Interruptions when working from home are very different from those the workplace. Interruptions are distracting, costly and annoying. On average, one person interrupting you can take 10 minutes away from your productivity. It may seem that the interruption is only for a few minutes, but by the time you have stopped what you are doing. Interrupted your thought process to understand what it is the person is asking of you. Answer the question correctly. Then go back and pick up your thought process takes about 10 minutes.
Not to mention your attitude to the interruptions. Suppose you are deeply engrossed in your task. In that case, it is difficult to tell your facial features to be pleasant, smile and be accommodating. (Resting Bitch face comes to mind). Then you must explain to the person who has interrupted you-you are deeply engrossed in a task. Once you have been interrupted, your mind then focuses some of its attention on the question or purpose of the original interruption. Now you have two trains of thought, your task at hand and that of the question asked of you. It’s called attention residue.
In an office, there are strategies you can put in place.
Tell people you are unavailable during certain times of the day
Only open emails at set times
Create boundaries you and your colleagues’ respect
Turn your phone off
Interruptions working from Home.
All brilliant strategies, but what if you are working from Home? How do you deal with those interruptions? With Covid-19, many of us have changed our working style and moved our office to the dining room table or the spare room. We have had to manage family commitments and our bosses’ constant demands.
The strategies we had for interruptions in the office are no longer valid at Home. It is difficult to tell your loved ones you are unavailable for a chat from 9 am to 5 pm. They can physically see you. Not only that, but they can also reach out their hands and touch you. To them, you are there, in person. As a result, able to be spoken to and answer the question. Interrupted, able to answer just one question, for example, what are we having for dinner. To your family and friends, being in lockdown means you are constantly accessible.
Interruptions when working from home
How have I coped with these interruptions? Not well to start with, a plan was needed to deal with interruptions. My home office, entitled ‘The Studio’, is the converted garage. Suddenly I am available with my family and friends who want to speak to me. When in the office, they respected my time and rarely called or popped in. When working from home, suddenly, the rules seem to have been thrown out of the window. So new rules had to be set in place.
The new rules are:
Work starts at 9 am, and I will finish at 5-6 pm depending on the tasks at hand
I will take a break in the morning at 10.30 for 15 minutes and will talk and discuss whatever is needed
Lunch will be at 1 pm for 30 minutes, and again, I will chat and discuss whatever.
I will take a break at 3.15 for 15 minutes
Work will finish at 5-6 pm depending on the task
What I learnt about writing my memoirs
I needed to set new boundaries when working from home
Just because someone is at home, it doesn’t mean they are not working
Another person’s break is not my break
Writing My Memoirs – 31 Day Challenge – Video and Blog Posts
My Hour of Power has become an essential part of the daily preparation for my business development. On a Sunday, it has become a unique ritual, referred to as ‘Prep for Monday’. It is a ritual that I have created and worked on for the last few years. It started when I had four additional staff members, and I needed to know what work to allocate each member. Like all people, each member of my staff had unique skills, and I wanted to ensure that they worked to their full potential.
NB – I got the term Hour of Power from Tony Robins and one of his programmes on life achievements
What is my Hour of Power or Prep for Monday?
My prep for Monday is straightforward. On a Sunday, at about 4 pm, I will check all my incoming emails to view any new tasks. I will also look at my company to-do list and ensuring that all company requirements are achieved. Then all client requests are scheduled promptly and within the deadlines set by my clients. This is very different from my to-do list, the jobs I must do daily. It is easier to think of my company as one of my clients.
I will then check our task management system to confirm that all the tasks for the previous week had been completed. New tasks are allocated. The process only takes about an hour but has become a Sunday ritual.
What results from Prep for Monday?
This one hour prep on a Sunday has saved two or three hours on a Monday. I understand the business needs for the week ahead and a priority of tasks for the week ahead. it also means that our task management system is up to date and accurate.
Task Management System
We use a task management system called Asana. It is an online software package that offers a paid version and a free version. I currently use the free version and find it invaluable. Asana helps me remember all tasks clients need us to complete and the status of each task. It also offers team collaboration on projects, so as a manager, I can view the status of a task without wasting time chasing. It means that I must ‘let go’ of the control I have over tasks and trust my team to do the job asked of them. Like all systems, it is only as good as the data entered and valuable if everyone uses it the same way. I run my business in Asana.
Sunday Emails
I will rarely send out emails on a Sunday during my Prep for Monday hour, my hour of power. Emails will be schedule to be sent on Monday. Communication is the key to keeping my clients happy and informed.
What I learnt about writing my memoirs
My hour of power on a Sunday will save me hours on a Monday
I need to trust my staff to do the tasks I have asked of them
Any project management/ task organisation software package is only as good as the data entered
Writing My Memoirs – 31 Day Challenge – Video and Blog Posts
My personality has been called into account during my video recordings over the last few days. I have pondered all the advice I’ve received on recording my videos, writing my blog posts, and getting my personality across. The momentous decision that I’ve made is that I’m going to ignore most of it. I have taken some on board, and I will put some into action. But overall, I need to be true to myself. Because if I am not true to myself when people work with me, they could not work with the true me. When people work with me, I want them to understand that I have a passion for what I do. Not everybody likes you, not everybody will want to work with you, that’s fine. I want to enjoy the work I do and the people I work with.
