From The Desk of a Veteran Stay-At-Home Toronto Content Writer

Happy Friday, Friends!

(Side Note) My site is finally done, my packages and services nailed down, so I decided it was time to get this blog on the road. I am wildly excited that you’ve decided to stop your surfing to see what this Lil’ ol’ Toronto Content Writer has to say. I hope that if you’re a solopreneur and feeling a bit lonely and overwhelmed with all things content creation, I can come alongside you to help and empower you to KEEP going! I’ve been where you are in the trenches of solopreneurship, and it is hard! Kudos to you for being brave enough to strike out. It’s not easy, and I see you.

If you’re a ministry leader, pastor, or non-profit director, who’s struggling to effectively maintain the connection with your community and convey your message, I AM HERE FOR YOU! Being raised a pastor’s kid, working with non-profits and running my own social entrepreneurship business for a few years taught me A TON, and I’d love nothing more than to help you with all your content creation headaches and stresses. What you do matters, and the current massive shift towards digital and virtual content should not stop you from fulfilling your purpose. In fact, it should amplify it! So stick around, and I’ll do my best to deliver content that will inspire, encourage and empower you to grow!

Productivity Tips From A Toronto Copy Writer

Now on to today’s topic…….PRODUCTIVITY!

Working from home is simultaneously awesome and sucky, particularly if you’re easily distracted and have a lot going on in your home as I do. I currently have one University student, one Gr. 12 student, one Gr. 5 student all being educated virtually from our home. The other teen in this home attends part-time in person and has to be driven just to make things extra fun. My husband works from home, and I have a French Bulldog who is literally velcroed to my lap.

Here’s how I’m making it work:

Tip 1: Plan Your Day The NIGHT Before

Blah, blah, blah…right?! You’ve heard this literally a MILLION times before. Also, you don’t do it. Neither did I, at least not consistently, but I’ve learned something this year, and that is that consistency is the key to success. (I’m sure there are other ones, but this is the one I’ve been missing) I’m guessing that you haven’t been consistent with this advice, so I’m here to give you a virtual kick in the pants and tell you just to do it.

To help me stay consistent, I have a notebook with a pen right beside my bed. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy…just put the must do’s (more on what I mean by that in another blog).

Productivity Tips From A Toronto Content Writer

Tip 2: 90 Minutes of Uninterrupted Productivity First Thing

This is hard….but you can do it. Do NOT touch your phone for the first 90 minutes of your workday. Prioritize the one thing that you want to get done to advance your work, message or purpose and do that! Your phone is too dangerous. That thing is set up to grab your attention and keep it. It’s designed to get you thinking about whatever your favourite social media platforms algorithm has ready to serve up to you, and you, my friend, need all that fresh brain power your gained sleeping to be put into your own content, not someone else’s.

This is a game-changer.

Do it for a week and tell me it didn’t make a difference. I dare you! Also, go watch The Social Dilemma; I’d love to hear your thoughts on that….scary stuff.

Tip 3: STOP, Multitasking!

I’m not going to go into all the research; it’s been blogged about a ton. Still, I will say being present and seeing one thing through, one after another is so much more productive than spinning a bunch of plates all day and at the end of the day having nothing to show for your efforts but a lot of effort and no completions. Being a mom, wife and Toronto content writer, I know the pressure to try and multi-task. Trust me when I ask you to stop trying to be a hero and focus on one good outcome after another.

Productivity is about doing less. Busyness is about doing more. ~ Benjamin Hardy Phd

There’s nothing that will boost your confidence and motivate you to keep going, like finally seeing your ideas materialize.

Tip 4: Go For A Walk

When you work from home, it can feel like you’re always kind of at work, so it feels justifiable to take a little time to do this or that; before you know it, there’s been more “this or that” than working and your day is almost gone leading you to work longer than you would have and feeling like your in an endless marathon of tasks.

The trick here is to plan your break and stick to it. Get outside, move your body and appreciate being in a different environment. Not only is this good for your body and mental health, but it’s also helpful for your creativity. It’s true that a lot of famous philosophers and writers also made walking an important part of their daily routine.

Productivity Tips From A Content Writer

Tip 5: Reward Yourself 

Staying focused for me is tough work but knowing that there’s a reward at the end of the tunnel is a huge motivator. I like to break up my day with small rewards. For instance, if I finish a particular task, I’ll tell myself I can go grab a coffee or call my friend for a quick 5-minute chat. One of the things we are missing out on by working at home and being socially distanced is social interaction. As you know, social interaction is super important, so reward yourself with a quick conversation with someone you’ve been missing.

Bonus Tip:

Okay, maybe you’ll think this is weird, but it works for me, so I’m going to be brave and share it. Buy yourself a pair of glasses even if you don’t need them. I have a pair of blue light blocking one’s. Why do you ask? This is embarrassing, but they make me feel smart. They’re like my little alter ego. I put these babies on, and I’m instantly the brainiac I always knew I was. The other benefit is that it signals to all the other humans in my space that I am now in work mode, and I’m off mom duty.

P.S. I’d highly recommend checking out Benjamin Hardy’s article on Medium about how to get into a state of flow. It was so helpful in getting me on track and finally seeing things completed.