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October 2, 2017 0 Comments

How to Establish a Work From Home Routine

When you decide to work from home, either from a traditional job or stay at home mom role, there are bound to be some adjustments.

Getting into a new schedule requires a few steps, but it’s worth it to establish a routine that works for you and your family. Read along for tips on establishing a work from home routine that invites productivity and flexibility.

Figure out the differences

It’s important to ask yourself this question: What will need to change since you’re no longer going to the office, or being a stay at home mom?  You might still be parenting from home, but if you’re also working, things will still be a bit different.

If you’re now working from home, things are bound to change in the family schedule.  Maybe you can no longer participate in carpool duties daily, or maybe you’re wanting to free your schedule from 3-4pm to pick up your kids from school.  Additionally, things like meal prep, meetings with friends, and workouts need to be considered. If this fit into your day a certain way before, it might be best to just try to keep it. You might have far more flexibility, but it still requires that you figure out where it all fits into your new workday.

Answer the questions

There are more questions to answer to establish your routine! What will remain consistent? Maybe you’ll still do dinner at the same time and take your kids to soccer in the evening, but you’ll ask your children’s friends to handle carpool.

Also look at and examine: What will be changing based on family schedules, freelance projects starting and ending, time with friends, and so on.  Once you know what will change and what will stay the same, you can begin to create a daily schedule.

Focus on the goal

Whatever your reason for a work from home job, focus on this goal as you begin your new routine.  Are you looking for more flexibility in your life?  Do you dislike commuting very much?  Do you simply want more time with your family?  Or did you just fall into a job that happened to be home based?

Either way, you should work on establishing a goal for your work from home job.  It’s easier to begin – and keep to – a routine that sticks if you’re focused on a goal.  When things are a bit tough schedule-wise in the beginning as you readjust, remember that you get more time to attend your children’s events, or meet a friend for coffee, if those are your goals.

Keep track

Log your progress! Keep track of how you’re sticking to your new routine and schedule.  When you’re able to do something on your list of goals, or you maintain your weekly schedule, take note.

This also allows you to see where you may have over or under booked yourself. Make space for changes! This is an adjustment period, and it will take some time to get into the flow of a home based career.

It’s a big change, whether you worked before or not. Many people believe that working from home is simply easy, and that’s not always the case!  You may actually be juggling more demands now, however sweet it may be to have more flexibility.

Remember why you got into this type of work, praise yourself for staying on track, and make adjustments as you and your family needs to, and you will establish a productive routine in no time!

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April 10, 2017 0 Comments

4 Ways to Plan Relaxation

Sometimes we assume that since we work from home, relaxation and time off shouldn’t be a priority, but this couldn’t be further from the truth! Whether we work from home or in an office, it’s important to practice self-care and take time for ourselves.  According to HuffingtonPost.com, ”there are studies to show that stress is comparable to other risk factors that we traditionally think of as major, like hypertension, poor diet and lack of exercise.”  It’s clearly very important to relax from time to time!

While you can always schedule a massage after hours or go on vacation, this type of relaxation is meant to be a few hours out of your day to truly recharge.  Burnout is a real thing, and it’s important to take stock of stress before it takes hold.

Read along for some best tips to ensure that your scheduled relaxation is a priority, and you’re able to reap the maximum benefits of it.

Get it on the schedule

Whether your idea of relaxation is a spa massage, facial, or a few hours out in nature, be sure that it gets on the schedule.  Spontaneous relaxation is always appreciated, but when we don’t schedule something, it’s more than likely that it will get skipped.

Figure out how you want to spend your day (or several hours) of relaxation and pencil it in! This also tells your family that you will be unavailable during that time.

Take time off

Now that your relaxation time is on the schedule, it’s time to take time off from work.  You could schedule your time away for a weekend or after work hours, but there are benefits to taking time off during the workweek as well.

Ensure that your employer(s) is noted about your absence, and work ahead a bit so that work isn’t a stressor.

Take time for fun

Even if you can’t take regular relaxation breaks, fun can also be very invigorating and relaxing! Book a lunch date with a friend, schedule a picnic in the park, or do something non-traditionally “relaxing.”  Getting out of the normal routine and taking a break outside the home can do wonders for stress levels.

Get a plan in place

A plan is a must! If you’re going to take a day or a few hours for yourself, it will be important to ensure that other things are handled. This is especially true if you’re able to take your time during the week!

For kids, pets, and anything else that may come up, create a game plan. Of course, emergencies aren’t always avoidable, but this will ensure that your mind is focused on your time of relaxation when it comes.  Set up a play date, hire a pet sitter, and enjoy your time!

Relaxing is a very key component to health and wellness, and it allows us to be better at home, work, with our friends, and in our communities.

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