Project: Respect for The After-Hours

By this title, you probably think I am going to talk about keeping work and home separate. That is to say, keeping your work hours between 9 to 5 (or whatever structure you have set up within the realm of your work enterprise). Then barricading your home and dedicating it solely to its own eat, pray, love existence so that never the two shall meet.

However, no. Today I am talking about the importance of setting yourself apart from the norm and immersing yourself in the hub of another existence, another culture to find fuel. Finding motivation and frankly finding the time to get things done without the interruption of people who know you and those you know.

I am talking about cafés, libraries, sometimes even your own home office. I am talking about working remotely: Stepping outside the comfort of your cubicle and away from your desk to solely focus on the project before you. Whether you have a proposal you have to review, a budget you need to write, a PowerPoint presentation to perfect - it needs to be just you and your work.

2 Tips to Turning The “Remote” On!

• 9-Noon

Ever heard of highway hypnosis? It is when you are driving on one long stretch of seemingly endless road. Like the Energizer Bunny, you keep going and going and going. The danger is your eyes become dangerously accustomed to the yellow and white lines until everything is a blur; blinking does nothing to help. So you become a hazard to yourself and your surroundings because you are slightly numb to the environment, and your reactions are delayed.

Now, translate that to your office. You go and go and go until you are just working repetitively but at the end of the day a little unsure of what you may have done or clocked in - your creativity was delayed. Try working at least 9-noon out of office, Instead of being in the office from 9-5 all day. Give yourself a chance to blink, breath and come back from the highway of the rat race.

• Turn the Tech Off

Sometimes it means…yes, turn the tech off. Maybe just disconnecting from Wi-Fi, social media, email. Maybe it is time you catch up on reading or writing. But turning the tech off in this technologically progressive world seems like a non-conducive day and way to strategically accomplish your tasks, but there are more distractions with notifications than you notice until you quiet their incessant pinging.

So the next time you are feeling overwhelmed, and a project deadline is looming don’t wait until things are too late. Let your creativity loose. Get out there and turn your Remote On!

-The Green Couch