Stay productive with these 5 habits

Magnet Me via Unspalsh

Let’s not pretend that we’re productive 100% of the time. We all know we have the same amount of time in a day as Beyonce, but let’s face it - sometimes we just can’t even.

“I’m not a morning person” does this sound familiar to you? (that’s me, btw) Chances are you’ve said it before. You’ve seen multiple articles telling you, “This CEO gets up every day at 5 am,” and you think; maybe you would be a mogul by now if you were an early bird. But don’t start rewinding your alarm just yet. The fact is we have multiple unproductive slumps because, well, we’re human. Social media hasn’t helped one bit with procrastination at our fingertips, but being in a creative field can also make this extra difficult. We can’t just turn that creative tap on and off between 9 and 5 and expect to produce the most revolutionary outcomes regularly. So how do we stop those pre-coffee blank stares or the mindless scrolling through our social media feeds? Here are a few handy tips that might get you back on track.

1. Stop working

Crazy, but hear me out. The reason your mind is wandering is that you’re in a creative rut. Or you might just be bored with whatever you’re working on (which is totally fine, by the way). So don’t force it; step back, take your eyes away for 5 minutes and just stop thinking about it. It’s like turning yourself OFF and ON again, restart that system and let the creative juices flow.

2. Get Moving

Ok, step one isn’t working for you. You got back into that rut. You need to get off your butt and move those legs! Our best ideas always come to us when our body is in movement. This isn’t just an excuse to wander around your workspace; this is science, (think IDEO problem solving). Rather than sitting with our bodies in passive mode, sending the shut-down signal to our brains, there is a direct correlation between creativity and productivity when we get upright. So one way to break out of ‘too-tired-to-do’ routine is to think on our feet for a bit.

Georgia De Lotz via Unsplash

3. Stop distractions

Don’t allow distractions during work - that includes being the distractor yourself. To start, try putting your phone slightly out of reach or turning off Slack notifications. At the same time, you work so you don’t get sidetracked by every witty GIF popping up. Finally, close all the tabs, browsers, and applications you don’t need - you can’t work with a messy desk, so how can you work with a cluttered desktop. So, organise your workspace so there’s less clutter - let “tidy desktop, tidy mind” be your new mantra.

4. Think big

Don’t sweat the small stuff. Sometimes attention to detail is your enemy! Sure, it’s great to say you have it in a job interview, and it’s helpful in a plethora of circumstances. Still, when you’ve been staring at the same project on your screen for ten minutes, thinking, “how can I possibly? There’s just too much,” that’s when you need to step back from the micro and look at the macro. Think about the big picture and ask yourself:

• What is it that I am trying to achieve?

• Do I have a list of priorities I need to set?

• Divide tasks based on importance, not just urgency.

• Are there any pain points or blockers that I can reach out to others for some guidance?

5. Know your workflow

You’re a morning person and want to message me at 6 am - no worries, but don’t expect a reply. Knowing when your productivity is likely at its peak helps others understand your flow. Know when you need in-the-zone time or when you’re ready to collaborate and problem-solve to achieve your best work, utilising your peak productivity times. There is no right or wrong formula for the average person; you’re the only one that can figure it out. Be protective of your workflow; if you know your best time for being creative is in the middle of the day, clear your calendar - don’t schedule any meetings for that time. That’s your focus time. Let that energy carry you throughout the day.

Brooke Cagle via Unsplash

Productivity is about how much you can create and deliver.

These are only five simple ways that you can keep your mind on track. Still, there are so many more out there. Talk to your circle about managing their productivity - sharing is the best way to get personalised suggestions. Don’t be that person that forces themselves up at 5 am only to crash at 9. Gone are the days of bragging about a 12hr day because being ‘busy’ doesn’t mean you’re productive.

Five lessons learnt from working from home with children

When I grew up, I wanted to be an artist, complete with the romantic notion of living in a loft full of canvases, drinking red wine with poets and writers. Alas, my foray into painting at university was less than satisfactory and my creativity took a different path when I discovered gold- and silver-smithing. Tools, gold, gemstones! After becoming a jeweller and working in the industry for several years, my journey took another turn when I decided to become a stay-at-home mum.

For three delightful years, I cooked, cleaned and cared for my son and husband, filling in my spare time with creative hobbies. I began playing with my tools again, and after much urging from family and friends, I started my own business. Over time, I taught myself everything I needed to know as I needed it. While I researched how to run a business, I learnt many lessons on how to run that business with a child, then two children, and now three children...

Five years, and many nappies and sales later, here are five of the lessons I have learnt.

1. Make time instead of finding time

This was a huge mindset shift for me. When I was trying to ‘find’ time, I could only find the odd block of free time. But somehow when I had an appointment booked, it was non-negotiable. When I changed my mindset from hobby to business, I realised I needed to ‘schedule’ in work. If I don’t schedule time to go to the gym, I don’t go. If I schedule in work time, I say no to playdates, ignore the laundry and get to work.