My clients and My Personality
I spend many hours making sure that my clients’ books of their memoirs are perfect for them. I’ll probably spend more time than I should. However, I want the product of the book to be the best it can be. I want them to enjoy looking at their book. I want them to pick up that book and remember what happened in the past.
As a result, I have to be true to myself in the videos and my writing narrative. I don’t have 100 people working for me; I don’t have a massive studio or sound equipment. All I have is a camera, a computer and my passion.
I know my videos will be raw. There will be some incorrect words, they’ll be some good points as well, but you know what, it’s me. I don’t understand why it has taken me 14 days to realise this. When I started, I just wanted everything to be perfect. You look at YouTube, and there are some fantastic videos up there. They look professional; they feel professional, and the people spend hours making sure these videos have a look and feel. My job isn’t about making videos. My job is about recording memoirs and helping people remember the past. Assisting people to remember what they have overcome and how far they have come. My job is about creating books. It’s about making some beautiful art and helping my clients create memories. If I can get my message from being authentic and being me, I have done my job.
Finding My Personality
Working with me
If you want to work with me and get your memoirs published, drop me a line, call me or email me. I will always reply, but what you see in the videos is the person I am. It’s the person I like, and it’s the person I want to be.
What I learnt about writing my memoirs
I need to be true to myself to be believable
You don’t need fancy equipment to get your passion across
It’s the message that is important, and those people who work with me know that
Writing My Memoirs – 31 Day Challenge – Video and Blog Posts
Taking a holiday is one of life’s little luxuries. It doesn’t matter if the holiday is overseas, a staycation or visiting family. The change of scenery, activity, and thought process is essential for your well-being. There will be hours thinking of potential exotic destinations and planning and preparing for the trip by shopping for new clothes, suntan cream or a new set of skis. Then discussions on various activities you could do. Possibly researching online, the list could be endless! All thoughts that take you away from thinking about work.
The worry and fear
If you are running your own business, you look after a business or have people reporting to you, the thought of a holiday can be traumatic. There is the amount of work you must do to prepare for the holiday. Upon returning to the office after the holiday and the long list of to-dos. Added to this, an entrepreneur is always working, looking for new opportunities, as mentioned previously. As a result, their mind is never really resting.
Walking away from work for a few days has benefits of both mental and physical health. It is vital that everyone rest, recharge the batteries, and refresh the mind. Taking that step aside, you will get a new perspective on what you are doing and why. Your subconscious is allowed time to consider thoughts you have stored. Business plans and goals you have planned but may have forgotten can resurface. The mind takes the time to ‘ponder’ previous thoughts and often makes enhanced decisions.
My Business
I have been running my business since 2002, and I work very hard. A 60-hour week is not unusual. However, it is always a shock when I add up the hours I work. I love my job, and when you enjoy doing something, the time rarely seems like work. Taking breaks for me is imperative. Every bank holiday is a total rest day for me. The business is closed from 21 December and won’t open again until 2 January. However, breaks during the year are also necessary.
Without breaks, your mind will continue to think about nothing but the business. You lose friends, and your family life will be affected. When I started my business, I worked all the hours I could. I put everything into my business. I have even cancelled a holiday due to work commitments. Dinner dates with friends and weekends away often got cancelled at short notice. My business was my only focus.
The Intervention – Taking a Holiday
I had two close friends who did ‘an intervention’. I had agreed to go away for the weekend but cancelled at the last minute. My friends were getting annoyed that I was always cancelling our plans. In the end, they both turned up at my house, telling me that this weekend is for friends and rest. We spent the weekend laughing, going out on short trips and meals at a local pub. Without realising it, this break was what I needed, a break from my thinking process. I needed time to let my mind think of something else and allow my subconscious time to work on the problem. When I returned to work on Monday, my mind was fresh, and I was relaxed. The issue my client was concerned about was resolved, and we were both pleased with the outcome.
Holiday in Mallorca
From that experience, I learnt I need to take breaks. That my family and friends also deserved my time, but I needed them. They became my sanity check. I could discuss issues with them, and they offered a new perspective. My friends, Pippa and Karen, are great and continued to tell me when I worked too hard and too long. Sometimes, it isn’t easy to see that you have given everything up to complete the task at hand when you are in the middle of a job.
What I learnt about writing my memoirs
Taking breaks from work is essential for your well-being, both mentally and physically
Friends and family are supportive if you let them
Your subconscious mind needs time to think and give you the correct answers to any problem
Writing My Memoirs – 31 Day Challenge – Video and Blog Posts
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