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Productivity issues - tips welcomed

9 replies

WorkworkworkworkworkTips · 20/02/2023 15:49

Hi all,

I have just started a new job after mat leave - it's well paid and I should be giving it my all, but I'm massively lacking motivation working from home for most of the week. Looking at other previous threads, it looks like a very common issue regardless of whether it's after mat leave or not.

Does everybody feel the same regardless of whether you enjoy your job?? I was wondering the following:

  1. what sectors people work in and roughly how many hours you spend 'working' vs 'procrastinating'
  2. Whether you have any useful 'visual' tools that help you stay on track? I struggle with organising my life behind a screen and I'm thinking a whiteboard or something above my desk would be helpful, but I'm not sure exactly what

Any tips would be much welcomed, thanks in advance

OP posts:
TaRaDeBumDeAy · 20/02/2023 15:52

My top tip is don't open social media first thing in the morning 😂

commentnotaquestion · 20/02/2023 15:55

Download a web blocker so you can’t get on Mumsnet and other websites where you tend to spend time.

Pomodoro technique

Kanban method for managing tasks - very visual

Get out of the house and go to a cafe

Work in office more?

housemaus · 20/02/2023 19:17

Agree with pomodoro - here: pomofocus.io/. I refer to it as productive skiving - if I'm forced to wait for that 5 minutes 'break', it makes me get things done.

Starting the day with even a 5-10 minute walk outdoors regardless of weather.

No social media or phone use (unless for work) when I first wake up - something about the scrolling destroys my attention span.

Set out a little morning routine - I get out of bed, set coffee brewing, go for my silly little walk, come back, coffee and then when I get to my desk upstairs the very first thing I do every day is start a new to-do list for the day with all my meeting on and anything I didn't get to the day before (helps to have something to physically cross off - a whiteboard is a great idea actually!). That way it gives my brain chance to go 'oh, we're doing the morning routine, must be work time now'.

Try and organise my meetings for afternoon - that way I can get into work in the morning and by afternoon when all I want to do is piss around, I have to focus because I've got a load of people peering at me on Teams.

If I've got loads to focus on and really need the boost, a Flown session helps - flown.com/. This is where you go on a video call with a load of people, set out (vaguely, if needed for confidentiality purposes) what you need to do, and then silently work 'together' for a while before you reflect on whether you've achieved it at the end. Obviously v much depends how possible that is for your job (and there's sometimes a bit of happyclappy motivational quote stuff which isn't for me), but largely it's a godsend for me - it's called 'body doubling' and it helps a lot with procrastinating.

All work for me and my very scrambled egg ADHD brain!

I love my job very much, but I'd say I spend far too much time procrastinating (at work or at home, but obviously easier at home). Thankfully as a workplace we're focused on results, not time worked, so as long as stuff gets done it doesn't matter. But there's a widely-quoted study that said office workers are working on average 3 hours a day - now whether or not that's accurate (can't imagine lawyers on 5-minute billing slots are doing that!) it shows that people are generally procrastinating more than you'd think. It's just more guilt-inducing at home, I think - in the office, you're still there physically if not mentally.

Can you go into the office more at all? I used to love WFH full time but I've found now I go in some of the week I appreciate my WFH days more and get more done, rather than them just stretching out.

WorkworkworkworkworkTips · 20/02/2023 20:59

Thank you so much for these tips, I'm taking all of them on board! The social media and scrolling really is an issue, and I've just transferred my charger to the kitchen.

@housemaus I really appreciate all of this advice - the pm meetings is a great idea as that's when I'm flagging most, and meetings really rally me up and get me motivated again. Just looked up body doubling and wow, this is so effective for me but I didn't know it was an official thing!

  • Web blocker
  • Pomodoro technique
  • Kanban method
  • No social media in the morning
  • Work outside of home
  • Go to office more often
  • Start the day with a walk
  • Set up a morning routine
  • Morning to-do list
  • Work mornings and meetings in pm
  • Flown sessions
  • Body doubling
OP posts:
Thatsnotmybee · 21/02/2023 07:31

Do you have enough to do? I find that if I have too little on my to do list I just don't do it! I need the pressure of a larger (but not overwhelming) task list. I've just started a new job too and it's taking a while to build up a decent workload after the initial induction. Could that be a factor?

WorkworkworkworkworkTips · 21/02/2023 13:51

The pomodoro method is absolutely fabulous- I've achieved more today using that link than I have done most of last week! A couple of outdoor walks today have also helped me concentrate at my desk.

@Thatsnotmybee I think partly, yes- I have lots of big projects to get involved in with quite long term delivery dates, and not knowing where to start doesn't help

OP posts:
Guardup · 21/02/2023 13:55

Following

BabyMomma2021 · 21/02/2023 13:58

I use the time blocking method. So I plan out all my tasks and meetings for the day and allocate a block of time to complete them. I also ensure I plan for breaks, lunch, etc.

Works great for me and keeps me on track during the day

Mabelface · 21/02/2023 14:50

Routine for me! The first hour is permanently blocked out for admin.

Complex tasks are broken down into step by step bites so nothing is overwhelming.

Avoid freezing in a task by asking for help as soon as you hit a barrier. It stops it building up in your head to something enormous when it's actually tiny.

Regular focus breaks. I need to do something physical on these. I'll hang washing up, do a bit of meal prep for the evening, change my bed etc. Stops my legs and brain jiggling!

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