Work from Home Tips During Quarantine

Create a Routine

Figuring out a work from home routine during quarantine is anything but normal, especially if you have a growing family and business. In this episode I interview online consultant Kristin Arilus, a veteran, business owner, and mother. Working from home during quarantine is something that we are all trying to understand how to navigate the “new normal”. Kristin recommends that the best way to help your kids and your business is to create a repeatable routine, even if it’s something small at first. She recommends that finding small “sandwhich” moments will help you break up the different responsibilities you have as a parent and a business owner. During some moments you might be the role of a parent and the other moment you might put on the hat of a salesman or customer service agent. No matter what type of business you run, trying to manage these expectations is anything but easy! Kristin says a typical day for her starts at 6 or sometimes 4 am with a quick read in her Bible and then focusing on the top three things in her business before the kids wake up. While that may not always be something that all parents can apply, she created a system that worked for her.

Have Teachable Moments

For most parents running a full-time business from home and managing your children’s homework is something you’re tackling for the first time. If that’s the case, your’e not alone. According to a Gallup poll, 42% of parents worry that the pandemic will have some negative consequences to their children’s education. Kristin recommends that you create teachable moments in the midst of a hectic day. Counting numbers and creating special individual moments for each of your children will make your time at home special, even if things aren’t ideal.

Automate Your Processes

Save time by automating processes that are repeated consistently. Kristin says one of the most repeated tasks she does in her business is send emails. That’s why she created a series of emails or automations that will outline her background, ask for referrals, as well as showcase her services and digital products. Kristin utilized much of this same system to automate her client’s workload within her go-to favorite tool Kartra, an all in one marketing platform for website, emails, digital products, and more. She believes that having systems in place for your business will help create sustainable solutions for you while you try to manage the many hats of a business owner.

Utilize Technology

Technology plays a huge part of our work day. Zoom in particular, the online webinar platform, has been the go-to platform for many business owners. One easy way I’ve helped scale my business is through an automated system for scheduling client calls, podcast interviews, and Facebook live streams through Calendly and Zoom. It’s so much easier to followup with clients with email and SMS reminders without manually doing this on my own. Because really, who has time for that?

Create Repeatable Systems

Repeatable systems for contractors, inquiries, and other internal operations are incredibly valuable to save you time and headache. It’s something that has taken me awhile to understand myself. But finding a repeatable system comes with time and experience. As a freelancer, now agency, I’ve had to find things that I repeated over and over again such as proposals, invoices, and client deliverable timelines to see what worked and what didn’t. That’s why it’s important to create a system that is truly unique and works for you. Finding your rhythm takes time to figure out, especially when working from home with family. What systems do you have in place to keep yourself sane during this time?