Hacking the Home Office: Simple organizational tips

Hola lovely people and welcome to another blog. Thank you for your patience with the inconsistent uploads as I have been working hard on my second ebook - releasing this December :D For today’s post, I’d like to highlight a simple matrix that has really helped me stay on top of work.

This year has been filled with disruptions to our normal routine: travel restrictions, limited interactions with loved ones, and home offices becoming a reality for those who were used to commuting to an office for work. As someone who has worked for herself for the last five years, I feel very comfortable working anywhere my computer has an internet connection and a fresh pot of tea nearby. There are systems I’ve put in place over the past few years to stay on top of what I have to do and that’s what I want to share with you beauties today.

While these points may be slightly more applicable to those who also work for themselves they can be adjusted to any schedule. The first point is to manage your energy, not your time. We all have different points in the day when we are more mentally sharp and keen to tackle the biggest tasks of the day. For me, that is later morning after I’ve had a workout (research has linked physical activity to high cognitive function, more on that here), coffee and my breakfast. This is when I sit down at my desk and am able to pump out a few hours of work. Now it’s important to note that this period will not be eight hours. You may only be able to withstand two to three hours in this highly productive state, and that’s ok. This is where point number two comes in: prioritize your tasks for the day. 

When it comes to prioritizing the day’s tasks there is a simple chart called the Eisenhower Matrix (shown below) that is just brilliant. 

So often it can feel like our work is piling up around us with no clear path to the finish. It is important to remember that not everything can be done (nor should be done) in one day. We’ve all heard the adage “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” right? Well, if the Romans gave us anything (besides a healthy appetite for carbohydrates and fermented grape juice), it’s the notion that work must be prioritized to be systematically and effectively carried out. When you feel overwhelmed or stressed simply take a step back, write out everything that has to be done in the next two to three days and then put each item into one of the four boxes shown above. Some things are time-sensitive and important (box 1) and thus should be tackled first, and the other things can be placed into boxes 2-4. The beauty of this system is that at the end of the work day you can sleep easy knowing that you’ve checked off the biggest tasks from your list.

There will always be more to do - another email to reply to, another reminder to set, another bill to pay, but this system allows your to break all of it down into manageable pieces to tackle things one at a time. One more note on organization for those who work for themselves: it is also worth while to batch your work throughout the week to avoid decision fatigue (see box 2). Below is an ideal work week for me as an example:

Monday: Brainstorm and outline YouTube videos, program private clients’ sessions & in-studio classes, YouTube upload at 6pm with Instagram preview.

Tuesday: Film new videos, private sessions, blog post write up and revise, ebook revisions

Wednesday: Busiest private teaching day, little time for admin work

Thursday: Video edits of content shot on Tuesday, pay bills, ebook revisions

Friday: Video edits & design thumbnail, one hour dedicated to continued learning (yoga, anatomy, cooking, fitness), private sessions

Weekend: Household chores, plan schedule for the coming week, upload new video to my Patreon page on Sunday evening. 

What about you? Do you have a system in place to help you stay organized? Thank you all for stopping by this week and I hope that some of the structures presented here benefit your day to day as they have mine :)

Until next time!

Xoxo,

Alexandra