How to be productive at home

I often procrastinate when I should finish a deadline, complete a household chore, or even when I read to the kids before bedtime. Procrastination has been the biggest bane of my life because it has stopped me from completing the productive tasks to do at home and at work.

Staying productive while working from home is difficult when you have several distractions around you and it’s safe to say we all experience procrastination in varying degrees when trying to complete home work. The Internet and social media has made it that much easier to waste time rather than get things done.

This article is mostly geared towards those, like me, who work from home and juggle parenting and work duties, often at the same time. For me, it’s about finding the right balance between household duties and my business, which is divided into six hours between school drop off and pick up, and often a few hours in the evening as well.

I set myself high-value goals which are geared to improving home and work life, and it has taken me almost twelve years to get to a point where I feel like I have achieved some sort of work/life balance now. But how do you become productive at home?

Below are my tips on how to be productive at home and find productive things to do when bored:

What is productivity?

To be productive, we need to know what productivity means. Businessdictionary.com defines productivity as:

“The measure of the efficiency of a person… in converting inputs into useful outputs. Productivity is computed by dividing the average output per period by the total costs incurred or resources (capital, energy, material, personnel) consumed in that period. Productive is a critical determinant of cost efficiency.”

So, in business, productivity basically means how efficient you are at what you are producing and what you receive economically as a result, i.e.output per unit of input. So, the more productive you are at work, the more chances you have of increasing your income value.

What about productivity at home? Being busy vs productive

In simpler terms, productivity means using your time and energy effectively to achieve your goals. You can use your time efficiently as well, but if the tasks you are working on are low value or at the expense of high-value tasks, then doing something doesn’t always mean you are productive. The primary aim of being productive is to know exactly what you should spend your time, energy and attention on to improve yourself and your family around you.

Why does being productive matter? Tips for how to be productive at home

Consider what it would be like if you could achieve all the high-value tasks you needed to complete in a shorter period, so you have more time to spend with your family. Perhaps productivity will allow you to use your energy on the things that make you happier or even work on tasks that will help you improve your work and home life.

Having something productive to do means that you can manage your daily tasks effectively and still increase your health and wellbeing. And at work, being productive means that you can improve your way of living and earn more income to spend on the things that make you happier.

Which remote work tools help work-from-home productivity?

Productivity will be different for everyone. Perhaps you’re working on a business project that will provide you with more income. Or maybe you are looking to manage a clean house, and you need to divide your time between the kids and household duties.

Or, perhaps you have set yourself a goal to spend more time with the kids, and you need to make sure you free up enough hours every day to do this, while still completing your home and work duties. All these can be managed if you are productive enough with your time. So, how can you be more productive?

Using a productivity planner can help you increase your productivity and efficiency. The productivity planner keeps you motivated in achieving your goals, and helps you form good habits to improve your productivity.

Misconceptions of time that make you less productive – How to stay productive at home in your home office

Why is it hard to be productive at home? If you are easily distracted by others and yourself, and you’re constantly browsing on social media or staring out of the window, then this is counterproductive to your work behaviour.

You need to first identify what your habits are, both good and bad, because these habits have a significant impact on your productivity and your general quality of life.

As you can see in my daily Habit Tracker above, I get distracted easily, and I end up not working on a task that I need to complete. I found I work well in 30-minute bursts. So I would focus on 30 minutes of pure work and then I would allow myself 5-10 minutes to procrastinate. It meant that I was still fulfilling my love for browsing the Internet and reading other articles, but not impacting on my time to work on the more essential tasks.

A Habit Tracker will help you set and monitor your habits and generate more effective ones too. Use the Habit Tracker with your Productivity Planner to help you become more productive and make these habits easier to form by monitoring them every day. More on forming habits below.

How to be more productive everyday – outsource the things you can’t/won’t do

I’m a writer first and foremost. I haven’t got time for social media scheduling, so I outsource that to my VA. If you have a business where you favour a certain skill but don’t want to write then outsource it to someone who can write for you.

Scamfighter.net talks about some of the best writing services out there that can help write some of the longer form argumentative essays for your business. Will Martins’ review also offers insight into one of the essay writing services too.

Whatever skill you can’t or won’t do, outsource it so you can focus on the tasks that really matter.

Ways to be productive at home – How to use a productivity planner

Your Productivity Planner can help you set your monthly, weekly and daily goals. These goals help to allocate your time and motivate you to work on the more important tasks so you complete them productively. There should also be space for your to-do list if you’re like me and need a to-do list for absolutely everything, and you cross off these tasks as and when you complete them.

