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5 Brain Hacks to help you get work done from home.
Ultimately we all want the same thing, Less Stress and More Progress.
We all want to get our work done, so we can go play, but many of us are struggling to get motivated and focused to do the work. Your boss thinks the best way to solve this is to return to the office, but after two and half years of working in your pj’s, that feels more like a punishment than a solution.
The real problem is not where you work, it’s how you work.
In other words, what is happening in our brains and bodies determine our ability to be focused and productive. Although your environment does play a role in this, it’s not the driving force in your motivation.
We can probably all agree that you don't want to work from home, you want to get paid from home.
You love all the benefits of being home; working your pj's, sipping adult beverages from a coffee mug on zoom calls, and the freedom of time to walk the dog, run errands or make Dr.s appointments. And of course we all love the perks of collecting a paycheck- like eating and paying the mortgage. But getting paid means you have to be productive.
A JOB is transactional. "I do this for you and you pay me that." But this issue goes far beyond the money. In fact, studies show that people who value time over money are significantly happier.
In other words, the autonomy and freedom we get from working at home is worth more to us - on the happiness scale- than the money. This is why so many of us are so reluctant to head back into the office. We are afraid of giving up our autonomy. This is also the same reason we have a difficult time being self starters and getting motivated to do the work.
Working from home has changed our brains.
It’s like a wild animal being set free from captivity, once they know what real grass feels like, they are never going back. Their instincts kick-in and they become self-sufficient. One key difference here is that you are not a wild animal, and you can’t live off the land. You still need your paycheck, but you want your freedom.
Our brains and bodies have adapted to the creature comforts of working from home and it feels right, however this has also changed our ability to focus, and be self motivated.
Workers with families report constant distractions and increased stress while single people report feeling isolated, lonely and unmotivated. Employers are seeing decreases in productivity, lost revenue and more employee turnover, and it’s costing them millions of dollars and it’s costing you your mental health.
But the answer is not to give up our freedom and go back to the office; it’s to change how we use our brains...
Pre-pandemic, when we were exclusively working from the office, the environment acted as a catalyst to engage the brain to get work done with a work first, be happy later model. The traditional office environment overrides the brain and bodies natural rhythms with things like artificial light, and subdivided spaces, rigid schedules and micro-managers. We got used to this, and for many of us spending decades in that environment, we never knew the difference.
We all accepted that the Sunday Scaries, Manic Mondays, the Hump Day Slump and Working for the Weekend were all just part of adulting. When in fact these are all signs of a Dysregulated Nervous System. ADHD, Anxiety, Panic, Stress, Overwhelm and Shutdown, are actually signs that our brains are working from Survival Mode. It’s not healthy, and it’s far less productive.
So how do we fix that?
Right now, we all have a case of what I call the Can’t Want To’s. We can’t seem to get focused and motivated to DO the work. So we procrastinate as long as we can and stress ourselves into doing it. We end up putting ourselves back into survival mode, where we have been trained to produce results for years. Although it does produce some results in the short term- it doesn't feel good, and it’s not sustainable.
The great news is there are some simple hacks to help your brain get out of survival mode and align with your goals so you can work with naturally energized motivation, get your work done faster, without giving up your freedom and autonomy.
Wake up to sunlight. Your eyes are actually an extension of your brain. They detect threats and rewards. They are also a conduit for light, which is essential to the brain. When natural light is perceived, it has a calming effect on the parts of the brain that affect mood and stress response. In addition, Light actually resets and regulates the rhythmic systems of our brains including our circadian and ultradian rhythms. When you get sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning, it actually sets the timer for the sleep hormone, melatonin to release at night. Sleep is an essential ingredient in focus and motivation.
Forward Ambulation. Moving your body, under your own energy and in a forward direction, otherwise known as walking, creates something called Optic Flow which reduces activity in the amygdala - the part of your brain that lights up and fires out the stress response we feel in our body like anxiety and ultimately shutdown and retreat (AKA procrastination). Taking a morning walk can help set a lower baseline for stress for the day and will help you maintain focus throughout the day.
Break Down Tasks and Race the Clock-
In my workshop Focused AF, we use what I call Focused 45’s to complete short bursts of focused work. This does 3 things:
1. Your brain loves clear, uncomplicated directions. Break your tasks down into smaller steps. This allows your brain to trim the fat, stop over thinking and stay focused on completing the task.
2. There is good stress and bad stress. Setting a timer actually engages the brain in good stress. It puts your conscious focus on the clock and lets your subconscious do what it does best- work at superspeed, without your silly, and slow, conscious mind getting in the way.
3. Our energy and focus actually comes in waves, known as an Ultradian Rhythm, and cycles every 90-120 minutes. Working for 45 minute intervals, strategically timed during your ultradian cycle, can help you optimize your focus and energy usage during the most important tasks.
Use an E.O.D Brain Dump NOT a To-Do List.
At the end of your work day, or before switching between major tasks or projects, do a brian dump. Our brains hate open loops. Unfinished projects or unsolved problems take up a lot of mental real estate and drain our energy. This is known as the Zeigarnik Effect, and if you're into reading German research articles from the 1920’s, you’re welcome!
This is also why multitasking is the least effective strategy for reducing stress and increasing productivity, and why To-Do lists don’t actually work. Here’s what a Brain Dump looks like, and feel free to download the template- You can thank me later!🙂
Last but not least, Pay Yourself First! We have all heard that the best way to save money is to pay yourself first. Skim a little off the top of every paycheck and squirrel it away. Well guess what- the best way to save time is to take a little off the top. How you spend the first hour of your day will have the biggest impact on your energy and mood as well as your ability to focus and actually get stuff done. A morning routine is key. If you want a good one that is designed to balance your dopamine, cortisol, and serotonin levels check this one out!
Whether you are an entruprenuer or trying to hold it together working from home, I hope these hacks help you get more done. Ifare ready to take your brain to the next level check out FOCUSED AF. It's a 3 week workshop that will change your brain and change how you work! Summer Session Starts Soon!
