6 Tips To Work From Home In 2020

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Recently find yourself having to work from home? I asked my Copy Posse team and entrepreneurs friends their BIGGEST piece of advice when it comes to getting it done and having fun, working from home.

Hey guys, it’s Alex! This week, I’m mixing up my regularly scheduled programming to talk about something we are ALL having to deal with right now in light of the recent events surrounding the COVID-19 virus…

And that is working from home.

I know for many who are used to working in offices with teams surrounding you, this can be a really, really tough transition. I went through it myself when I left Mindvalley and started my business back in 2012.

So, since I’ve been doing this for 8 years, I thought I’d share some of my tips for working effectively from home!

But first, I want to give a HUGE thank you to the healthcare workers, postal workers and city workers who are going to work every single day to make sure we can stay home and stay safe.

So let’s all do our part to #flattenthecurve and support our global community. Social distancing is extremely important right now and doesn’t have to be a total bummer.

In fact, the silver lining to all of this is that most of us are ending up with way more time on our hands than normal, which gives us a rare opportunity to do the things we love and the things we’ve been putting off

Reading, creating, spending time with our families, or learning a new skill.

I know it’s tempting to turn on Netflix and binge-watch your favorite show to numb out from all the hype out there and escape the fear that is creeping into all our minds…

But I encourage you to use this space in your life to expand and grow, to be creative and bold, to push to the edge of your comfort zone and learn something you’ve been putting off because you’ve been too busy…

I’ll tell you, there’s no better time than now to start copywriting. As more and more companies are forced to go online, they are looking for writers and marketers to support them in the transition…

So, now’s the time to join the global Copy Posse and hit subscribe to my YouTube Channel. Every single week I release a new tutorial where I share the latest copywriting trends, techniques and strategies that are working right now.

But in today’s article, I’m sharing my 6 tips for working from home! Whether you’re already a freelancer or online entrepreneur who works from home, or you’re new to this whole, these tips are insanely important… but can be easy to forget even for seasons vets.

Now, to create this list, I asked my Copy Posse and other entrepreneur friends for their tips, and added them to my own. So here they are…

Tip #1: Stick To Your Morning Routine

If you’ve recently found yourself working from home, the most important tip of all is to stick to your morning routine so you can optimize and plan your day.

If you usually get up at 6 for work, keep doing that. If you usually have a coffee and a bagel, keep doing that!

Just because your office now looks a lot like your dining room, doesn’t mean anything else has to change.

The second you start to let your routine slide, the harder and harder it becomes. So carve some time out of your morning to do the things that matter to you – put on some music, make that cuppa joe, shower, shave, heck put on a little makeup if that makes you feel great…

Then commute on over to your home office or dining room table and boot up your computer for the day. That’s when your workday officially begins – not while you’re laying in bed after the alarm goes off checking emails on your iPhone!

Tip #2: Get Dressed

I know, I know. Nobody will see you. So why not stay in your PJs all day? Or my personal favorite, the Zoom Call Dress Code – business on the top, sweat pants on the bottom.

Hey, I love yoga pants like the rest of you, but I promise you, you will feel SO much more productive if you’re looking and acting the part. Staying in your sweats all day may seem amazing, until 5pm rolls around and you realize your THAT guy or girl. It’s not a good look.

When you go through your normal “get ready” routine, you’re telling your brain it’s time to GSD – Get Shit Done.

Plus, with meetings being moved online last-minute, you don’t want to be caught looking like you just woke up on the conference call.

Tip #3: Set Up A Dedicated Work Space

If you don’t have a home office, make sure you have somewhere else at home where you can sit in a comfy chair with a straight back and work. This applies when you’re traveling too – you always want to have somewhere you can “get into the zone”.

Set up your workspace so it feels inviting and fuels productivity. Remove all clutter and choose a view that is tidy or spacious.

Some amazing tips I got from my team and friends are to light a candle or turn on your diffuser with your favorite essential oils. You can also put your favorite crystals nearby for clarity and calm.

Crack open a window or patio door. Fresh air is great for the soul and you don’t get that at the office! Play some background music that helps you get into flow. I personally love the Peaceful Piano playlist on Spotify.

And if you’re sharing your space with someone else, use your favorite headphones. I love the Bose noise-cancelling headphones.

Have a bottle of fresh water next to you so you can stay hydrated and order your favorite coffee beans to your door. Now talk about an awesome PERK to working from home… haha pun intended. Office coffee sucks. When you work from home, you can brew up amazing coffee to fuel you through the day. 

Tip #4: Move Your Body!!!

This is a BIG one guys. We are no longer moving as much as we used to, say going to the grocery store or walking to and from work. So you need to find creative ways to get those endorphins flowing. Endorphins help fight anxiety, stress and depression… which is hugely important right now. 

So get out for a daily walk and try to get into nature. Being amongst trees, earth and water is extremely grounding and can offer you a beautiful opportunity to reset and re-connect with yourself.

