[258] Operation May Reset: Work Smarter From Home

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Working from home might sound like a dream—until the laundry piles up, snack breaks turn into scroll sessions, and you end the day wondering what you even got done. In this episode of Operation May Reset, we’re talking about how to sharpen your focus and stay productive at home without burning out or micromanaging your entire day.

Whether you're navigating remote work with little ones nearby or just trying to stay on top of your to-do list in a quiet house, these three easy focus boosters will help you feel more accomplished and less frazzled. We’ll talk about how to create a simple work-start ritual, use the “next 3 rule,” and build natural stop points into your day—so you can actually get things done and feel good about it.

3 Takeaways from this Episode:

1. Focus starts with a simple ritual. A short, consistent "start work" habit helps signal your brain that it's time to focus—so you waste less time getting in the zone.
2. You only need to know the next three things. The “Next 3 Rule” cuts down overwhelm and helps you move through your day with clarity and purpose.
3. Build in natural breaks. Stop points keep you motivated, give your brain breathing room, and prevent burnout—especially when you're working from home without structure.

Links Mentioned:
Join the Summer Ready Planning Party
My favorite visual timer for building stop points (affiliate link) – Link here

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey.

(00:00):
Hey, and welcome back to anotherepisode of The Real Happy Mom
Podcast.
The podcast for busy workingmoms who want to gain more time
and achieve their big goalswithout pulling their hair out.
And you're tuning in to anotherepisode of Operation May Reset.
Where we're hitting that refreshbutton on your life, one small,

(00:21):
powerful step at a time intoday's mission, working smarter
from home so you can stayfocused, get more done, and
actually end your day feelingaccomplished instead of
wondering where the last fivehours went.
And let me tell you, as someonewho recently started working
from home myself, I get it.
As much as I love working in mypajamas and having my coffee

(00:44):
just a few steps away, it's soeasy to get distracted.
The laundry calls, the dishespile up, and before you know it,
you're cleaning out the fridgeinstead of answering emails.
Working from home sounds dreamyuntil you realize how many
distractions are built rightinto your house.
There's no commute to set aclear work and home boundary, no

(01:07):
boss peeking over your shoulder,and if you have kids at home,
even more fun.
So if you've been feeling likestaying focused at home is an
Olympic sport you didn't exactlytrain for, you're not alone.
And here's the good news.
Focus isn't something you eitherhave or don't.
It's a skill.
And just like any other skill,you can get better at it with a

(01:29):
few simple shifts that can makea big difference.
You don't need to hustle to stayfocused at home.
You just need a few smartstrategies.
Today, I'm giving you three easyones you can start using right
away.
So let's dive in.
Let's jump to the first simplefocus booster you can start
using today.
focus booster number one, createa start work ritual.

(01:53):
When you work from home, there'sno drive to the office.
No clock in.
No walk-in to a building thatphysically says,"Hey, it is time
to work now." And without thatclear starting point, it's
really easy to drift toscrolling maybe even snacking
and cleaning a little.
And before you know it, an hourhas gone by and you're still
mentally in your pajamas.

(02:15):
That's why creating your ownstart ritual is so powerful.
It's a small, intentionalroutine that signals to your
brain.
"Okay, we're shifting into focusmode now." And it doesn't have
to be complicated.
It could be something as simpleas lighting a candle at your
desk, starting a specificplaylist.
You only listen to when you'reworking, opening your planner,

(02:36):
and writing your top three tasksfor the day.
For me, it's opening the blindsand setting my desk so that I'm
standing and then starting myfavorite playlist.
Whatever it is, the goal isconsistency.
So over time, your brain startsto associate that little ritual
with getting into work modefaster.
So your action step is to thinkabout one small thing you could

(02:59):
do each time you start yourworkday.
Something simple, repeatable,and that feels good.
Then commit to doing it for thenext week and see how much
easier it becomes to slide intofocus without fighting yourself
for an hour first.
Let's shift to focus boosternumber two, one of my favorites,
because it instantly cuts downon the feeling of overwhelm.

