Pinar Tarhan
I’m a freelance writer, translator, novelist, and blogger. I write about a variety of topics including blogging, freelancing, productivity, relationships, and mental health. I’ve written for CNN, The Washington Post, Horkey Handbook, Body + Soul, and WOW! Women on writing among others.
I watch more Netflix than I should, but I find a way to benefit from it, whether it’s pitching ideas to publications or doing market research and analyzing stories. I’ve published two romantic comedy novels and two guides on how to write romance. I love beach vacations, rock music from the 80s and 90s, traveling abroad, dancing, swimming, and meeting friends for coffee.
1. How do you stay focused working from home?
Pre-pandemic, my favorite three methods were writing at coffee shops, meeting friends, and going dancing. And sometimes, I got to do it all on the same day, ending up happy and very productive.
During the pandemic, I had to give up on all three except for the summer months when cafés were open and it was easier to spend time long time outdoors. And I haven’t been to the dance studio in ages.
Nowadays, I meet with friends for coffee in the park, or take walks by the beach.
2. What's your must-haves to start your work day?
Coffee, water, and a full stomach. I can’t work if I’m hungry, sleepy, or dehydrated.
3. Do you workout from home or leave to go to the gym?
I used to go dancing both for fun and exercise, but since studios closed, I work out at home. I prefer short stretches in the morning and some dancing whenever I feel like it.
Because I listen to fast rock music primarilwork outy, even two songs give me great cardio.
4. Best part about working from home?
The complete control over your time and activities. You can do whatever you want, however you want it.
5. Worst part about working from home?
Isolation. It can get lonely, boring, or less creative. This is one of the reasons I love coffee shops. You see people, and you change your environment.
6. What does your morning routine look like?
I’m not great at routines. But I do love starting work right after breakfast with a cup of coffee.
7. Biggest piece of advice you'd give to someone working from home?
Know your strengths and weaknesses and adjust accordingly.
The fact that I can spend hours in my head and concentrate for long periods of time are great strengths. I’m also good at meeting deadlines. However, my extroverted side can be a problem, so is my tendency to forget to move regularly.
If you know what’s wrong, you can find ways to improve it.
Pri
My name is Pri and I'm the founder of BreakGlow where we focus on brand and content strategy. We help innovative, mission-driven entrepreneurs and leaders say the right things to build audiences, increase revenue and become more impactful.
1. How do you stay focused working from home?
I have a few techniques that I use to stay as focused as possible. Firstly, I try to eliminate distractions which is hard because...family. But I do create boundaries as much as possible. So people know not to bother unless it's an emergency when I'm in office hours mode. I also use the Pomodoro technique, to-do lists, focus apps like brain.fm and task management apps like Asana and Evernote. Sometimes I'll schedule time blocks for particular tasks so I don't spend too much time overthinking. And I've started to embrace midday naps and more breaks throughout the day.
2. What's your must-haves to start your workday?
Some days I really need a cup of tea and a good Joni Mitchell song to start the day. But most times I just need to breathe, write in my journal, check my to-do list and sometimes do an early meditation.
3. Do you workout from home or leave to go to the gym?
The quarantine forced me to do both. But I was a bodybuilder so the gym is a part of my lifestyle. I love it! But I have incorporated more home workouts into my regimen.
4. Best part about working from home?
The freedom. Which gets translated into many parts of my day. The freedom to take breaks when my body or my energy demands it. The freedom to spend time with my family and friends more. The freedom to structure my schedule around my self-care. Yeah, freedom and flexibility is definitely huge for me.
5. Worst part about working from home?
I think the one thing I miss about being in a traditional office setting is being able to roll my chair to the desk next to me or go to the break room and have convo with my coworkers. Being an entrepreneur and working from home can get kind of lonely and it's especially tough because the pandemic has forced my regular socializing spots that I go to work when I need to get out of the house to close down so workspace options are limited.
6. What does your morning routine look like? The first thing I try to do when I get up is, take a second to show gratitude and reflect on things I'm thankful for before I get out of bed. I really don't like just hopping out of bed before taking a second to get my head together and ease back into reality. Then I grab my journal and do a brain spill through this practice called "morning pages". After that, I go do hygiene stuff and then sometimes I meditate (sometimes I'll do this later in the afternoon). Then I make tea or grab something super small to eat like fruit and head to my desk. I typically write down a to-do list the night before so I go over what I need to do and then start my workday.
7. Biggest piece of advice you'd give to someone working from home? Learn to implement a schedule that works for your lifestyle. You don't have to follow the latest millionaire's "5 am success routine". Just figure out what works and feels good for you. Also, set up a work area that is good for your physical and mental health (ergonomic chairs and cool artwork go a long way).