How to be more productive at home

Everyone is different, but following the below tips on what to do when bored at home will boost your health and wellbeing and therefore increase your productivity at home.

How to be productive working at home – Get some sleep

Sleep is key to being productive at home during the day and being at your very best work performance. Set a bedtime and wake time every day, even during the weekends, and stick to them so your body clock automatically shifts to these times.

When are you at your most productive? Are you an early bird or a night owl, like me? Figure out when you work at your best and set dedicated times according to your productivity. Then monitor those times and find out whether, over time, they work for you. To have an effective good night’s sleep, sleep in complete darkness.

Remove electronic devices, including your phone, from the room and keep the room just for sleeping, as the blue light that emanates from these devices will keep you awake. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, consider buying a normal alarm clock, so you don’t use your phone in the bedroom.

I use an eye mask which helps me to sleep in pure darkness. But if you can, invest in blackout blinds, as they help to block out any light coming from the window. Avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine before bed, as they will keep you up and decrease your productivity the next day.

Things to do to be productive at home – Fit in regular exercise

Exercise helps to keep the heart pumping and will keep your mind and body happy and relaxed. I work out from home 30 minutes a day, and this works for me as I also work from home. But if you need extra motivation, perhaps classes are a good way to keep you motivated.

Exercising outside when the weather is nice is a great way to take your mind off your daily tasks and get in some much-needed fresh air, which will help to clear the cobwebs in your head. Studies have shown that if you step outside at the very start of your day, your productivity increases by up to 70%!

Diet is also just as important as exercise. Make sure you’re eating well and getting your 7-a-day. Try to avoid sugary food and drinks as they spike your sugar levels and will cause an energy crash, which is not good for productivity.

How to make yourself productive at home – Practice mindfulness and meditation

Mindfulness and meditation are all about keeping your mind in the present moment, and not wandering off when you need it to focus on your work. It’s a great way to train your brain muscles and help you be more productive in your daily tasks.

This is a slow process, so take your time and keep going – you will reap the rewards later. Headspace is a great way to practice meditation, and I have written more about mindfulness and meditation to reduce anxiety, which you can find here.

How to make your office more efficient – Set up a home command centre

Set up a home office that limits distraction and makes your office space the hub of productivity. For more information on how to set up your home office, check out Forbes’ article here.

How to be productive at home – tips to promote efficiency – Embrace procrastination and use it as a tool

As I’ve mentioned before, I am a huge procrastinator and spend a lot of my time wasting time! So, as mentioned above, I incorporated a technique which works for me, and that is to work on my tasks in 30-minute bursts and then allow myself 5 – 10 minutes to procrastinate.

You will not beat procrastination, the temptation will always be there. So use your time effectively to get all your procrastinating done and then focus your time and energy on getting your projects done in periods which you can manage. Try the 30-minute burst and see if that works for you.

I wear a fitness tracker, so I set 30 minutes on my timer, and my wrist will buzz when I have finished those 30 minutes. Then I get off my seat, and I take a walk around, scroll on my phone, eat some food or schedule in my exercise.

Take your mind off work for those short few minutes, so you are ready to set another 30-minute timer and tackle your tasks.

Also, if you have deadlines and you set them a few weeks in advance, but you sit on that deadline until the last minute, then change your deadline to a shorter period in advance. If I have a deadline coming in a few days, then I make sure I get it sorted in those few days. If I had 3 weeks, I wouldn’t do anything until the last minute!

Tips for staying productive when working from home – use a productivity journal to reach your goals

Start recording your habits and tasks so you know what you’re working on every day. You can set goals, manage your time, and plan your tasks, so you can see what you need to do every day.

At the start of each month, specify what you will work on each month. Then within each week, set goals that will contribute to that monthly goal, and each day work on the goals that will contribute to your weekly goals.

I found since using a productivity planner that I am so much more productive with my work and house duties because I know what my good and bad habits are and I know what I need to do every day, week and month. But there are a few more things you need to think about before you start on the path to productivity success!

How to be productive when working at home – Work out what your goals are and create habits to achieve those goals

What is it you would like to achieve? Are you trying to lose weight? Do you want to clean less and spend more time working on your business? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Be clear with what you want to achieve and note the point at which you want to get to, so you can create habits to achieve your goal.

