Ever feel like your home office is more like a
market than a quiet workspace? Today I’ll
share the scoop on keeping your head in the game when every little thing around you screams for attention.
If you're serious about making remote work, well, work for you, this is the episode you can't afford to miss.
Refer a Remote Work Expert As a Guest On The Show
Looking for Remote Work?
Click here remoteworklife.io to access a private beta list of remote jobs in sales, marketing, and strategy — plus get podcasts, real-world tips and business insights from founders, CEOs, and remote leaders. subscribe to my free newsletter
Connect on LinkedIn
Episode Transcript
Hey, it's Alex from Remote Work Life here.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Remote Work Life podcast.
I appreciate you being here andthank you for your attention.
Thank you for listening to thepodcast.
I really appreciate it andtoday, as ever on these episodes
(00:20):
, I just want to share quicktips that I can hope can help
you to improve your remote worklife and, as ever, I also
request that you let me know ofany sort of tips that you use in
order to do just that.
So today we want to talk aboutlimiting distractions, to
(00:41):
improve focus and productivityand working from home especially
.
I work from home a lot.
There's lots of distractions.
There's lots of things thathave distracted me in the past.
There's lots of potentialdistractions that are there now
that can lead to a lack of focus, a lack of productivity and, as
(01:07):
a remote work, you have to bereally disciplined to avoid and
sort of reduce distractions,because there are so many and I
have a family.
I have three children.
In fact, two of my kids are athome, one is at university.
They're quite young, they'requite excitable, especially
(01:28):
during the periods of timeduring the holidays, so they are
a potential distraction.
That's obviously when you'rehome with your kids, the
temptation is to go and do stuffwith them, or you know if
they're arguing or fighting tosplit them up, or whatever it
may be.
As you work from home, as youwork remotely, you begin to put
(01:55):
things in place to mitigatethose distractions and you work
together with your family sothat they understand the
situation, especially if youhave kids that are old enough to
understand, which I amfortunate to have, although I
did go through periods of timewhen they didn't understand as
(02:15):
much.
But apart from the children notthe only distraction, of course,
there are other things like Idon't know, putting the washing
on or doing the washing up,hanging the washing out.
I'm sure there's things thatother people get distracted by
things on the TV, things on theradio, things on social media.
There's so many distractions,so many things that can distract
you.
But having said that, it's notremote workers are not the only
(02:39):
people that get distracted.
But if you are working fromhome, as I said, the
distractions are there.
But, as I said, to make it asuccess, you have to be
disciplined in order to do that.
And here are a few tips for youthat I've learned not just from
my own experiences, but fromother people who work remotely,
(03:00):
in order to limit distractions,to improve focus and
productivity.
So number one is you have toidentify what those distractions
are.
So early on I used to put awashing and hanging the washing
out.
It was well-intentioned and Ididn't necessarily see that as a
distraction, but it was adistraction.
It didn't need to be done atthat particular point.
(03:21):
So I identified that as adistraction for me and I said to
myself I was intentional aboutsaying I don't need to put that
on now, I can put it on later, Ican put it on a timer, et
cetera.
All those different things.
You have to take note of thecommon distractions.
Obviously, social media is oneof those things.
(03:43):
I don't really do social mediaa lot.
Even notifications on yourphone, that red dot that appears
when you get a new notificationon WhatsApp or on social media.
I completely switched that offduring the day because that was
a massive distraction for me.
Even though you're sort ofreplying to a one-minute message
or, sorry, replying to amessage for a minute or so, that
(04:07):
has a cumulative effect ifsomebody is messaging you
continuously through the day.
So things like social media,email and, as I said, even
household noise as well.
Me as a podcaster, there's lotsof noise around.
I've learned to accept.
Now I don't have a dedicatedstudio, so I've learned to
accept that when I come to myimprovised studio so let's talk
(04:29):
about that that there are goingto be noises around and I have
to just try to avoid thosedistractions and be disciplined
enough to sort of get mypodcasting work done, for
example, and not sort of besucked in and drawn into them.
So you need to create a plan tominimize their impact on your
work day.
So that's identifying thosedistractions.
(04:51):
Number two is finding adedicated workspace.
Even if you don't have anoffice as such, you need to find
a space that you dedicate toyour work.
It may be that you have morethan one space that's dedicated
to your work, but find thatspace.
And that space should becomfortable, it should be
functional, it should supportgood posture, it should be as
(05:11):
quiet as possible, it shouldreduce physical strain during
long work hours.
So that's number two dedicatedworkspace.
Number three set boundaries.
So communicating your workhours and availability with your
team, with your family.
This can help with transparencyand helps manage expectations.
It reduces interruptions and Ican testify to that.
(05:34):
It reduces interruptions duringyour focus time, which I'm
doing right now.
This is my focus time.
I'm focusing on producing thispodcast for you.
I've got my family here, I'vegot my wife, got my kids, so
I've set that boundary.
I've said to them listen, I'mrecording this podcast.
Now Please don't come in whileI'm doing that.
So that's number three.
(05:54):
Number four taking regularbreaks.
So incorporating breaks,regular breaks and a dedicated
lunchtime into the schedule.
Put your lunchtime into yourcalendar.
Share that with with the peoplein your household, if you're
working from home, or your team,if you're working on a team
basis, whether they're local orinternational.
This allows for mental rest andpromotes overall well-being
(06:16):
throughout the work day.
And number five on my listwellness rituals, which is
something that I've repeatedover and over again is
considering incorporatingwellness rituals into breaks
such as deep breathingmeditation.
Go for a quick walk to rechargeyour batteries.
So those are my five tips foryou to hopefully help you to
(06:39):
limit distractions and improvefocus and productivity in your
life If you're working on aremote basis, especially if
you're working from home.
What other tips can you suggest?
Please leave some suggestionsin the notes.
Please leave a review in thenotes as well and let me know
what you think of the podcast.
Please leave a review as wellIf you're enjoying these
(07:01):
episodes, and also pleaseconsider resharing this with
your network so that hopefullyit can reach as many people as
possible.
But all I'd say is until thenext time.
I wish you all the best andI'll see you on the next episode
.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.