Physical presence doesn’t always equate to mental presence. You could be sitting at your desk but more preoccupied about a home repair than the assignment at hand, or you could be at the kitchen table thinking more about the proposal you have to finish than the people eating dinner with you. That’s why transitions from work mode to personal mode are so essential. And you have to put especially intentional effort into these transitions when you work from home, because you don’t have the natural change-of-context cues.
From my experience as a time management coach, here are some ways to be less distracted and more present, whether you’re working or enjoying personal time.
Mr. Rogers knew how to do transitions right. Many generations of children knew that when he was singing his iconic “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” changing his sweater, and then putting on different shoes that it was the start of their time together.
You don’t need to sing when you start work (unless you really want to), and you don’t need to switch sweaters. But you can have certain things that you do in the same way each morning—even if you work from home. Maybe it’s putting your dishes in the dishwasher, turning off the lights that may be on around the house, getting a cup of coffee, and then sitting down at your computer. Or maybe it’s doing a quick workout, showering, and then turning to your phone to check email. Whatever works for you, try to do those activities in the same way each day. The point behind this is to prime your brain that this is now work time.
To increase your productivity and clarity for both work and life outside of work, have a plan for the day. That includes knowing the time of your meetings, deciding what projects you will work on, and being clear on when you will do tasks like answering email. You’ll also want to have some plan for your evenings in terms of what you would like to get done or simply do to relax. Knowing that everything has a place, such as a time during your workday when you will work on a presentation or a time in the evening when you can research activities for your kids, helps you to not feel like you have to do work during personal time or vice versa.
Another part of your plan should be to designate a few specific times during the day to respond to nonwork messages, texts, and calls. If you aren’t in one of those windows, resist the temptation—remember, you’re still at work. (To read more about minimizing these distractions, flip back to Chapter 1.)
The most common times people make these daily plans are in the morning at the start of work, as they wrap up their workday, or in the evening before bed. Choose the time that’s best for you, and then put a recurring reminder in your calendar to prompt you to build the habit.
To make sure you can be fully off the clock later in the evening, have a wrap-up routine that you start at least 30 minutes before you need to end work. This could include doing a final check to make sure that all critical emails have a response; looking over your task list to know that you have completed what’s essential; and if you do realize that you will need to work later at night, deciding on exactly what you will complete and when. For example, you might determine, “I will review this proposal for an hour or less starting at 8 p.m.” It’s good to have that specificity so that you won’t have a cloud over your head all evening, knowing that you should probably do some work but without a clear sense of exactly what you will do and when. When the objective and the time frame are clear, you can mentally disconnect until 8 p.m. and then also feel free to completely stop at 9 p.m.
Focus takes intentional effort and can feel difficult at times. But by following these tips, it is possible to be present most of the time when you’re working or in your personal time.
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Elizabeth Grace Saunders is a time management coach and the founder of Real Life E Time Coaching & Speaking. She is the author of How to Invest Your Time Like Money and Divine Time Management. Find out more at www.RealLifeE.com.
Adapted from content posted on hbr.org, April 9, 2020 (product #H05IXU).