Hey guys, Masha here from Masha Plans!

Today we will be talking about working from home.

Working from home can be so hard, I’ve been doing it for a year already, and still, I find myself occasionally struggling with productivity and time management.

And who can say no to a sweet nap after lunch? Or how do you go back to work if you have all the chores there? Or your family not realizing your working boundaries?

There are so many difficulties with that, especially if it’s something you’re forced to do during the pandemic (thank you CORONAVIRUS!) and not something you just wanted to do.

Let’s be honest here - working from home is much harder than working in an office. Yes, you might not need to wake up that early or wear a suit, but you do need to have a lot of will to stay organized.

Ok I made it sound probably worse than it actually is, I’m just having one of those days when I had a lot of work to do and then life happened, and well, not much work-wise was done.

Anyways, today I’ll be trying to help you to get organized and to use your Bullet Journal to help you be at your best while working from home.

Let’s dive in!

SUPPLIES

Of course, first, we talk about supplies. 

I decided this time to be more experimental and change up the supplies I use.

The notebook is always Archer and Olive, I’m using this A5 beauty.

But pens were a bit different than my usual - I used Sakura Pigma Micron and Tombow Dual Brush pens. I have quite a collection of those but somehow never use it. No time like now!

ROUTINE

The first page I’ll recommend you to create is a daily routine spread. This really is the best way to stay organized.

Think of when you work at the office - you have working hours, you have a lunch break and you probably have a certain routine already down - morning for emails, afternoon meetings, and so on.

While working from home you need the same organization and a schedule, just this time you set and control it yourself.

Create the schedule for yourself and follow it, like for real, without 3-hour lunch breaks and such.

This will help you to stay organized yourself but also will be a great signal for your family that these hours are for work only and you will not be available for anything else.

TIME TRACKING

Another great technique to use is time tracking.

You lose a lot of time on meaningless things, even more so at home where you have all your things and all the possible distraction.

So I give you - time tracking! Spend at least a week tracking how you spend your time. This will give you incredible insight.

First - you will see how much time you actually spend on work and how much on distractions. I’m not saying you’re a robot and have to work 8 hours non stop, but there are surely things you could eliminate and end up being more productive.

Secondly, it can help you analyze your days and find your most productive times in the day. Like if after lunch you find yourself on Facebook more than at work - it might be your low point so you might consider scheduling some menial tasks for that time.

POMODORO TRACKER

Pomodoro technique is one of the best ways to be focused and I think using it and tracking it separately or in your weekly spreads can be very beneficial.

The technique is pretty simple - put a time for 25 minutes and work on something non-stop. Then have a 5-minute break and start another 25 minutes of work.

After you did 2-3 pomodoros, award yourself with a linget 15-minute break. Just be sure you don’t spend it on social media - these will suck out your time and your energy, you won’t even notice.

The best distraction during the break would be to get some tea, to walk a little, maybe to have a face mask during the long break.

This is an easy way to work focused and always be sharp because you’d be getting enough rest in between your intense sessions.

SETTING GOALS

The important thing when you work from home is not to just plan your week, but set goals.

Each week define three main tasks you need to accomplish and each day start from the most important task.

I recommend to just add and highlight these goals in your weekly spreads.

GOOD DAY / BAD DAY LIST

Working from home means that you have more control over what and when you do. So if you have a bad day you don’t have to push yourself doing something demanding and can concentrate on something more simple.

Create a list of tasks for good days and bad days, so when you’re on your best you harvest that energy, and when you’re not feeling so good you can give yourself a little break.

PLAN WITH ME

Want to see me setting us these pages? Check out my Plan With Me video below. 

They all are pretty easy to make but they will be such amazing tools for working from home.

FREE PRINTABLE

From all these pages I think the most time consuming was a time tracker, so I thought I’d create a printable one for you.

This one is for an entire month since it’s my favorite way to track things. It’s perfect to see what’s up for the first week or two and then see how well your adjustments work for the second part of the month.

I hope you found these pages as useful as I did.

Be sure to tag me (@mashaplans) and @archerandolive on Instagram if you use any of these pages, we’d love to see your recreations!

Keep Bullet Journaling and Don’t Be A Blob!