Follow One Course Until Success
It is easy to fall into the trap of multi-tasking when working from home. Maybe your spouse and kids are there with you, your dog jumps on your lap, and you need to make lunch, right? Some people seem better at multi-tasking than others, but the truth is no one is great at it! You will be significantly more productive if you give each item you are working on 100% of your attention until you are finished. Then move on to the next project and give that 100% of your attention. Have you ever been in the middle of an email and the phone rings? After your phone call, one of your coworkers walks into your office and has a 15-minute conversation? It’s now been 30 minutes and you go back to your email. Most likely you’ll need to rewrite the entire thing because you are in a different state of mind than when you started writing it.
Here are a few tips to be successful at single-tasking:
- Block out time on your calendar for specific activities, such as checking emails, writing blogs or letters, making phone calls, etc. This blocked out time is for you to focus on an activity and it shouldn’t be canceled. Pretend it is a meeting with the most important client on your books; yourself! If something comes up that must take priority, move the meeting never cancel it
- Write a to-do list. When you think of something that needs to be done, write it down and then go immediately back to your current activity
- Don’t hesitate to go on “Do not disturb,” some activities cannot be interrupted
