets you work with strength and persistence.

You will also find it easier to identify potential problems and weaknesses within yourself and your situations. In turn, it becomes easier to overcome things like resistance and procrastination.

Developing integrity toward yourself also spreads to the world around you. As you trust yourself more, others will begin to trust in you, and you will create positive conditions that support you in achieving your goals.

Making your own promises a priority helps you decide what is important. Your productivity increases, because it is easier to eliminate distractions and improve your focus.

Instead of distrusting yourself, you build up your faith and confidence.  You become a happier person, as you know that you have the power and the ability to make your life better.

Why Do You Break Your Promises?

There is a very surprising reason why we don't keep our own promises... besides not valuing ourselves.

You may think that telling others about your commitment will benefit you in helping you keep your promises to yourself. It's really counter-intuitive though, but turns out that this is often where the problem lies.

By telling others about your intention to do something... it makes you feel as good as when you actually handle the intention... which reduces your motivation to take action and may be why you are not getting things done...and breaking promises to yourself.

In researching this theory, I came acrossed the Self-Completion Theory (Robert Wicklund and Richard Gollwitzer, 1982) and they explain this peculiarity of human behavior in depth. When people have goals relating to their identities and how they perceive themselves, they take part in activities to prove that they are what and who they believe they are. For example, a good parent, an artist, or a writer...

Research shows that our sense of identity completeness - proving who we say we are - increases when we have an audience. Just stating that you intention helps fulfill this sense of identity. And often, that's enough to leave you feeling satisfied... at least temporarily.

So you goals fall to the wayside and you stop before you actually start.

How Do You Guarantee You'll Become a Promise Keeper? 

Now we go back to the Secret Sauce. If you read the blog often... you know that I always find the secret sauce in things! 

The secret sauce recipe for you to succeed requires three (3) things:

1. Realize promises to yourself are IMPORTANT and WORTHY.
2. Make your promises for the RIGHT REASONS.
3. Have a plan when you make your promise and be PURPOSEFUL in your accountability.

When you don't make your promises for the right reasons you become the victim of self-completion's pitfalls.  Make promises to yourself because you find them valuable and you can see how following through will transform your life and make it better.  Don't make promises just because you feel like you should. 

Here's an Example:

Let's say you want to write every day.  Ask yourself what your reasons are for wanting to do this. Is it because this is what other writers do?  Does that mean you should think it's the right thing to do?  Or, do you just genuinely want to use this method to improve your writing and your skills?  If your answer is the second one, you are much more likely to keep your commitments.

Now, I want you to get very specific about how you want this commitment to help you. What aspect of your writing do you want to improve on... Headlines? Storytelling? Grammar?  This step helps you refine your focus.

Once you understand your promise's value and what you specifically hope to gain from it, you can start to develop an action plan and decide how and when you will go about it.

Make sure that you are clear on what the payoff is and how it contributes to your overall goals.


Next I want you to put this RECIPE INTO ACTION. 

Use the steps below as a ROADMAP to help you move forward:

• Make your promises for the RIGHT REASONS.
• Write each promise down. If you don't, it's easy to convince yourself you never really made the promise in the first place. Writing it down seals your commitment.
• Use your promise to take small, but meaningful steps.
• Plan how you will fulfill this promise. Schedule time to work on it, make sure you have the resources you need, set reminders, and know what you you'll do in each session.
• Make it clear and measurable. Know what you're committing to and how it will help you reach your goals and change your life.
• Revisit your promise regularly. You can use a tracking sheet to chart your progress or write about it regularly in your journal. When you do, you can anticipate and work out problems quickly, so you stay on track. 

Accountability. 

After learning about how self-completion sabotages your promise keeping, it's normal to think the best way to keep your promise is to avoid telling anyone about it.

If you are wondering whether you should tell others, the answer is still YES. Choose people that you can trust. Share your commitment and the details of your plans with them, and then ask them to check your progress regularly and keep you accountable for what you've promised.

Enjoy and repeat.  Once you've fulfilled your promise, bask in the satisfaction of having kept it, and repeat these same steps. Before long, you will find our that you are knocking out your goals, changing your life, and creating a cycle of success.

It is amazingly rewarding to change your behavior in ways that also improve your life. It feels even better to know that you can rely on yourself to be your own promise keeper.



There's just a little over half a year left to get going and complete the goals that you set for 2020. But it's not too late. Decide to start with small, but meaningful actions that you can take that will help you begin to reach your goals. Promise yourself (in a meaningful way) that you will stick with them.  When you do, the life and career you have dreamed of and planned for will become a reality.




What strategies do you use to help you keep your promises? 

How do these strategies help you?

Share them in the comments section below.  I would love to hear from you!