The best hacks to staying resilient, focused and productive in lockdown with your family

I know many people are struggling at home in quarantine feeling overwhelmed when they are not getting things done as they want and need to, just because they don’t get enough time for themselves!

Over the years I've been going through all the challenges that many have to face quickly right now so I know it's not easy at all when you have to spend a lot of time at home, take care of your kids, household and work while being with your loved ones in the same space, who are also trying to do the same.

I am an online entrepreneur and I've worked from home for the last 6 years. After I left corporate and started working for myself I needed to learn to lead myself in a whole new way.

It took a good amount of effort until I found the self-discipline, habits of high productivity and the planning tools that give me clarity and balance daily — without forgetting self-care, my daily routines and personal needs.

When I became a mother a little over a year ago, my time became incredibly limited and I was at home all the time. This crisis and locked down experience reminds me a lot about last spring.

I then needed to learn to plan things out even more carefully and work more efficiently. It was actually really good for me as I didn’t have time to procrastinate anymore or overthink things too much. I had to teach my inner high-achieving perfectionist to calm down and trust less doing and more focus would be more!

So I consciously aligned my habits and the ways I worked again, my productivity actually peaked and I got so much more things done in a short time.

It made me wonder what on earth did I do with all that time before I had a child.

Again, after my husband, Joonas quit his day job a couple of months ago we had to learn how to be together all the time.

It took a little practice for us but we were able to find the ways to agree on things in a new way, take care of the household and Stella as a team, and learn how to express ourselves and our needs and feelings better (big one!). This requires constant, daily discussions.

So now, to be honest, my daily life hasn't changed that much during the complete locked down. 

We are all forced to adjust to these sudden, shocking changes. There's no office to go, social interactions and daily transitions are not happening naturally. It can feel there's no place to escape and get a breather.

This, plus all the health concerns and the fear of the unknown future can cause a lot of stress and add up insecurities and anxiety - so please be very compassionate and gentle with yourself, you are doing the best you can.

I collected the best productivity hacks, tips, and habits that I have found to be mental, emotional and financial (we all have to make our income) lifesavers when you spend 24/7 with your family and work from home.

How to get things done and feel calm and productive when working from home:

1. Be present and feel good in the moments: Inhale “receive” & exhale “release" mantra every time you feel tension or fear pops up.

2. Meditate daily - 5 minutes does miracles. 

3. Agree the house rules and make a weekly schedule with your spouse. This should include:

   1. Work meetings and taking care of the house hold, groceries & meals. Now we need to prioritize a lot and be flexible.

   2. If you both work, agree when the other one is taking care of the kids and the other one can focus on work better.

   3. Make sure everyone gets some alone time daily.

4. Take a shower daily and dress up to get ready for work — this makes a big difference on how you feel.

5. Talk about your feelings with your loved ones. Sharing helps to release blocks and vulnerability connects people intimately. Listen to what your loved ones say to you! Just being heard and seen is most often enough helpful.

6. Plan your days: Including the breaks, mealtimes, exercise and decide when you stop working. Follow your daily plan. 

7. Cook healthy, yummy food. Enjoy and appreciate every bite. 

8. Move your body somehow (have a morning dance party or take online classes) - even a couple of minutes of movement is helpful and helps you let go of the excess energy.

9. Communicate your friends and family daily; thank goodness for the technology it fulfills our social needs <3

10. Consume news and social reasonably. It easily adds up more stress and anxiety.

11. Enjoy and appreciate the time you get to spend together. 

Remind of yourself daily that this too shall pass!

It is not possible to act normally as we did before in this situation - we have to align and adjust a lot. 

To see the positives, this crisis can be a possibility to get closer and more connected with your spouse. You may get some ideas with your career or business and actually this can be quite creative time, like transformations often are. Even it’s difficult and painful.

Now it's not time to push yourself forward but allow yourself to go through this experience and feel your feelings along the way.

With these tips and habit changes, you will help yourself feel good, which is the most important thing now. 

To help you actualize all this you can download my the Daily Life Planner page CLICK here.

It gives you structure and simple guidance on how to create a morning routine and plan out your days while staying productive and knowing you will get everything done.

Take really good care of yourself, rest and focus on going through this day by day.

Much love, Jenni

Photo by Paige Cody on Unsplash - thank you so much!

Create More time and Minimize Distractions with these 4 steps

If you are like me, it's hard for you to keep your hands off your phone when you get a message or when a new notification pops up.

I used to struggle with how easily I could slip down the social media rabbit hole. It would happen many times a day when I was just "quickly checking on something." And suddenly time went by.

It made me feel lousy that I was wasting so much time, plus I felt I didn’t have any control over myself! I was constantly late and behind schedule and that meant my days got longer as I tried to fit everything in. I was always wondering, where does all the time go?

When I tracked what was causing the distractions and how much time I was wasting online every day, I decided it was vital to set clear boundaries for myself (my mind actually), so I could keep my focus and get things done efficiently - and feel good about myself in the process.

It requires true willpower to stay away from the phone when it’s the alarm clock; social and business network; entertainment system; library; assistant; and office. And that really is what our mobile device represents to us nowadays.

It's difficult to resist because we are talking about something that is extremely addictive.

