How to Be Productive With An Atypical Workweek
Have you found this year really challenging for work and nearly impossible at times to get anything done?
Maybe you’ve had to switch from working full time out of the house to working remotely while homeschooling or remote-schooling kids. Maybe you’ve been a stay at home mom with littles but now need to help support a struggling income from all of the changes. Or maybe you’re working from home and just finding it difficult to find the motivation to get work done because of the chaos in the world right now. That alone can be exhausting!
So how are we supposed to be productive when we may only have 1-2 hours a day to get that work done? How can we balance so many different types of demands for our attention?
I started my business at the same time as I started having kids, so over the last 10 years, I haven't had a typical 8-5 job. I’ve constantly been figuring out how to manage the home, multiple kids, special needs, serving different ministries and working from home with very few hours to do design work each week.
It’s always been a balancing act and never a perfect one.
But the lessons I’ve learned have really come in handy during this time of COVID and school changes.
If you’re wondering if it’s even possible to be productive or even just how to get through the day, I want to encourage you that you can!
I’m going to walk you through the 5 steps I’ve used whenever there was a big change to my plan or schedule. These steps can help you prioritize what needs to be done and what really doesn’t for this specific stage in life.
Realize there is no perfect time.
This can be a big stumbling block (or an excuse) for me because it’s easy to think that if I just wait, things will be easier to do. Like, “Maybe when the kids are in school.” or “Maybe I’ll do it when I don’t have this or that on my plate.” More often than not, in order to get something done, I’ve had to just find a creative time to do it.
For example, I wrote a lot of this post in the notes app on my phone right before bed. Is it ideal? Of course not. However, if I waited until I had 2-4 hours to sit down at the computer in a quiet house, it might never get written.
Narrow down to just the essentials.
This step can be both really freeing and really disappointing. It’s disappointing because you CAN’T do everything, but also freeing because you don’t HAVE to do everything. You have to decide what’s most important and what will actually make a difference to you personally. This is the time to cut out those things you think you HAVE to do because everyone else is doing it.
For example, I rarely post on Instagram. (Gasp! I know.) I love Instagram but it doesn’t bring me nearly as much business (or joy) as Pinterest and Email do. So I focus on Pinterest and Email. It might “look better” to have more followers on Instagram, but I don’t need it to keep my business running. So for me, it’s not essential to show up there all the time.
Use time-saving resources.
In these days of Youtube, Pinterest, DIY, Google, and Skillshare, we can easily learn how to do everything ourselves. You can become a mini expert at something in just a few weeks. But just because you CAN do all the things, doesn’t mean you should wear all those hats.
In order to simplify and be more productive, you might want to find some helpful tools to replace what usually soaks up all your time. For me, this means paying for apps, stock photos, illustrations, and fonts that others have created and not designing every little detail from scratch. For example, could I spend 3 hours shooting and editing fancy photos for every blog post? Absolutely, but I don’t need to.
What apps, resources, and templates could regularly save you time?
Create passive income.
Do you remember that one time 3 years ago when I taught a class on how to create Type Art Prints? It took me a couple of weeks to put together since I had never done anything like it before. At the time it was really out of my element, but it continues to help people and bring in a monthly income to this day. In fact, 75% of my income is passive - meaning I create something once (like a design template) that can be used over and over again by a multitude of people. Not only does it help me because of the flexible work hours, but it also gives me the ability to help people all over the world who might need a design.
What could you create that is passive? Could you write an ebook to sell on Amazon, teach a class on Skillshare, create a graphic to sell on Creative Market, design an art printable for Etsy, or physical products to sell via Printful? Find something that can sell even while you sleep so that your time limits are not necessarily limiting your income.
Create a structured work, home, + school schedule.
We’ve already established that there is no perfect time. Life will probably always feel full in different ways. That doesn’t mean you can’t create some structure for yourself. If you have the ability to create your own schedule but have a lot on your plate, I recommend creating a block schedule or ideal times for each type of work.
I currently only work on my business from 2-4 on weekdays. The first part of my day is spent homeschooling my 3 kids and then the evenings are spent doing home and family stuff. This schedule works for me, but yours might look a little different. You might want to check out these example schedules I put together if you need ideas of what’s possible.
Know what you’re working on and when.
If I didn’t do this step, I would never get anything done. I can be a really scattered person at times (#Enneagram7) but I do so much better if I have a plan in place. I use Asana to help me set quarterly, monthly & weekly goals for what work needs to be done, and then I use “theme” days to help me stay on top of those different areas. Here are. my current themes:
Mondays & Tuesdays I design new Products.
Wednesdays are for Marketing.
Thursdays I do Client work.
Fridays (or Sunday Evenings) I get caught up on Admin work & Finances.
It’s not helpful at all to find those rare few hours to get work done and then spend the entire time figuring out what to work on, right? So figure out what you need to work on each quarter and then break it down so you can’t easily get started when you have the time.
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Ready to organize your work week? Download the freebie from the Free Resource Library. You’ll also get access to 50+ resources I’ve created to simplify your work and home life.
What’s your workweek look like right now? Do you work remotely or have your own business? Share in the comments how you manage it all.
