It's more relevant for more people now than it probably has been in other times in their professional careers, but COVID-19 means remote work for a lot of people. It also means no work for a lot of people too. I've found that a simple tool for me to keep focused is leveraging a TODO list. It's so simple that I think people often overlook the power of a TODO list when you're feeling like you're a bit lost or not making progress.
With your TODO list, the first thing I'd suggest is thinking about a daily routine. Now that you're working remote, or in the unfortunate case out of work, I think it's really important that you keep some sort of daily routine to help give you some guard rails. Think about what things you usually do in the morning. What does your lunch look like? How about the later afternoon and into the evening? What does before bed look like? Thinking through your routine will give you an idea of the things you want to focus on and then give you an idea of how much time you'll need for regular things and how much time you'll have remaining for stuff that can pop up.
The next thing I'd suggest with your TODO list is to get granular. This is especially important in my opinion if you're struggling to feel like you're making progress on anything. You can even write things down like "brush your teeth". It doesn't have to be specific to work and it doesn't have to be anything groundbreaking. You'll find that as you start making progress by checking off small items that suddenly you're accomplishing a lot and a day might have gone from feeling like nothing getting done to fulfilling, or from insurmountable to progress being made! The small steps you can take while working through your TODO list are a great way to remind yourself that you're making progress.
It's also a good opportunity to remind yourself that these are very strange times for many of us. If you're working from home or at home and out of work, these could be very new circumstances for you and not at all like your normal routine. That's okay! Remember the rest of the world is in this together with you.
You should be affording yourself the time to do little things here and there around the house even if you're working remotely. For example, if you hear your washer/dryer go off in the middle of the day, instead of letting that be something that's nagging you in the back of your mind consciously go make the time to take a few minute break and change loads of laundry! There are plenty of unique distractions to be had while working from home, but instead of letting them distract you take control and consciously spend the time on the appropriate things.
A sample TODO list might look like the following:
- AM
- Get the dog outside!
- Feed the dog
- Eat breakfast
- Hygiene routine
- Coffee + read news
- Answer emails
- Work on Project A
- Video meeting 1
- Continue Project A
- Afternoon
- Eat lunch
- Get the dog outside!
- Do the dishes
- Answer emails
- Video meeting 2
- Work on Project B
- Get work schedule planned for tomorrow
- Evening
- Eat dinner
- Get the dog outside!
- Get some exercise!
- Hygiene routine
- Pick-a-chore around the house
- Watch TV/Movie or play a game
- Before Bed
- Hygiene routine
- Read your current book
- Write out your TODO list for tomorrow
You might have read through that and thought that it feels silly to have a line item for something as simple as brushing your teeth or eating a meal. And that's totally normal for some people! You might have adapted really well to your change of environment and you've got little to no issues adjusting. For others, that won't be the case. If you're struggling to feel like you're making progress, staying on track, or if the day seems like you'll never accomplish everything you need to... Take the little wins with very simple things. You'll notice that you'll build momentum for yourself.
A friendly reminder to make sure you take the time to get your TODO list together before the next day! I like doing it right before bed so I can run through what I think my following day will look like.