For example, if you want to lose weight, set times to get to the gym or fit in your workout. If you want to spend more time with your family, then schedule a few hours in the day to purely spend time with the family – make sure you do nothing else in that time.

If you want to clean less and spend more time working on your business, then use my ‘short work-burst’ method and work on your business for 30 minutes and spend 10 minutes cleaning up a certain area of the house. You can use The Organised Mum’s Method where she talks about cleaning an area in your house for just 30 minutes a day, and this works just as well. I use a method similar to this, otherwise I would just end up cleaning all day and spending little time on work.

Use a habit tracker to track the habits you have identified. Each time you have fulfilled a habit, tick it off. Include your bad habits too like I did and cross-check them off when you have successfully not fallen into those bad habits that day.

If you’re stuck for ideas on how to be productive, here are some productive things to do when you are bored at home:

Productive things to do – Improve yourself

As mentioned above, knowing your bad habits are just as important as creating good ones. Know where you need to work on and spend time improving yourself.

Productive things to do – Try something new

Stepping outside your comfort zone is the only way you’ll grow. I try to do that regularly by learning a new skill or trying my hand at something new. I took a leap of faith and started publishing on Amazon and I’m so glad I did! I’ve learned a new skill and I feel like I’ve accomplished something huge.

Productive things to do – Invest in your future

The best investment you can make is on yourself. So carve out some time to learn a new skill. Home learning courses and work towards building your portfolio, which will eventually help you to build on your income too.

Productive things to do – Have fun

Give yourself a break now and again to wind down and forget about tasks and to-dos. Having fun is actually a very productive past-time because it clears the stress and it helps you step away from a task and have a birdseye view of the problem if you’re not thinking about it all the time. Plus, it’s healthy. Balance is key to being productive so have some downtime too.

Productive things to do – Better your health

I’ve noticed that when I eat junk, I am less productive because I feel lazy and I don’t have the energy to get up and get things done. I’ve started exercising again and I feel ike my brain has been given a natural energy boost. Improving your health improves your productivity, so put health at the very top of your to-do list.

Productive things to do – Get organised

I run a tight ship – I have to because I have four kids, triple school runs and a business from which I work at home. So household tasks, work day tasks and work time itself all have their own pockets in which they can’t overlap or be allowed to fall by the wayside. Project management and organisation is the only way I survive the multitude of tasks but it also keeps me ticking. So make sure you get organised, but be prepared to wing it if certain things prop up you haven’t accounted for. It’s also important to think on your feet too.

Productive things to do – Hone your talent

Do you have a particular skill that you could potentially monetise? Then work on honing that talent and becoming an authority in that field. Knowledge is power, especially if you can teach your potential customers something that will help better their own lives.

Productive things to do – Visit the library

If I get writer’s block or lose my mojo because I’ve had a particularly challenging day, then I put my work down and I head to the library. While I’m there I browse the shelves until I find a particular book that reaches out to me. I sit down for a few minutes and I read for a bit. The act of sitting down and tucking into a good book makes me forget about my day and once I’ve put the book down, I’m ready to tackle my tasks again.

Productive things to do – Make a playlist

On Spotify I have a number of playlists that help me get into the mood for whatever I’m doing. I have a playlist all about bettering yourself and a playlist for winning in business. I also have a playlist of workout music to get me into the groove for working out. Playlists are effective at picking you up when you need an extra boost to get started.

Productive things to do – Learn from mistakes

Mistakes aren’t failures, they’re perfect opportunities to learn and do better at succeeding. But if you repeat your mistakes, you learn nothing. Always take your mistakes as experiences and learn from them so you don’t repeat. Remember, without mistakes you won’t know the path to success, so keep trying, even if you fail.

Productive things to do – Create an evening routine

One thing I do to make sure I’m prepared for the next day is to set out clothes for the kids’ school, pack any lunches and basically do anything that doesn’t impinge on the morning routine. Then I get ready for bed by washing my face, applying my skincare and finishing any tasks that can’t spill onto the next day. Only then do I go to bed knowing I’ve done what I need to do.

Productive things to do – Create a morning routine too

First thing I do when I wake up is write down my 5 main productive tasks of the day in priority order. My to-do list also has other home tasks like making sure to fit exercise in and other child-related activities that are important. I consult my to-do list every hour on the hour because it keeps me on task and I make sure I’m not deviating from what I need to do that day. Then I forget the rest for the next day. As long as I’ve completed my five tasks for the day (and even if I don’t) that’s all i’m focussing on, and nothing more.

