The reality of working from home: Productivity is sold separately.

Hello everyone,

It’s been a while since I’ve posted here. Life has a habit of pulling us in so many various directions, and before you know it, weeks turn into months, but I am here once more, eager to pick up where we left off.

As a few of you know, I started a new job about a month ago as a General Manager for a new company called Lumea Vision. It’s a fancy title, being the GM and all, but a boatload of work is more the reality, and it also brings me into the fascinating world of working from home. Now, on the face of it, this is the dream. No commute. No traffic. No office politics. Being able to wear a smart top for meetings and pyjama pants on the bottom (don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it or done it, you know who you are).

However, as with all things in life, the reality is a little bit more nuanced.

The liberty that puts you to the test

The biggest surprise to me hasn’t been how much I adore the comforts of home; that was a no-brainer (obviously). It’s how difficult it is sometimes to stay disciplined when the day is lacking in structure.

The fridge is five steps away, the couch even closer. There is no clear “end” to the day when your living room doubles as your office. Before you know it, you’re working too little or too much, and either way, it doesn’t feel like you’re doing it “right”.

What I’ve found is that freedom without structure can be a double-edged sword. This has taken me down a path of experimentation.

Discipline as design, rather than willpower

First, I thought the answer was just willpower. Just sit down and do it, right? It turns out willpower runs out faster than your coffee supply, and I’ll have you know, my coffee supply is adequate, but even so, it seems to run out quickly.

I’ve been working to more intentionally shape my days, build the necessary structure into them, so to speak and here’s how:

1. I identified that a morning routine that signals the start of my working day is the way to go. A quick coffee, reading the latest news, catching up on journaling, or simply enjoying the cup of coffee. I always have it in the same white porcelain cup, too, just to add to the consistency for good measure. (Those of you who know me know which cup I am referencing.) So after the quick morning routine is done, I go straight to the laptop.

2. I have been experimenting with time blocking, and this has been a game-changer. For a certain amount of time on my calendar, I would block out the time to work on a specific task. This minimises distractions.

3. Establishing a clear “end” of day marker. In my instance, it’s picking my daughter up from the daycare. This signals to your brain and body that the work day is over.

4. Daily exercise, be it going to the gym to lift weights, cycling, or swimming I am always trying to get in some movement during my “lunch break”. I never used to make time for it before, so now I am really enjoying it.

I am still working on refining the daily structure, but considering where I have started, it has certainly made a massive difference in implementing these strategies.

A shared struggle

I think genuinely most of us are writing similar pages in our own lives, learning to balance productivity and presence, work and rest, and lastly freedom and structure.

If this new job and new season have shown me anything, it is that discipline is not a matter of whipping yourself into shape; it is, however, a matter of setting up small systems which gently nudge you back to what matters most.

So here I am winging it as I go and taking you with me because “Martins et al” was never just about me, it’s about the “and others”. It’s meant to be about learning, failing, laughing, and hopefully, bit by bit, making our lives feel just that much more meaningful.

Until next time,

Keep on keeping on, my fellow authors of life.

Euan