I was told early on that if you give your child ten focused minutes of your time, he or she will give you an hour to yourself. This depends a little on the age and temperament of the child, but I have found that even as toddlers, getting down to my children's level and joining in with them, or simply listening to them fills their cup and they are less likely to even notice that I am now doing my own thing.

Naptimes, nighttime, weekends are all great times to get to work. Depending on the type of work you do, you may be able to work at your laptop while your children play beside you. Think about when you work best. Are you a morning person or a night owl? I know I am fresher in the morning for tasks like writing, while I can do repetitive tasks at night. Schedule time for chores, too. Embrace the flexibility of working from home to create a routine that works for your whole family.

2. Enlist help

I am blessed to have a father-in-law who comes to our house and babysits one day a week. That is my bench day. I have tried working with my children in my workshop, and while it is sweet at first, it almost always ends in disaster. There was the time my toddler dropped a steel block on his toe, which resulted in a trip to emergency to stitch it back together. Or the time another of my little ones drew beautiful pictures all over my professionally printed postcards. Or the time my daughter was playing with my metal ring size gauge, which does make a lovely rattling sound, and which has never been seen again.

If you don’t have the convenience of grandparents, enlist friends for babysitting swaps: you take her child one day, she takes yours the next. The kids get two playdates and you get a whole day of work. Think creatively about other blocks of time you could use to work. My gym offers two-hour crèche sessions, which means I can work out and then write on my laptop in the coffee room before collecting my treasures.

Free up your time in other ways by enlisting help. You may not be ready to hand the reins over to an employee, but perhaps you could hire an intern, get a cleaner, hire a courier to pick up your parcels rather than going to the post office, have your stationary orders delivered instead of picking them up at the store and indulging your paper addiction… Think about your rate of pay as a business owner. Is it worth driving half an hour to pick up that item yourself, or would you be better off paying a ten-dollar delivery fee? Can you hire a bookkeeper, invest in a product photographer or ask for guest articles for your blog to free up your time to do the things that only you can do?

3. Batch your days

When I was working full-time (before there were small humans dependent on me), I answered emails, ordered supplies, posted to social media, did paperwork, did bench work and went to the post office each day. Now, I have themes for each day. It stops me from multitasking and is the best use for my time.

One day might be for emails and ordering, another day is my bench day, another is for scheduling social media and another day for packaging and posting orders. Even if I am interrupted a million times, I know exactly what I am up to that day and there is no time wasted getting out the packing supplies five times a week, or making five trips to the post office.

4. Set boundaries

This applies to both yourself and others. It’s easy to get lost in your workday and forget to make time for your children, too. When your scheduled work time is up, resist the temptation to do just a little bit more and focus on your children instead. Go to the park, take a walk, paint a picture, read them a book, bake with them or do your chores with them. These are the things they will remember. These opportunities are the reason you are working from home.

At first, I felt ‘mama guilt’ whenever I was working, feeling like I should be with my children instead, while with my children I felt guilty that I should be attending to my business. I couldn’t win! Over time, I have realised I need to be where I am in the moment. By scheduling my time I can be present with my children while I am with them and forget about work, and while I am working, I need not feel guilty about expressing my creativity and contributing to our finances.

Setting boundaries for others can be more difficult. I am a people pleaser and try to oblige whatever is requested of me. Oh, you need that tomorrow? Sure, not a problem! Argh! It is your business. You make the rules. Learn to say no. Ask for what you need: the time you need, the money you need, even the help you need from your partner.

 5. Take Sundays off

Your business won’t love you back, but your children will. Early on, I treated my business like a newborn, attending to its every need immediately. Now I realise it is more like a tween. It needs my help, but can exist independently for longer periods of time without my undivided attention. The separation between home life and work life are blurred when you work from home. There is always so much to do on both fronts that it is easy to become overwhelmed.

Several cycles of overachieving followed by burnout have taught me that much of the pressure is of my own design. Everything doesn’t need to be done at once. Give yourself at least one day off a week when you don’t think about work and focus on your family and yourself instead. Reconnect, do self-care, ignore your emails, work on projects for fun with no pressure or financial goals attached to them.

It's not always easy, and I am often asked how I do it all. I think all business owners have a streak of crazy! But the satisfaction of having my children home with me and being able to build a business and watch it grow as they grow has been the best decision I have ever made.

Christina Lowry is a designer and jeweller who creates fine jewellery for creatives. Her work is featured in several Australian galleries, as well as in her online store. Christina fell in love with jewellery making while studying a Bachelor of Fine Art/Visual Art. Each piece is lovingly made by hand in her Brisbane workshop, incorporating precious metals and gemstones and using traditional metalworking techniques. To see more of her work, visit her website, Facebook page, and follow her on Instagram (@christinalowrydesigns).

Photos by Trudi Le Brese Photography