Productive things to do – Go camping

There is nothing like leaving the materialistic stuff behind and getting back to nature to make you feel you can accomplish anything. Making a fire out of wood or frying an egg on a makeshift tinfoil pan can provide you with the animalistic tools to go out and get what you want. It also helps you shift your focus on what really matters, something we often forget to do when we’re knee deep in our to-dos.

Productive things to do – Watch tutorials

Learn new skills in webinars if you want productive downtime because tutorials can help you become better in the business of what you’re doing. Perhaps you want to learn to become a better chef so you watch tutorials on how to hold a knife. Or you want to write a book so you watch a step by step process on how to write and publish a book. These are all skills you’re learning so make sure your downtime is filled with lots of productive watching.

Productive things to do – Start a bullet journal

A bullet journal is much like a productivity planner in that it helps you set out the goals you want to achieve in the year ahead. First you lay out your index of plans you want to achieve and then you dissect them into monthly, weekly and daily goals. Define your purpose, review your goals and keep it simple and achievable.

Productive things to do – Again set some goals

If you have some free time, set some goals, this time on things you’d like to achieve as a person. It could be a bucket list of things you want to do that’s not related to work.

Productive things to do – Test out new time management strategies

Sometimes what you’re doing isn’t working, so it’s important to keep testing until you hit the magic formula. Keep testing new time management strategies to see what works for you. This also includes the time in the day you’re at your most productive and whether you prefer to work in longer stints than 30 minutes a day. Whatever works for you will be different to the next person, so try to focus on what you’re doing rather than what other people are doing.

Productive things to do – Create a list of travel destinations

You may wonder why creating a travel list is a productive thing to do, but it helps you set goals for where you’d like to travel and allows you to work for them. Plus it’s something fun to look forward to!

Productive things to do – Start planning your days

It’s really important to know what your daily schedule for working from home looks like in advance. So plan what you’re going to do in advance so you can focus on the tasks that offer the biggest reward and leave the less urgent, less important things for later.

Productive things to do – Share your knowledge

It’s always nice to pay it forward and the act of sharing your knowledge with people will make you an authority in your field, which is great for business!

Productive things to do – Build a blanket fort

You may think that building a blanket fort sounds like a waste of time but it’s actually a pretty effective way to shut the outside world out and focus on you in the here and now. Either build a blanket fort on your own and use it as a form of me time or build with friends and family and use it as a bonding exercise. It is a great way to forget about the mountain of tasks you have waiting for you and just enjoy yourself.

Productive things to do – Make a new dish

I’ve mentioned before that change is good for the soul and making a new dish is a great way to build confidence in your culinary skills. Make a new dish, add it to your recipe arsenal and use the accomplishment to boost your productivity at work

Productive things to do – Become a better decision maker

The famous saying, ‘indecision is the number one reason for failure’ could never ring more true because it halts productivity and stops you from getting things done. Become a better decision maker and the best way to start doing this is by making a decision and sticking to it. Go with your gut and decide – your decision is final.

Productive things to do – Go for a swim

Swimming is such a fantastic sport to melt your troubles away. I find that a vigorous front crawl that gets the heart pumping makes me feel alive and strong, so much so that I want to run back to my desk and bash work out. Use the swim to feel strong mentally and physically and then bring that force back to your productivity.

Productive things to do – Go airplane mode

Sometimes going offline means you can focus on the tasks ahead of you because you’re not messing about on the internet or scrolling through social media. It has taken me a long time to force myself to work on my tasks for the dedicated 30 minutes without caving and clicking on a notification that comes up. So I disabled notifications and went airplane mode. Now I don’t get distractions anymore to entice me to stop working.

Productive things to do – Go for a hike

Another productive sport is hiking because it’s get you out into the fresh air which boosts productivity and it gets your heart pumping which boosts your mental health. Hiking helps you forget about your insular world for a moment and enjoy nature and the bigger picture. A good hike should leave you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle your tasks when you get home.

Productive thingso do – Envision your ideal body

One of my biggest goals is to get back to my pre-pregnancy athletic fit weight, but I have been lazy and often resorted to junk food because I haven’t got a goal or I haven’t envisioned how I want to look. I started looking through old photos of me and now I can envision my ideal body which helps me to push through the workout when I haven’t go the mental energy to start. Envisioning your goal helps you map out the steps to success, so that’s what I always do when I’m feeling like i don’t want to exercise. It helps so much.

