8 unexpected tools for focused work when you’re low on bandwidth
Finding the space for focused work has been challenging lately. I’m burnt out from the chronic stress of the Corona-coaster, elections, Brexit and all the other stuff that life has brought to our lives and things going on in my life separately.
I thought I would share some of the things that help me get my best work done, even when I don’t feel my best!
1. The Sleep Pillow app
I find that sometimes when I go to sleep or take a nap (I’ve never napped much, but have taken to it more this past year), I can’t get my brain to stop ‘whirring’. I’ve found that using the free white noise tools in this app really helps. In particular, there is a sound that combines rain, thunder and windmills that for whatever reason I loved and at this stage my brain is now conditioned to know that this particular noise combination means it’s time for sleep!
2. Spotify’s Indie Folk for Focus playlist
I kind of hate wordless music most of the time. I really like to sing along and jam out. I find that a lot of time an upbeat playlist can make a long workday go by a whole hell of a lot faster! But there’s times when I’m doing really deep or complicated work that I can’t handle the distraction of my brain wanting to sing along. That’s where this handy playlist comes in. It’s a great combination of energized and mellow and really helps me get into the groove!
3. Essential oil diffusion
I keep two essential oil diffusers in the house. One in my office and one in my bedroom. For the one in my office, I like to find blends that match my mood or the season, when I want to focus that means any blend that includes peppermint! As for the one in my bedroom, I diffuse olbas oil to help me breathe better at night, which in turn helps me get a better night’s sleep.
4. Dance breaks
If a good song comes on, I sometimes like to get up and dance for a minute. I think this helps for lots of reasons. It’s great to move my body when I sit at a desk most of the day. It’s fun to let loose a bit and dance around my office/dining room. It helps give my eyes a break from screens and it releases loads of happy hormones!
5. Sitting on an exercise ball
(bonus points if you get one secondhand or buy a recycled one)
Sitting on a big ball keeps me moving about and keeps my posture right! When I’m problem solving I can bounce up and down a little or let myself roll back into a bridge. It may seem silly, but like with the dance breaks, I find that movement can rally help me think!
When you get the right sized ball, it’s a very affordable option for an ergonomic desk chair that doubles as exercise equipment. People even make and sell cute covers for them so you can get one that matches your office over on Etsy.
6. Making meals for the week ahead of time
I’ve been doing Sunday afternoon meal prep for about 3 years, well before I was fully self employed. Back when my workspace wasn’t just 2 feet from the kitchen it was even more important that our lunches were quick to take to work, affordable and healthy. Now that we both work from home, I could in theory just make our food as needed throughout the day, but I’ve found that continuing my meal prep has been so good for our routine.
It means that I can actually enjoy my lunch hour and watch tv or get some movement in. It also means that there’s no questioning what we’re eating and it means that things are really efficient (and we all know I love a plan)! It also means that each Sunday I get a bit of “me time” where I cook at my own pace while calling friends and family or watching Drag Race. To me it’s a win, win, win!
7. A walk at lunchtime
(bonus points if you can get a friend who lives in the neighborhood or your partner to come with)
For many of us getting out into the fresh air has been a lifeline throughout the pandemic and while I’ve been taking walks and runs throughout the past year, these past few weeks we’ve been really intentional about getting out for a good long walk almost every day. The best ones are at lunch when I get some sunshine or rain and to move about a little. And then when I get back to my desk I have more headspace for whatever is on my list that day. Bringing me to my last point...
8. Making a quick priority (not to do) list
We all have about 300,000 things that we *mean* to get done here lately. Unread books, deep cleaning tasks, things we’ve been putting off in our business. If we were to make a to-do list it would almost be pointless because it would be too long and we don’t really have the mental and emotional bandwidth to do most of it anyway.
So instead, each day write down 1-3 priorities. Areas of your business or life that need some work in order to make sure you earn money and that you have all your necessities met.
Most days for me that looks like:
Sharing what I do in various places like blog posts, newsletters or social media (so I can get hired in the future).
Designing the websites I’m currently working on.
Supporting the women in The Capable Collective in some way
So that’s it.
That’s the weird little toolkit that has been getting me through the past few weeks!
What unexpected tools are working for you?
