Hello everyone,
I don’t know about anyone else but now that all of my classes are online I am finding it very challenging to organize myself and focus on school. Teachers are constantly changing deadlines, some assignments/exam formats being changed all together. These changes in combination with all that is going on is very stressful to deal with. Due to the fact that my school got a head start in switching all classes to online I have been doing this for about a week and a half now and finally have come up with some tips to focus and get things done! This would apply to those that are working from home as well, as I know that is challenging adjustment. What is all comes down to is discipline and mapping things out for yourself, leaving more time to get things done and less time figuring out how to get it done.
Get yourself ready for the day
My first tip for you all is to actually get ready for the day. I’m not saying you have to be dressed up in any way, but simply changing out of your pajamas into another outfit really changes your overall productivity. You can take it a step further and maybe put on some makeup or do a skin care routine. Getting yourself ready in some way will change your mindset into one that wants to get stuff done rather then lounge around all day.
Get your space ready for the day
In addition to getting yourself ready you want to get the spaces around you ready, that may mean making your bed and giving your room a quick tidy up. Having a space that is clean and positive will put you in the right mindset to get stuff done! Personally when my room is cluttered I find it so much harder to focus. I was always really bad at just waking up and making my bed, but since starting this social distancing period I have made it part of my routine before starting my day. By doing so I already feel accomplished as soon as I wake up, motivating me to continue that throughout the day.
Block out time
Days seem to blend into each other lately, and in the begining I found myself getting things done at random hours of the day. This lead me to spend more time focusing my mind then actually doing the task at hand. I am balancing 6 courses this semester which means that there are constant deadlines that can quickly become overwhelming. I found that I was dedicating the time but not getting enough done. Therefore I made a change and sceduled my day to include a block of time where I would strictly focus on school work. I told myself that from 2-5 I would focus my mind on my assignments and readings and not allow other distractions in my house to lead me astray. Since implementing this rule for myself I have been so much more productive. I dedicate a certain amount of hours to school, then I can use the rest of my day to do other things I want to do.
Now even though I made it a rule to block out time for my school work, the even bigger challenge was being able to focus my mind during that time. I found myself always getting distracted by my phone or by my family members. These are the tips that I found helped me out.
Go to your own space
Working in a common area like your kitchen or living room is never a good idea, even on a good day where no one is home. Your distracted by the tv, food in the kitchen or your family members. Going to a space where you can shut the door and be alone is key. I started doing my work in the kitchen, as I didn’t want to miss out on being with everyone, however I would easily get distracted. After realizing that this was making me the opposite of productive I moved to the usual spot in my room again, shut the door and found it so much easier to zone into what I was working on. This lead me to do higher quality assignments more efficiently as my thoughts weren’t constantly interrupted.
Headphones
I don’t know if this is just me but having headphones in my ears even if I am not listening to music makes it so much easier to focus. This may sound odd but I would give it a try. I kept listening to music in hopes of drowning out the sounds in my house, but found that I couldn’t work and listen to music at the same time. One day I mindlessly paused my music to check something, forgot to turn it back on and then realized I completed a whole paper without losing focus. I thought maybe it was a one time thing but I have been doing it since and have found it to help so much.
Outline and Map Out
Now to tackle the stressful aspect of managing all your deadlines. About a week ago, the thought of doing work seemed like an overwhelming and impossible task, simply because I didn’t know where to start. As days went by and deadlines where looming I realized that sitting and stressing about it was being counterproductive and just adding to the problem. What I did was a grabbed a blank sheet of paper, went to each of my courses and looked through all the course outlines and messages from my teachers to determine what was due and when. I advise you to do this on a blank piece of paper cause you have space to map it all out and organize it by class. I then proceeded to organize deadlines based on their priority and importance. The next step was for me to go into my agenda and transfer all due dates into there and map out when I would complete each thing. By doing so I do not have to spend time figuring out what I’m doing each day, instead I go straight to work during my blocked out time.
Have stretching breaks rather then social media breaks
I think that taking breaks is essential to being productive and remaining focused. When I feel like I need a break I usually go on my phone and scroll through social media, but found that a 5 minute break would turn into a 15 minute break as I would get easily distracted. To avoid this I have been taking breaks to stretch or read a book to avoid getting sucked into the black hole that is social media. This way I stay on task and avoid wasting time. Although this may seem impossible at first I encourage you to give it a try.
I hope that these tips were helpful and allow you to better focus your mind in this challenging times to get things done!
Follow me on instagram! @alittletouchofgold
ALTG 
One response to “TIPS TO FOCUS WHILE WORKING AT HOME”
Excellent advice Laura and much needed during these times. Even though we think we are disciplined it’s amazing how distracted we can get. Following your steps will lead to success for getting things done.
Much appreciated.
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