A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to My Office… Desk

I was looking forward to the first shower I had had in three days. (no judgement, please). I went into the bathroom and turned the water on to get hot. My cell phone rang, in a different room, and my FITBIT said it would be a short call; just a venue owner telling me their meeting room was closed until further notice. I quickly picked it up so he didn’t have to leave a message. “No worries”, I said, “our speaker cancelled and we can’t gather in a large group anyway.” After a few pleasantries, I hung up and checked my email.

Then I spent a few minutes in the “I am so Disney” group on Facebook, and found my daily email from the Disney Food Blog. It featured 10 Disney-themed memes, most of which were really cute. I proceeded to download all of them, and then checked my email AGAIN. I knew at that moment that I was in my home office, mostly naked…but I live alone on the third floor, so who cares? (I told you, NO JUDGING!)

I perused all of my direct messages, responded to each of them, and then commented on some other artists’ posts. Twenty minutes later, I got a little bored and went into the bathroom for that shower. I shockingly discovered that the shower had been on THE WHOLE TIME. My water was lukewarm and getting cooler. UGH! I berated myself for getting trapped in the rabbit hole of social media and not maintaining my focus on something as trivial as a shower! I then blamed it all on the virus and the “shutdown” of our normal routine lives.

Even my everyday life looks different now, and although I have worked from home for nearly 18 years, it is still a challenge to stay focused and get things promptly and according to schedule. You might be having the same trouble, so I thought I would send you some tips.

As solo artists and entertainers, we are used to working from the kitchen, dining room table and even our laptops in bed. But, we very rarely have our entire family in the house with us, distracting us with their needs for meals, laundry, entertainment and attention. Read on if you are interested in some tips for how to manage this new environment of “Working From Home.”

TIPS For Working at Home without Losing Your Mind

1. Establish a schedule. Do not lay in bed or binge watch with your kids. This shutdown could go on for a long time, so keep doing the things you would regularly do in your home, but stick to a schedule. This is not the time to “wing it.” Have a clear understanding of when you can be the most productive, when you should take breaks, and when to shut off for the night.
2. Set physical boundaries for your workspace. If you do not have a clearly delineated office, create one inside of another room, so you can keep your workspace separate from everything else the family is doing. Establish rules with your kids (especially if young) for them to “not touch items in the office or on the desk.” If you have a quiet space of your very own it will be easier to shut down at the end of the day, when you leave that space. Be organized with your electronic devices and office supplies so you can work uninterrupted with everything at your fingertips.
3. Set guidelines with your family, and enlist their support to understand that when you are in your workspace you are working and should not be interrupted for minor issues that interfere with your productivity.Rely on the schedule to help the family focus on individual daily goals of school, work, leisure, etc.
4. Upgrade your technology for the future, so that you have decent WIFI service, a laptop with a webcam (for digital meetings) and a nice set of speakers (for podcasts and webinars). You might find that this is THE way to work in the future and so make a decent investment instead of suffering through daily technological nightmares.
5. Create a plan for your kids and your spouse, so that they can complete their tasks for school and work as well. EVERYONE should be contributing to quiet work times, meal prep, housecleaning, and any other family chores that you may have done alone in the past. They cannot help if you don’t lay out the plan that includes them. Now is not the time to be a superhero and try to do it all!
6. Avoid distractions, either noisy ones like a barking dog or a loud television, or annoying “notification” chirps, bells, whistles and the like. Use noise-cancelling headphones if the distractions are coming from within your house.
7. First thing in the morning, get ready for your workday. You can’t go out to meet prospects right now, but act as if it were any other day: shower, dress, do your hair and makeup (if you normally do), and put yourself in the mindset of a CEO who is going to manage and grow your business, albeit in a different way than you used to. Readiness to work at home is an individual thing, and although I LOVE that I can work in my pajamas with messy hair, I get more done when I pretend like my home office is offsite, and treat it as such. Pajamas and sweatpants denote leisure wear…and I cannot get as much done during the day, if I am dressed for bed.
8. Take advantage of the flexibility you have right now: use the time to set a new routine of game playing, family walks, baking with your kids, and use these things to break up your work day. You deserve a break, so take one, but don’t fall down the social media rabbit hole…scrolling and reading, reading and scrolling is not a healthy way to pass the time.
9. Plan your meals and work your plan. It is all too easy to lazily subsist on snacks and wine…and if that is your norm, then ignore this tip. When people started to stock up for the shutdown in the US, snack food sales spiked (along with toilet paper and cleaning supplies, of course). Use the evening to plan what you might serve the next day…and then schedule meal prep time into the daily calendar. Snacks should not take the place of nutritious meals, just because we can eat whatever and whenever we want.
10. Put away your work after hours. Even though everyone is home and everyone is doing their best work, home school, and socially distance, you and your family still need some downtime to enjoy each other’s company. My family plays cards and board games. Find something your family likes to do, (given your locale’s restrictions) and do it. Maybe a walk, a bike ride, a jigsaw puzzle. Now is the time to get creative!
11. Stay connected. Artists and entertainers are used to being around people, making them laugh, spreading joy. There is no time like the present to share a funny meme, an interesting recipe, or a new idea for marketing your business during the shutdown. Using your technology to speak on camera with friends and colleagues is crucial right now. Figure out a way to communicate with your prospects, clients, friends and colleagues so that we don’t become isolated and fear-filled.

I am here to help, and will be offering free “Huddle Up” Zoom calls in my Accelerate Your Success Facebook Group on Mondays and Fridays at 10 a.m. Join the group down below and then you will able to see the link and come on the video call.

—————————————————————————————————————Diane Spadola has 17 years of experience as a face painter and body artist. She founded Bella Faccia Painting after 16 years in corporate marketing and business development. Her specialty is helping other artistic entertainers to grow their businesses and earn a full time income. To subscribe to Diane’s free, twice-monthly newsletter for face and body painters, “Brushing Up with Bella Faccia,” visit www.bellafacciapainting.com