Johana M. Caba, M.A.
Johana is a public relations professional and social media manager/marketer. She shares thought-leadership articles on her business blog (JM Blog) and on her social media accounts. Johana recently earned her Master’s Degree in Professional Communications from William Paterson University of New Jersey.
1. How do you stay focused working from home?
Staying focused is a huge task because I am working from home due to my son being in virtual school at the moment. So, it can be hard to stay focused when I also have to focus on him. But, I do manage to focus when things have high priority by tuning out the rest of the noise around and really diving into the task at hand. I also tend to put on my air pods and listen to either podcasts or soothing music to help me focus on what I have to do. But, the majority of the time the thing that helps me focus is being in a quiet room with no distractions while I'm working from home. Sometimes this means taking advantage of my son's break times and locking my dogs out of my office area.
2. What's your must-haves to start your workday?
Coffee. That's my number one must-have, I need either a mug of warm coffee or some iced coffee to start my workday right. Occasionally, I will substitute my coffee for Kombucha, and it tends to have the same effect on starting my workday right.
3. Do you workout from home or leave to go to the gym?
I workout from home. I do High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 3-5 times per week depending on how busy or tired I am during the week. I used to go to the gym, but I feel more comfortable at home. That way I don't have to spend extra time getting my son to someone else to babysit and I can workout while spending time with him.
4. Best part about working from home?
The best part is being able to work in comfort. I can be in PJs or athleisure without having to worry about getting in trouble for not being dressed up. I also think a huge benefit of working from home is that when you aren't busy and when all your work is done, you can run errands or do whatever else needs to be done without having to wait until after 5 p.m. to get out of work.
5. Worst part about working from home?
The worst part at the moment is having to work from home while also needing to focus on my son's virtual classes because it's a lot harder for me to focus on getting my work done and during zoom meetings. Other than that, I do love working from home.
6. What does your morning routine look like?
My morning routine is less hectic than it used to be when I went to the office and my son had school. Morning routines nowadays are more relaxed. We wake up around 7:30 a.m. and start getting ready for the day. We have breakfast around 8 a.m. and then my son logs into virtual school and I get ready for my work day. I drink some coffee throughout the morning while working on presentations, press releases, media relations, and social media management.
7. Biggest piece of advice you'd give to someone working from home?
My biggest piece of advice for someone working from home with or without kids is to pick an area in your home that's quiet. I started working from home on my kitchen table, then moved to a corner of my living room with a desk setup, and finally moved to one of my rooms upstairs with an actual door. This has helped me focus the most because I can close the door to any noise from my dogs or from the rest of my family when they are home. So, the biggest piece of advice that I have is to look around your home and select the right area to set up for your working from home life. This will help you focus and be more productive during the day.
Jenny
Hola! I'm Jenny from THE CURLY JENNY. I am a Bilingual Afro-Dominican working in TECH as a Full-Time Engineer and part-time Travel Blogger, Youtuber, and Digital Content Creator.
@Thecurlyjenny (IG/ Pinterest/Twitter/ Tiktok/FB)
1. How do you stay focused working from home?
Working from home has been my reality since pre Covid times. I am an Engineer working in Tech industry, and used to travel 75% before lockdown. So my Transition to WFH permanently without the travel was tough at the beginning. The way I stay focus during work hours is by creating a TODO list and breaking the list in small task. Listening to music also helps to concentrate when doing repetitive tasks, and creating a routine to be able to get in the habit of things.
2. What's your must-haves to start your work day?
COFFEE! The first thing I do when I wake up is to start my espresso. Without it, I can't function, lol.
3. Do you work out from home or leave to go to the gym?
At the beginning of lockdown, I worked from home and did ALL the YT videos I could find (shoutout to Blogilates). Now, I have slowly gotten back to working out from the gym, while still doing the occasional stretch or routine from home.
4. Best part about working from home?
Waking up 5 mins before you have to log in. The minimal commute from my bed to my couch or to the kitchen. Being able to meal prep and also do stuff around my place.
5. Worst part about working from home?
Lack of social interaction. Always having to cook, instead of the occasional take-out. Not dressing up and always on loungewear.
6. What does your morning routine look like?
As soon as I wake up brew my coffee, play some Soca music to uplift my day. Then, I wilL check on my calendar to see what my days are going to be like and create a plan from there. Shower and get into my workout clothes so as soon as I log off I can get my workout. Do my morning skincare routine and Prep my breakfast between meetings.
7. Biggest piece of advice you'd give to someone working from home?
"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail"- I would say plan your day ahead so you can have an idea of what you wish to accomplish during the day.
Be ready to Pivot if things are not happening as expected and create a
routine that will keep you grounded.
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