Also, if you’re missing the gym or your group exercise classes, try out some at-home workouts!! It’s been amazing to see how many incredible coaches and trainers are offering free live streaming classes right now via YouTube and Instagram.

Also, be sure to take movement breaks at least once an hour to avoid stiffness and pain. Walk to your kitchen to refill your water bottle, do stationary squats or sit-ups when you’re energy is dragging, or step outside for a minute to take a few deep breaths.

Tip #6: Time-Block Your Day

Something that I have been doing religiously for the past 8 years is time-blocking my calendar every day. Each morning I look at my list of MITs, that’s Most Important Tasks that I need to get done that day and I write out time blocks to get them done.

Depending on what I have to do, and what meetings I already have scheduled, I usually divide both my mornings and afternoons into clear time blocks.

I save my morning hours for writing or content preparation as that is my most creative time, then I try to save the afternoon for meetings and to catch up on less creative tasks, like responding to emails.

I often like to actually schedule blocks in my calendar for each task so that it feels like I’ve set an appointment and I’m more likely to get it done.

So first I recommend you identify your best creative hours and schedule those important tasks or time blocks FIRST, then everything else can work around that. 

Also, this is hugely important. Schedule a break for lunch. Just like at the office, give yourself at least 30 mins in the middle of your work day to step away from your computer and have a healthy bite to eat.

Do not, I repeat DO NOT EAT in front of your computer. I am so guilty of this a lot of the time. There’s nothing that can’t wait 30 mins for you to nourish your mind and body. Plus if you try to work and eat at the same time, it’s going to take you longer to complete that task anyways. So you might as well just step away and eat mindfully.

Lastly, just like you need to set a START time for your day, you need to set an END TIME. Working from home often means you work ALL THE TIME because there is not a clear boundary set of when your day finishes. So decide in advance when it’s time to shutter down for the day and TURN OF YOUR COMPUTER and step away. Use your after-work hours to do the stuff you’d normally do. Make a yummy dinner, FaceTime with friends, watch a good movie, read a book, you get the idea…

Alright now, now I’m going to do a quick SPEED ROUND of power tips. I asked my Instagram Posse what tips they had to share when it came to working from home and I got so many AMAZING IDEAS!!!

So here they are!

Leanne says – have video meetings. Makes you feel more connected. Amazing I love that.

Alexandra says – Create check-lists each day. Yes so good!

Melrose says – when you get ansty take a 5-10 move break. Yup yup yup!

Lisa says – Work to lowfi beats! Amazing. I found an awesome Spotify playlist of lowfi beats here!

Becky says – stick to routine! Yes yes yes.

Tania says – don’t do it in your jammies lol. dress up for yourself!

Elena says – Get dressed and put perfume and makeup on!

Janu says – Resistance bands! Yes those are so amazing for at home workouts. You can order them on amazon. 

Sam says – Get a mouse for your laptop!! Um yes, this is SUCH A good one.

Victoria recommends – a book called ‘indistractable’ that talks about time blocking. 

Andrean says –  Start group chats with your friends haha keeps a smile on your face even when you dont have anyone to talk to 

Next up! I asked what tools they use to stay productive!

Leanne saysBrain.fm is awesome for binaural beats to help you focus and when possible.

Yatish saysForest App! Yes, this app is so cool. I checked it out and it gamifies focus! The more productive you are, the more ACTUAL trees you help plant in the world. How awesome is that?!

Alexandra says – Toggle for time tracking. Yes!

Bhavik says – Skype and Zoom for virtual meetings! Yes!

Boom! Amazing guys, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with me and everyone watching.

Watch This Instead

 

So there you have it guys – the Copy Posse’s tips for working from home!

Leave me a comment if you found this article helpful. I’m thinking about you all during these crazy times if there’s anything else you need please comment below!

I’ll be back next week with another copywriting tutorial. Thanks for reading and subscribing to my YouTube Channel.

Sending love to you all.

See you next week. Till then, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!

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4 Comments. Leave new

  • I didn’t see tip #5 LOL
    is it hiding somewhere?

    Reply
    • Alex Cattoni
      April 3, 2020 8:18 pm

      hahah thanks! Not sure how that happened! Fixing now 😀

      Reply
    • Alex Cattoni
      April 3, 2020 10:35 pm

      haha ok so turns out there is no tip #5! haha I completely mislabelled the last tip as #6. Ooops! You’re the only one who noticed lol.

      Reply
  • Winnie Kate Dawin
    July 23, 2020 7:11 pm

    Time-block the day. I’ll do that. Hi Alex, just wanna share, because of work from home, I discovered your youtube channel. I discovered that there’s this thing called copywriting and I really got interested. And so I enrolled in a freelancing course, as a start (and because I can’t afford your class haha). Anyways, I think I watched almost all of your videos and all your podcast interviews. Now I’m on your website. Inspiring as ever!

    Reply

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