Productive things to do – Clear out your mental clutter

If you’re constantly asking yourself, ‘How can I be more productive in life?’ Perhaps your mental load is a bit overwhelming and you need to declutter and compartmentalise your to-dos. Start by organising your space around you or venting to someone if you have anxiety. And don’t take on other people’s worries, you have enough to deal with!

Productive things to do – Clean out your junk drawer

If you have junk everywhere, then you will not be very productive at home. Cleaning junk from your space is one of the most vital tips on how to be more effective working from home

Productive things to do – Organise the spices

Another strange one to add to the productivity to do list but the act of organising your spices helps you organise your mind and it boosts you to organise other parts of your life too. Try it and see for yourself.

Productive things to do – Prep your meals for the week

One of my favourite tips to be productive is to prep your tasks in advance, and one of them is definitely meal prepping. It helps me not to waste time on figuring out what to cook every day. I now subscribe to Hellofresh which means I don’t need to waste time figuring out what to cook or go to the shops and waste time figuring out what to buy. I just pick out the recipe card and the exact ingredients and I cook!

Productive things to do – Make backups of everything

I now back all my work to a cloud which means no more hard drives and no more figuring out where everything is. Backups help you access your work easier and if something goes wrong, it doesn’t matter, because you have a copy in the cloud.

Productive things to do – Get your goals in order

One of the most important tips for being productive is to know what your goals are and work toward them every day. Do what I do and just write down 5 tasks you want to complete every day and then just work on those. Leave the rest for another day.

How to be productive working from home – Best productivity tips for working from home from parents

I asked multitasking parents who work from home their top tips on productive things to do moving forward:

“I feel more productive if I put my phone down… I get so easily sucked into irrelevant things on social media that I lose track of what I’m doing and feel like I have to start again. That goes for both work and at home. Once I sit down and just have 5 minutes, I don’t want to get up again 🙂” 

themoneysavingmum.com

” I have been an early bird for as long as I can remember. Before Ted arrived, it wasn’t unusual for me to set my alarm at an ungodly hour – 5 am, sometimes earlier – when I had a specific task to turn around.
I don’t have that luxury now… I sometimes have no choice but to work at night, but I always give myself time the next day to review what I’ve produced – because I can’t trust my morning person brain to make anything of quality after 5pm.
You might be completely the opposite, so work with your strengths.

https://onlyteethin.com/2019/01/23/increase-productivity-positivity-working-from-home/

” I am definitely more productive if I stop working for regular breaks. I either do some housework, walk the dog, go for a run or swim or simply play the piano or read a book for 5 minutes. I’m much more able to properly focus on what I should be doing afterwards.”

plutoniumsox.com

“I am more productive if I chunk similar activities together so I’ll set time aside specifically for social media, schedule writing for a different time etc.”

Businessformums.co.uk

“I’m more productive when I actually get dressed and out of my pyjamas. I ‘pretend’ I’m actually leaving the house and prepare in the mornings that way. Well, most days anyway!”

https://muminthemoment.com/

“For me it’s about turning notifications off on my phone/email. That way I don’t get distracted and actually get things done.” 

https://www.scandimummy.com

“I think a really great way to be productive is to have your to -do list written our and on your clear and clean desk the night before. It means you start the day with absolute clarity of purpose.” 

https://thrifty-home.co.uk

“Having a daily theme helps me so I know what to focus on that day. Then on the day, I prioritise e.g. Blog Day.”

Mamamei.co.uk

“I recommend a to-do list. Either online using something like Trello or just on paper. It helps to write down everything you need to do and then tick off as you go.” 

www.meandbmaketea.com

“Break the day down into blocks then allocate to different tasks. Only check your emails in the breaks between tasks so you don’t get distracted.”

www.allaboutamummy.co.uk

“Working from home can be distracting when you have a mountain of washing or other household tasks. I often take myself off to a nice cafe with free WiFi so I’m then totally focused on work. A good coffee and slice of cake is a good reward.” 

