
If you haven’t made the move already, the possibility of working from home may be highly likely in the coming weeks or months. For design and administrative tasks, technology has us covered: a fast computer, decent internet and a coffee machine ☕️ are just about all we need.
Dealing with distractions, however, may be more of an issue, and when your new co-workers are toddlers or teens, your productivity will most certainly be challenged.
Having worked from home for almost eighteen years, I’ve tried, tested, failed or conquered an impressive (or absurd?) number of productivity hacks. In this feature, I’m sharing the top three strategies that have always won out, whether I had babes in arms, tantrum-throwing toddlers or highly-strung high schoolers sharing my space.
Start your day with a Dragon List
Ever heard the term ‘slay your dragons before lunch’? I have no idea where it came from, but it has been my mantra for a number of years. The concept is to deal with the significant issues first – don’t get caught up swatting at the tiny flying bats (the easy targets) if you have some fire-blowing dragons (major tasks) that need slaying. My Dragon List consists of no more than three items – and they need to be important. They’re often the jobs that tend to be on the dull side, but are almost always the tasks that are essential to me (a) getting a project to a stage at which it can be invoiced or (b) avoiding penalties or imprisonment for late tax lodgement 😩. When these jobs have been done, I reward myself with coffee, lunch or a five-minute sketch, before getting back on to the easy tasks.
Practise Pomodoro
The Pomodoro Technique was invented in the early 1990s by Francesco Cirillo. The developer and author named the system ‘Pomodoro’ after the tomato-shaped timer he used to track his work as a uni student. My trusty timer is this shiny apple, and I use it when getting stuck into ‘bite-sized chunks’ of work. 🍏

The Pomodoro Technique helps to train your brain to keep focussed for a short, timed period. I started with twenty minutes, moved to twenty-five and am now proud to be able to concentrate for a whole thirty minutes! 😲😎 A Dragon List task could take four or five ‘bites’, while an ‘inbox clearing session’ is strictly one thirty-minute stint. When the timer rings, I get up out of my chair, head to the kitchen and down a glass of water or prep a cup of tea.
Important note: using your phone as a timer is not a great alternative (unless you have a Pomodoro app that will lock you out of all services). When you’re doing a solid stint of focussed work, your phone should be on airplane mode and face down and in your drawer where you can’t even imagine you heard a notification. Trust me on this one – tried, tested, failed and proven.
Bonus tip: the only time your timer and phone should be within a square metre of each other is if you’re using it as a scrolling screamer. What’s a scrolling screamer? Nothing will jolt you out of a social media scrolling haze like the shrill ringing of an old-school timer. If you want to be productive at home (or work), monitoring your time spent on socials is absolutely essential. (Again, you may have an app for that – use what works best for you.)
Develop a ‘Done List’
For many years, I started my day with a long list of to-dos. I’d get into my office and do just about everything that wasn’t on the list (master procrastinator), before crossing out the day at the top and replacing it with tomorrow. These days I have much more success (and a great deal more satisfaction) by completing a ‘done list’. I’m an expensive-journal-and-fancy-pen person, so my list is strictly analogue, but if you’re a spreadsheet demon, you’ll want a digital version. Keep it simple – date/client/task/time taken – and you’ll soon start to realise how satisfying a genuinely productive day can be. You’ll also have an excellent reference when it comes time to invoice your client or tally your project times.
From our One Question Wednesday survey responses, we know that many of you already work from home. We’d love you to help out your fellow members by sharing YOUR best home office hacks – please feel free to comment below.
Having a home office makes life easier and challenging. The beaut part is I don’t waste time in traffic travelling to an office/work place.
Self discipline is a must. Each morning, following a walk or workout (lots of stuff on YouTube) I travel downstairs and start work at the same time each day. Getting dressed up in full on outfit, make up etc, works for me. I feel like I’m going out and am ready for the day.
During down time or hard times and I have been through a few of those in work and in life, my focus is on whatever solutions or ideas I can come up with that work for me and makes life tolerable. No work coming in? I try to focus on revising and developing work systems, options, plans, de-cluttering my office, desk, whatever.
Isolation is a big one, especially now. Keep in touch with colleagues and friends anyway you can. Emails, Skype, Whatsup. Facebook is an option, but with the current wave of bad news and communication, it doesn’t make me feel good AND, I believe, the important part is to self care and what works best for you.
When it all gets too much, I wear my favourite pj’s, watch fun movies, listen to my favourite music (full blast), whatever helps me feel good. Many of my colleagues out there are aware of my pj Mondays antics:)
Take care an ciao for now
Patricia La Torre
OUTSIDEINSIDE Building Elements
I am a “list” person. If there are multiple tasks to attend to in a day, I will make a list and put them in order of importance. This is not hard. The biggest problem for me is to avoid distractions:
-phone calls and emails- not all have to be answered straight away!
-social media phone notifications-very tempting to check them out as soon as they come
-fridge and pantry- please let me know if there is some locking device that works on timer and can not be overrided
-my dog, who comes under the desk and places his head on my lap asking for some attention. This one is the hardest.
next week’s resolution- total self discipline 😉
Have a good weekend everyone, my plan for the weekend is to have 1 day without talking or hearing about COVID-19. I feel like I need a little break.
I like your strategies, Marzena, and I especially like your plan for the weekend! We should all zip it and have a little break. ☺️
Love the pomodoro technique been using this for years as well.
Here is to a relaxing weekend and positively productive week ahead
Love this Selina! You are a pro 🙂
I am definitely getting myself a shiny apple timer!
I too am an analogue list maker – very reliable and satisfying.
Thanks, Catherine! Send me a pic of your timer when you have it.