Mobile phones, email, and social media wire our brains in ways it's not accustomed to being wired.

We have started to believe that we need to be contactable and available at all times. Our brain has got so distracted and disturbed that we don’t actually know how to be present without doing anything but enjoying ourselves and paying attention to the life we are living.

I believe we are talking about a bigger problem than we yet even realize.

Many believe they are the only one suffering with certain issues, and that everyone else lives happy stress-free lives. That’s a social media bubble and it’s not true.  

It's so easy to grab your phone first in the morning. Then, before even waking up properly; without setting up the day; or even saying good morning to yourself or to anyone else, your rat race has started and your day is already being driven by the demands of your phone.

It will ruin your day if you open up a message that immediately activates your stress hormones.

This could be an email that you need to react to right away; something bad you see in the news; maybe you find out there’s a huge catastrophe at work; or you discover your ex has met someone new.

Whatever it is, it can immediately cause angst. Negative thoughts and emotions then quickly run out of your control and your day starts in the wrong mood!

All the wonderful communication possibilities mobile devices offer can make you feel like you can’t lead your life, or never even have enough time to live your days, peacefully.

This can be changed. You can either give your power away or choose to respect yourself; your priorities; the connection with your loved ones; and your well-being, by setting clear boundaries.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Switch off all unnecessary notifications and put your phone on silent when you need to focus. Leave your phone in another room if its presence haunts you on your desk.

2. Create a morning routine and start your day by being present, focusing on your breathing for a while or with a short meditation.

3. Create clarity around your schedule and set intentions for your days.

4. Take breaks and recharge yourself, so your brain is not exhausted continuously. Do nothing for a couple of minutes in between all the “doing”.

The benefits are clear:

• When there are no constant beeps and pop-ups, there won't be any temptation to react and respond to those notifications. You, therefore, won't be sucked into your inbox or into a social media hole for hours.  

• You are more mindful of what happens and how you feel, and can then react and respond to events mindfully.

• You will have more energy, clarity, and time.

• Switching off your notifications is a fast and straightforward way to increase your productivity and your ability to stay calm and focused: you will feel happier as you are mastering your schedule and creating a better day for yourself - which is what we all want!

How valuable would that be for you?

Leave a comment letting me know how you manage distractions or what is causing problems for you. Ask questions! What rules have you set around your phone and internet usage and how well are those rules working for you?

To help you create successful, intentional days, you can download the printable daily page of my Clarity Planner.  

Love, Jenni

Simple Way to Boost Productivity and Increase Focus

I have been the biggest procrastinator I know and the habit caused me a lot of struggle and self-doubt as I was just not able to follow through my plans and desires. (By Gretchen Rubin's framework my tendency type is Rebel, meaning that I often resist all, inner and outer, expectations - mostly my own).  

It has been a huge learning curve for me to learn how to say no, also for myself, and set boundaries, when I just want to do this and that quickly, and ideas pop up in my head, which just distracts me (nowadays I write the them down “for later” so that I make myself to believe that I don't miss a thing).

I know so many of us who work themselves or manage their own time and schedule and struggle a lot with their time management. I wanted to share a technique with you that helps to get things fast and efficiently and it helps you to commit your goals and tasks.

How to increase your productivity, do things efficiently and keep your focus? 

This is called Pomodoro method (Pomodoro means tomato in Italian), which is amazing when you don’t have much time and you want to get things done fast and optimize your time and effort.

Many people use way too much time for simple things as they just don’t do it. This method increases your productivity when you start using it (and it makes you happier). 

Francesco Cirillo was cutting tomatoes when he got the idea of the Pomodoro Technique on the 80’s. 

How would it feel for you if you would feel complete at the end of every day?

First of all (this is my preparation advice):

• Plan your months, weeks and days (read here how to do it and download the free daily planner).

• Splitting your time in chunks keep you on your happy tracks.

• Clarify the outcome what you want and need to do.

• What would make you feel complete with the task?

• What is the tiny little thing that you need and want to get done?

• Minimize all the distractions: email, phone, social media accounts - everything that could distract you.
  

Then we are getting into the traditional Pomodoro method:

• Set the timer for 25 minutes.

• Start working - you only have to work for 25 minutes, so it’s not a big deal right?

• When the alarm peeps, take a 5-10 minute break.

Repeat for four times (100 minutes) and then take a longer 20-minute break (great time for meditation, just taking it easy, get some fresh air and empty your mind).

Why it works?

1) You set a clear intention for what you want to achieve.

2) You minimize all the distractions and focus 100% and you will get more done in 20 minutes than in hours.

3) You allow yourself to work in small time junks, which is so much easier than climbing to the huge mountain at once and feel overwhelm by it!

4) Small steps - fantastic accomplishments and you will feel complete, satisfied and rewarded after you are done.

Don’t go to social media during the breaks if you don’t really have to. You only get distracted and overwhelmed or end up in a social media rabbit hole and suddenly two hours is gone. Or you start comparing yourself to others and self-doubt takes over. So say brave no for social media!

As Francesco's brilliant idea proves: the best ideas always come when you least expect them! No pushing, no struggling - but with life with ease attitude!

Hope you enjoyed this!

Let me know in the comments below in what ways were you able to boost your productivity or what is the biggest block for you.

With love,
Jenni