Do you work from home? Do you wish to work from home? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this blog post is for you.
Working from home sounds exciting and all, but it can get old really fast if you don’t bring intentionality to your day. When I first started working as a non-traditional physician, I did locums only 10-14 days a month. I quickly became bored on my days off, which was quite surprising given the fact that I wanted free time. Why was I feeling unfulfilled and bored on my days off?
It turns out that I did not enjoy my time off when I did not have an agenda for the day. Through experience, I learned to plan my days ahead, making sure to set schedules for my days off. By having structure to my days off, they have become more intentional, productive and enjoyable.
Initially, I used to experience wasteful, unfulfilled days because I did not do anything meaningful with them. I would wake up, waste time on social media, and watch TV. That was what my typical day off looked like. Fast forward to now as a work-from-home physician, I plan my activities the night before in chunks of two hours, and simply follow my schedule the day-of. The cool thing is that all of my fun activities are planned on my schedule. By doing that, I can indulge in pastimes I enjoy without guilt or worrying that I am not using my time wisely.
Time blocking has helped to bring intentionality to my day. Now I get to take advantage of my days (whether they are days off or working days) by bringing structure to them. I am now twice as productive, thanks to time blocking. My mornings entail getting my kids ready for school and dropping them off, having my hour of power, and doing telemedicine. Then I have a lunch break, followed by an afternoon of coaching, picking my kids up, and doing fun activities with them. I also fit my wellness side gig into the cracks of my day.
Working from home is a wonderful perk, but how you use it makes all the difference. I went from wasting my days away to getting the most out of them; and I hope that reading this will help you to do the same!
PS: I help physicians transition from traditional medicine to practicing medicine on their own terms, including working from home without worrying about money. If that’s of interest to you, click this link to book a complimentary breakthrough coaching consultation with me. I hope to talk to you soon!
