In the past few weeks while on business Zoom calls I have witnessed half dressed kids running in front of the camera, cats jumping up on a desk, dogs insisting that it’s time for a walk, loud Disney music as kids have clearly been asked to watch a video and stay quiet while mom or dad has a business meeting, and of course people thinking they’re on mute while they yell at their other household members to be quiet.
So I’m thinking that a lot of business owners are struggling to stay focused during quarantine.
There have been a lot of blogs and videos created lately with tips on how to stay focused while working at home during COVID-19, including the usual tips such as showering and getting dressed before your workday and having a dedicated workspace. These are all great tips for regular working from home when you’re the only one there, but I don’t think they fully anticipated the chaos of our daily lives since the quarantine has put us in the position of multiple family members all on Zoom at the same time, while parents are trying to work and make sure their kids are learning something during virtual school, part of which, at least for younger kids, is being taught by the parents themselves, since our talented teachers have had minimal training on how to teach online.
With that in mind, I reviewed the tips that are being shared right now about working from home, and came up with a list that I believe are the most practical ones during our current semi-organized chaos.
- Try not to go screeching into your workday morning with the rush of an Indy car driver on his final lap. You’ll be much more productive if you try to model the vibe of Matthew McConaughey driving a Lincoln. Start by closing out each workday with a look ahead to your plan for tomorrow so you won’t have to panic with surprises. Keep a running to do list. Personally, I keep mine in an online tool but for those super urgent things I absolutely can’t forget, I still like to use sticky notes attached to the top of my computer so I won’t miss them.
In the morning, get up a little earlier than the rest of the family and try to spend your first 45 minutes without checking an electronic device. Yes this takes discipline because you’re surrounded by them right now, but ease your head into the game. I like to start my day with a sweaty spinning class that wakes up my neurons but you may prefer a nice cup of coffee on the porch, while looking at your car and being thankful you don’t need to put on a suit and get into bumper to bumper traffic. - You can’t possibly concentrate with distractions, so if you haven’t yet purchased a good set of noise cancelling headphones or earbuds, now is a good time. This can be a physical trigger to your family members that when they see mom or dad with the headphones on, they are not to be disturbed unless they have accidentally started a fire or the dog may have something in his mouth that could lead to an emergency vet visit.
- Remind yourself that these few moments of blissful silence will have to end. Go and wake up the kids. Get them started with food and make sure they’re all set for whatever they need to get done that day. If you have created a plan with them the night before, then they’ll be more prepared as well. Some schools and parents are making their elementary school kids wear uniforms, which as severe as it sounds, isn’t a bad idea so they can feel more like they’re in school. Have a plan with your spouse as to who has which shift and even write it down. Consider staggering your own lunch breaks for more coverage.
- Now it’s time for your work. Start your day with a 15 minute virtual huddle with your team and make sure everyone knows their priorities for the day so you can help remove any roadblocks that are getting them stuck. Make sure they have an online “to do” list that you can keep an eye on so things don’t fall through the cracks. There are a lot of great project management tools you can use for this but a shared Google Sheet will do in a pinch. Make sure they know their deadlines and create deadlines for your own tasks as well.
- There are a variety of theories on how to be more productive while actually at your desk. According to Inc Magazine, the most productive people take a 17 minute break every 52 mins. That seems pretty specific. The Pomodoro technique tells us you should take a 5 min break every 25 mins, then a 15 min break after 4 sessions. Find a plan that works best for you but remember that your brain simply cannot stay focused for extended periods of time so either plan on switching tasks for variety, or plan breaks. A break could be as simple as standing up and going outside to breathe fresh air. Try not to make your break a “quick check” of your social media since you may find yourself getting sucked into a vortex of COVID-19 memes and crazy videos that keep you distracted for an hour and you’ll wonder where the day went.
- This is also a good time for us to remember our physical health. Physically, chiropractors tell us that “sitting is the new smoking” and that if we don’t take breaks to stand up and walk around during the day we’ll end up in pain. Ophthalmologists tell us that if we don’t alternate between the close work of staring at our screens and changing to a long distance gaze across the room every few minutes, we’ll end up needing a higher prescription. And your internist will tell you that sitting all day and eating cookies may not be the best thing for your weight. So plan breaks for physical activity, even if it is as simple as taking your next conference call while pacing around the room.
And finally, whether we like to admit it or not, our mental health is suffering these days. When people start doing stupid things like taking to the streets to protest quarantine, you know we’re in trouble mentally. We are a country founded on freedom and we don’t like being told what to do, regardless of the obvious fact that staying at home and not getting close to people will save lives.
So take time to care for your mental health. It might be something simple like bribing yourself to watch a mindless show at the end of the day if you get a certain task done that you’ve been avoiding. And make sure you’re checking in with friends you can’t see. I have a regular meeting invite in my calendar for my best friend and I to connect every couple of weeks. Sometimes we get to chat for an hour and sometimes it’s just 20 or 30 minutes but it helps with our closeness, and sanity, to plan to connect.
And I’ll leave you with one final thought. Science proves that geniuses and millionaires like to “dabble”. They try new things and explore different possibilities. This often leads to the next phase of their business. So leave yourself time to ask crazy “what if” questions about your business. You never know what your quarantine brain might come up with!
Sometimes crisis triggers the genius within. – Bernard Kelvin Clive