I don’t work in an office. I work from home and have been able to avoid office politics for a long time. There are many reasons that I’m glad for that but I’m particularly glad about it now because the recession has changed the mood in most offices. At least that’s what it sounds like from what my friends and acquaintances have been reporting from their own experiences in the 9-5 world.

What I keep hearing is that there is a climate of fear in most offices today. Employees are worried about layoffs and cutbacks in hours. There are a lot of closed-door meetings. Employers are scared of what’s going to happen and how to navigate their businesses through these tough times without adding to the climate of fear.

This has changed the way that people are acting in the office. Productivity levels have changed. Work habits have changed. Relationships in the office have change. And people feel really unsettled and unstable and unsure of what’s going on at work which makes everyone a little bit uncomfortable there.

It’s not all bad. There are some companies, particularly small ones, that have been able to create a climate of comradeship in the office and to foster the notion that working together to get through this can be a way to strengthen the core of the business. However, there are also a lot of businesses that either can’t or won’t approach the problem in this way. It’s a scary time and I have to confess that I’m a little bit glad not to be enmeshed in it on a daily basis.

Tags: business, economy, kathryn vercillo, office, people, productivity, recession, work

I love “to do” lists. I make a To Do list at the start of every week with the tasks that must be completed for work as well as the tasks that I need to complete in my personal life. I find that it brings a sense of order to my days and makes me capable of easily seeing how to organize my time.

However, I realize that the To Do list isn’t the most efficient tool for this type of organization. There are several alternatives to the To Do list that are probably preferable to this method including calendaring, the use of task management software programs and simply doing tasks as they come to mind instead of writing them down and putting them off until later.

I do use these tools to some extent. I rarely work on team projects as a freelancer but when I do I have been know to use different task management programs such as BaseCamp and Liquid Planner to get the work done more efficiently. I also use Google Calendars when organizing my own work.

Despite my ability to use these tools, I still hang on to the habit of using a To Do list regularly. I think there’s some value to having rituals in our lives and that’s one that seems to work for me. I’m not arguing that it’s efficient but it’s working for me.

Do you use To Do lists? If not, how do your organize your tasks?

Tags: business, freelance, getting things done, kathryn vercillo, productivity, task management, to do list

I’ve been writing a whole lot lately about how hard it is to work from home. I’ve been thinking about productivity and how to make it better in the home office. I’ve been wondering if multi-tasking helps or hinders these goals. And I’ve been putting together tips for increasing home office productivity. All of these things are based on my own experiences working from home for so many years.

But the truth is that I don’t always do what I recommend that others should do. And yes, my productivity probably falters because of it. Some of the things that I do wrong when it comes to working from home:

• I turn on the TV at lunchtime. It’s supposed to be a quick distraction but usually I get sucked in and leave it on for several hours in the background while I try to do my work which tends to mean that I’m only half paying attention to what I need to be working on.
• I check my social networking sites and IM throughout the day. This means that I’m regularly getting distracted by non-work conversations during my work hours.
• I often work from bed. I don’t have a good work space in my house and I frequently spend hours working from my bed even though I don’t think this is healthy for the mind or body.

However, there’s a lot I do right which is why I can make things work as a full-time freelancers. Things I’ve gotten down include:

• Scheduling. I’ve learned to create a schedule that works for me and I’ve learned how to adapt that schedule as needed when other things come up.
• Setting boundaries. When I don’t want to be bothered during working hours I have no problem letting people know that.
• Getting up and dressed. Even though I work from bed a lot, I always get up first and shower and put on clothes that are nice and make the bed before getting back into it.

Learning to work well from home takes time. I’m getting there.

Tags: advice, business, freelance, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, productivity, small business, work, work from home, working for yourself, writing

Many people have told me that they would love to work from home but that they don’t think they could be productive there. It’s true; it’s really easy to get off task when you work from home. Your home life and work life tend to blend and you could easily find yourself watching TV when you’re supposed to be working. However, if you put a few simple things in place at your home office then you can have the benefits of working from home without the drawbacks.

To be productive when working from home you really need to make a commitment to doing this work. If you’re fully committed to the idea that you’ll work from home then you’ll be able to put an effective plan in place for being productive during your working hours at home. This plan includes when and where you will work and how you will separate that from your home life.

It’s not easy to figure out this plan. You will constantly be adjusting things (especially your schedule) to see what works so that you can be productive at home without feeling like you’re constantly tied to work. It’s true that this type of balancing act isn’t right for everyone. However, it’s great for some of us when we can figure out how to make it work for us!

Tags: business, employment, productivity, self-employed, tips, work

I’ve really been struggling lately with trying to figure out how to increase my happiness throughout the day. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not particularly unhappy. However, I have come to truly believe that the key to complete satisfaction in life is to maximize contentedness within every moment. It’s basically the idea of “being here now” and learning how to do that within the confines of a real (busy!) life.

One of the things that I’m wondering in relation to this is whether I need to stop multi-tasking. There are certainly pros and cons to multi-tasking. I’ve derived many benefits from multi-tasking in terms of being able to take on many jobs at once and to seamlessly integrate work life with my home life. I am a natural mutli-tasker and I feel more comfortable working this way than focusing on one task at a time.

However, I don’t think multi-tasking is conducive to my goal of trying to find true happiness in every moment. In order to “be here now”, you actually have to be present and fully focused on what you’re doing. You have to do things mindfully which means doing them with your full attention. Multi-tasking is the exact opposite of this.

I’m not really sure that I can give up multi-tasking all together. My brain tends to just keep trying to sort things out while I’m doing other things. And I don’t really know if quitting mutli-tasking is good for me in terms of productivity. But it’s something that I want to play around with more because I do think that true peace of mind only comes when you are focused on what is in front of you.

Tags: business, freelance, mulit-tasking, multitasking, productivity, work

As the result of many years of working as a freelancer and playing around with my own schedule on a regular basis, I have come to conclude that some days are going to be more productive than others. I have also learned that there is a steady rhythm to this ebb and flow of productivity for me.

The most productive days of the month for me seem to be the ones during which I do my organizing and planning. Although more may actually get done on days when I’m plowing through my projects, the act of getting it all sorted out on a calendar and a spreadsheet is really what makes me capable of being steadily productive.

For me, these days are the first few days of the month and the last few days of the month. I don’t do a lot of “work” on these days but instead take the time to review the month that has just passed, organize the month’s finances and then plan out the goals for the new month.

I don’t limit this to just work either. I also use these days of the month to make my personal To Do lists, set forth some creative goals for the month and figure out what I want to do with who and when. Of course, these plans are flexible and subject to change on a whim but the organized approach makes me feel like I can handle the ebb and flow of the rest of the month with ease.

Tags: be more productive, freelance, increase productivity, most important days of the month, productivity, schedule, working