My Strategies for Staying Productive in my Home Office

Sitting transfixed in front of your laptop for extended periods of time is just not healthy and isn’t good for our productivity. This is even more of an issue during the pandemic. We’re all working from home and in many cases our normal office routines are on pause. Hence, we are bouncing from one Zoom meeting to another with a conference call or two sandwiched in-between.  First off, the research shows that sitting for extended periods isn’t good for us. Secondly, our productivity will suffer if we don’t take periodic breaks away from the computer as well as changing our time management strategies. Here’s how this NYC Office Organizer has addressed this very issue.

Set a timer – whenever I’m going to be at my desk working on a blog or other marketing activity, I put my timer on the file cabinet on the other side of the room and set it for 30 minutes.  When it goes off, I force myself to get up and go across the room the reset. While I’m up, I do 5 knee raises before getting back to work.

Fill the cup halfway – another trick that works really well especially in the morning is to make only a half a cup of tea. It’s amazing how quickly I’m ready for a refill… the perfect reason to take a short break and make another half cup. While the microwave is doing its thing, I can get greater clarity around social media strategy for the week.

Walk around the block – going outside for a short walk around the block has helped me re-energize and reset my priorities. This has been especially helpful on those days where I have been on 3 or 4 calls or webinars. While staying connected and taking the opportunity to learn additional skills is important, it’s difficult to get any work done when the majority of the day is taken up by these activities.

Mix it up – unlike the pre-pandemic days where there was more of a clear distinction between work and home life, now it’s all wrapped together. There’s more of a need now to address “life issues” during the workday. I have been taking short breaks to unload the dishwasher, clean the bathroom mirror and to disinfect my kitchen counters. All necessary tasks that temporarily shift my focus and give my work brain a break so I can return to my desk with other insights and ideas.

What are you doing to stay productive and healthy? If you need time management or home office organizing suggestions to help you through this unprecedented chapter of our lives, reach out to your NYC Professional Office Organizer today.