Www.redkitedays.co.uk

“I make a list the night before my day off so I don’t procrastinate/waste time in the morning deciding what to do. I feel that way I get up knowing exactly what I’ve got to get done!” 

www.dovecottageblog.com

“Don’t go for the false economy of not buying some of the productivity tools out there. The money you save not doing so is far outweighed by the increase in time you have if you use them. Tools like Tailwind, Buffer, Missing Letter are a godsend for me. And – have a set time to check your emails. Absolutely DON’T have it open all day distracting you 😂😂” 

https://www.kiddycharts.com

“Try and set certain tasks up the night before, such as the washing machine or dishwasher! By the time you then come downstairs in the morning, some of your tasks will already be done – resulting in more time for other tasks or a 5 minute sit down.” 

lesbemums.com

“A daily to do list, that I update each evening and morning is my main ‘productivity tool’, it really helps me focus and get things done!” 

Www.redtedart.com

Starting something is probably the hardest thing to do, so the only way to start is, well, to start! Use the above tips to be productive at home, grab yourself a productivity pack like I did and start recording your habits.

Plan your goals in your productivity planner and write out your monthly, weekly, and daily goals. Set yourself a target of 30 days to complete your habit and focus on tracking that habit every single day. After a few weeks, you will form your habit naturally as you have focussed on fulfilling that habit. I always feel amazing when I’ve had a particularly productive day.

You just need to find the motivation to start and what better time than to start implementing the ways to be productive now?

FAQ

Do you have any legit sustainable ideas for how to be productive at home?

Other questions asked were:

• How to be productive at home when bored?
• How can I be more productive at home?
• How to feel more productive at home?
• How do I make myself productive at home?
• How can I be productive at home at work and in life everyday?
• How can I be productive at home with nothing to do?
• How can I be productive daily?
• What productive things to do when bored?
• What to do to be productive at home?
• What can I do to be productive at home
• How to be productive everyday?
• What are some fun and productive things to do at home
• How to be productive when home alone?

My tips above will help you stay productive at home.

How to be productive at home when depressed?

Depression can sap your motivation to stay productive and even the simplest of tasks can feel like a huge challenge. It’s important to find the source of your depression and consult a professional to help you manage symptoms so you have more of a chance of becoming productive and building a happier you.

How to be productive at home after work?

Other questions asked were:

• How can I be as productive as home that I am at work?

You might be completely shattered after work and not want to do anything. This is where organisation is key. Prepare what you need to do the night before and focus on the very important tasks before bed. Get some sleep too so you can function the next day.

How to be productive at home with ADHD

I often tell people I am undiagnosed ADHD because I’ve realised a lot of the challenges I face are symptomatic of someone with ADHD. I thrive under pressure of a million tasks at once but if i don’t’ have a to do list I get overwhelmed and get nothing done. So some tips I can offer which have helped me over the years are:

• Just start. Don’t think of your tasks as one big tasks. Just break it up into the very first step and think about the rest later. For example, doing the dishwasher is a huge task. But, just telling yourself to put one plate in the dishwasher is a smaller step to completing that task
• Keep yourself free to move around. Working from home is a massive plus for me because I can move my laptop around the house. I sometimes work when I’m cooking! I stand and work, sit on the couch and work, lie on the bed and work, whatever it takes to help my busy mind stay focused.
• I schedule in exercise in between work to help break up the day but also burn that excess energy – yes, even the energy after managing four kids – no idea where the energy comes from…
• I write all my ideas down as they come otherwise they fade away. I take my phone everywhere with me but not to keep looking at messages which I hardly do. It’s to write down the gazillion ideas I have every day. I don’t give them a moment’s though after that until I dedicate a time on Sunday afternoon to go through them and then prioritise them for tasks to complete as part of my productivity to-do list.
• Coffee is my elixir – it gives me life!
• I find listening to a self help audible book (my favourite at the moment is, ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’, or boosting music which helps me complete the more mundane of tasks like cleaning. I always watch a show while I’m cooking otherwise I get distracted.
• I do work in 30 minutes bursts but if i have hyperfocus mode on I go with it until it shuts off. Sometimes I’ve had hyperfocus mode on for three hours when the kids have gone to bed and I haven’t blinked once. That’s when I’m at my superwoman productivity mode. Nothing stops me when I get into that zone and I have sometimes written books in that time.

Told you, I clearly have ADHD.

How to be productive at home during summer holidays

Summer holidays are tough for productivity because I have to manage four kids’ boredom thresholds as well as other tasks during the day. So I prioritise being productive for the kids and that has resulted in me creating a Screen Free Summer Challenge for them to complete one screen-free activity a day. I also try to pocket tasks into their own special time zone, like cleaning tasks in the morning and once I’m satisfied the kids have done enough they go on the phone and I get work done.

*Collaborative feature post*