Making sure working from home works

  • By Monika Kristofferson Office Efficiency
  • Friday, February 27, 2015 4:52pm
  • Business

Working from home can be both a blessing and a curse.

There are many benefits with a home office such as no commute, flexible hours, being your own boss and dressing comfortably. But there are downsides to working from home too. You must be very disciplined and learn how to deal with, or ignore, distractions, chores and the lure of leaving the office to go do something else. Here are just a few of the strategies that I have found helpful to keep me on track.

Prepare the night before. One of the simplest and most powerful tools has been to review my calendar for the next day and then create my to do list. When I write out a manageable to do list for the next day, the night before, there is no pressure to perform because I am simply writing a list.

Embrace breaks. I don’t believe it’s necessary to be productive by sitting at my computer for eight hours straight. I think that is a recipe for zoning out, burning out and losing focus. The Pomodoro Technique was developed in the late ‘80s by Francesco Cirillo. The strategy is to work with focus for 25 minute intervals followed by short, three to five minute, breaks.

I like to get up, move around and knock out a phone call or even a household chore. I enjoy having a few minutes to take care of a mindless chore like folding a load of towels or loading the dishwasher to clear my head. When I’m done working for the day, my house is clean too. Plus, I’m wearing a Fitbit now and this strategy gives me an opportunity to log some more steps.

Set a timer. When I’m working and I’m dragging my feet, a timer works wonders to light a fire under myself. A timer forces me to work faster and helps me feel like the project isn’t going to last forever. My favorite, free, online timer can be found at www.e.ggtimer.com.

Share availability. I have found it beneficial to let people know when I will respond to them by leaving my return call times on my voicemail. This eases people’s minds so they don’t feel like they have to call back again; they can trust when I will call them back. It’s also a good strategy to let people know how much time you have available for coffee so meetings don’t take up more of your work day than you were counting on.

Turn off tones. When you really need to focus, turn off those interruptions. You can’t leave them off all day, but it sure helps when you are working on a critical task that has a due date or a financial consequence associated with it.

Embrace flexibility. I am working really hard at sticking to a schedule in my office and with my clients during the day so I can have my evenings and weekends for some downtime and life balance. But, if I can attend an event for my kids during the day and make up for it by working in the evening across the hallway from them, I see that as one of the benefits of working from home.

Monika Kristofferson is a professional organizer and productivity consultant who owns Efficient Organization NW in Lake Stevens. Reach her at 425-220-8905 or monika@efficientorganizationnw.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.