Maybe you’re feeling a little disoriented now you’re working-from-home. That’s okay but please don’t feed those nerves.

If you’re employed with a company and now getting used to navigating tech and business hours on your own, this new almost-global dynamic may seem awkward and you might not know where to start or how to stay motivated.

Or are you a formerly hot-footed freelancer always on-the-go, like i was up until 2013, when I pressed paused on frequent travel, and sat still enough to get fresh perspective as a new creation and start this blog. Here’s a popular post about that eye-opening and initially nerve-wracking experience.

Pacing housework with business duties and managing (gifted) time has now taken a huge step forward on a global scale, though those things have always mattered whether we acknowledged it or not.

Each business has its own operational system, whether that looks like paperwork, digital platforms or a combo of both.

Whether it’s C.O.S.I.S for music P.R.Os, Logic Pro for producers, Final Cut Pro for filmmakers/video editors or project management app, Trello or shared files through Google Drive, once you know how to navigate it, the important step is to dedicate time to logging on and putting in the work.

These 5 Top Tech Tools for content management businesses come in handy for some others too. #5 on the list is especially useful for all businesses now embracing the remote work formula for their employees.

It’s helpful and effective for:

• group communication
• task delegation
• file sharing
• scheduling
• tracking work activity (login times & more), and you can give different team members different levels of access, so be sure to check out this post for that info.

Coming up, I’ll share links to in-house blog posts about work-from-home life, apps and mini-tutorials, but if there’s a specific area you don’t see here that you’d like me (or a guest writer) to share on, feel free to sound your voice in the comments so we can get to it.

Oh, that reminds me. Here’s a brief outline of some of the ways I’ve worked with a lot of people in different countries, whom I’ve never met (or heard) in person. Hopefully this gives you an idea of how doable it is (for as long as business is still is thing) to communicate with your company or clients and get work done while at home in this season.

• Communication – Email, Website contact page, Facebook Messenger

• Work Platform: Logic Pro (even if they use a different DAW, I make sure there’s a universal file format like .aiff, .wav, .mp3), Word. I use Mac; most of my overseas creative work peeps do too but here in Bim, some use P.C, so mostly for freelance writing work, it’s a quick online free file conversion for anything created in Pages or Keynote to a format compatible with P.C. For consulting work and some podcast interviews done through video conferencing – Zoom.

• Large File Sharing/Sending (free or paid): wetransfer.com
• Online banking, Western Union, PayPal (Stripe on the way)

Once you learn how to navigate the program your company uses, it’s a matter of being assigned a login – and setting aside designated time to log on and get work done.

What’s likely to be a challenge for many employees now working from home unexpectedly is the portioning off of time without being in a group environment for any visible external motivation or supervision.

Mindset is key!

We can have access to all the tech tools, writing utensils and pretty planners on the map, but it’s mindset and momentum that will get us moving to get work done.

And it’s okay if or when you need to rest and be refreshed.

Because we’re not machines (well, those of us who still check the CAPTCHA box on websites verifying who’s not a robot), you’re “allowed” time to go into the kitchen – for more than an hour, if you like.

And it’s alright if you need some fresh air and want to go in the garden or yard, or on the balcony with a hot drink, soul bowl or smoothie for a few moments.

Just put in the work. In time, you’ll recognize your most productive hours, business wise. Housecleaning, laundry and gardening are productive too – those are whole jobs in and of themselves, so keeping up with a career doesn’t override taking care of the home you’re in.

Here’s an insightful guest post and podcast episode sharing time management tips on finding personal space written by Margaret R. Niles, PhD and another post (with a recorded interview) called “Mindset Refresh” with clinician, Joanne Nicholls.

Ok, onto the clickable links for things like creating a clean and cosy home office, setting the scene for your writing journey, time management tips for today’s creative entrepreneur and from employee to entrepreneur.

Pace yourself.

Remote work as an employee is kinda like working for yourself even though you’re reporting to and working with/for a company.

So, take the initiative, prepare a workspace, make and enjoy lunch when you want, schedule tasks and set aside gifted time to take care of them while taking care of the home you’re in.

It’s not always easy, but it is possible.

Get your business clarity map as a printable .PDF workbook

Any helpful points to add to encourage someone reading this post? Firsthand experience to share? Post request?

Whether we’re currently employed or entrepreneurial, let’s add looking out for each other as a top priority on our daily to-do list. Stay safe wherever you are. I appreciate you for taking the time to read this, and hope it serves you well. Today’s shout-out goes to Rena. Love you, sis.

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To donate to this blog where you’ll find over 300 posts of refreshment reminders, work-at-home and blogging steps, the PayPal email address is itsjoywithin@gmail.com – thanks in advance.