(03:20):
So focus booster number two isuse the next three rule.
Here's what happens to a lot ofus when we work from home.
We sit down, we look at a giantto-do list, and instead of
feeling motivated, we feelcompletely paralyzed.
Where do we start?
What's actually important?
Should I answer emails, foldlaundry, meal plan, call the

(03:42):
school, or all of the above?
That's why I love the next threerule.
Instead of staring at everythingyou could do, you focus only on
the next three things.
You're going to work on threethings.
That's it.
You don't have to plan yourwhole day.
You don't have to organize yourentire life.
You just pick your next threemoves, and once you finish one,

(04:06):
you add a new one to the list.
It's like you're building yourday one tiny bridge at a time
instead of trying to leap acrossthe giant canyon.
So the three tasks could besomething like Task one, send an
important email.
Task two, write the first draftof a blog post.
Task three, prep for a 2:00 PMZoom meeting.
As soon as you knock out one,then you add another small step.

(04:28):
So your action step is rightafter you do your start work
ritual tomorrow, write down yournext three and only your next
three.
And see how much lighter itfeels to focus on just a few
things instead of everything allat once.
Alright, focus booster numberthree is a big one if you tend
to drift off or lose steamduring your workday like I do.

(04:50):
So focus booster number three isbuild natural stop points.
One of the sneaky challengesabout working from home is that
there's no real sense of shifts.
At an office you have meetings,coffee breaks, even walk into
someone's desk, breaks up yourday.
But at home, it's really easy tojust keep grinding.
Or let's be honest, drift fromone thing to another without

(05:12):
feeling like you're making realprogress.
That's why it's so important tobuild natural stop points into
your day.
Here's how it works.
You create little checkpointswhere you pause intentionally.
So instead of pushing untilyou're exhausted or quitting, or
just because you're bored ordistracted.

So some examples (05:30):
I'm going to work on this project until my
playlist ends.
Or I'll finish these next threeemails.
Then I'll take a break.
Or another one could be, once Iget to 10 30, mark on my clock,
I'll pause and reassess.
Giving yourself these naturalstop points, keeps you motivated
because you know a break iscoming and it also stops that

(05:53):
slippery slope of, well, I couldjust check Instagram really
quick.
Is permission to pause onpurpose without the guilt.
So your action step for thissystem is to pick one way.
You can build a stop point intoyour next work block.
It could be a playlist, a timer,a task milestone, whatever is

(06:13):
easiest for you to stick with.
I know for me, I got this coolnew timer that I'll make sure to
include in the show notes.
That has been really helpfulwith keeping me on task.
So just to recap, working fromhome isn't about having
superhuman willpower or stickingto a rigid schedule.
It's about setting yourself upfor success with small,

(06:33):
intentional shifts like creatinga start work ritual, using the
next three rule to stay focusedand building natural stop points
into your day.
Even one of these tiny tweakscan make a huge difference in
how you feel at the end of yourworkday.
You can feel calmer, moreaccomplished, and way less
frazzled if you start with justone.

(06:54):
And remember, progress overperfection always.
You're doing better than youthink.
And speaking of feeling clearand calm, if you're excited to
take this energy into yoursummer planning, I've got
something really fun coming up,and that's the summer ready
planning party.
It's a live workshop where we'replaying out a smooth stress-free
summer together, breaking downyour goals, creating easy

(07:16):
routines, and setting up systemsso you can actually enjoy the
months ahead.
So check the link in the shownotes or in the description of
this podcast episode.
All right.
Now that's it for today.
Next week on Operation MayReset.
We're clearing out the digitalclutter so you can roll into the
summer feeling lighter and moreorganized and way less stressed.

(07:37):
So make sure you stay tuned fornext week for another full
episode.
Take care, and with lots oflove.