Hey there, Stimuli Fam. This is ADHD coach Ryan Mayer, and today we're gonna tackle the topic of working from home. It's a blessing, it's a curse. It's both. First of all, if you're working from home, congratulations.I mean, honestly, how amazing is it that technology has advanced to the point where we can do this?I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that you get to set your own schedule. You can get more done with less distractions. You can change up your environment. Shall I work from the couch or the kitchen table today? You can walk and talk. You can take calls outdoors. You could use your treadmill desk pace around the living room if you like.Your environment and your schedule is entirely up to you. The bad news. Your environment and your schedule is entirely up to you, . You have to set up your own schedule. Let's be honest, this is daunt. I know, but here are some tips to make working from home even better for you. We've divided these working from home tips into a two part series for you.Each is just a few minutes long, and together they're gonna cover the mental and physical aspects of working from home in tandem. They're the best tips and advice in science about how to successfully work from home with. Let's talk a little bit about transitions First. Be intentional with your transitions.The day is gonna be filled with all kinds of distractions, transitioning from personal life to work, from project to project, and task to task. And then at the end of the day, we have to transition back to home. Life. Transitions are hard for everyone, but especially hard for those of us with adhd. You may have heard Dr.Ned Hallowell say ADHD brains have Ferrari engine. But bicycle breaks . This means that while it might be hard for us to initially get focused, once we are, it's really hard to stop. So become aware of when the transitions are toughest throughout your day and when you need to start, and then stop focus.You know, for example, like going to the restroom, taking a lunch, moving your. All of these things are literally essential. So let's work together to mindfully strategically and intentionally set yourself up for success. Because doing that for these transitions will make your entire day, week, months, and even years working from home so much better.Distractions and accountability. Let's talk about the big one. Distractions. While working from home can mean less distractions from coworkers and clients. It can also be really distracting to work from home. From where you live, there's gonna be competing priorities and you're gonna have a lot of freedom.So you have to make sure that you're intentional in setting up your boundaries and how you structure your time. And let me be very clear here, just because you haven't designed a structure doesn't mean you don't have one. What do you mean by that? Coach Ryan? Let me, A lack of structure is indeed a structure in itself.How you choose to spend your time is how you choose to spend your life. Hmm. I'm gonna let that one marinate for a second. How you choose to spend your time is how you choose to spend your life. So prioritize the stuff that matters. For example, don't let yourself scroll Instagram, play video games, or watch Netflix just because you can during the work.And please don't let yourself get sidetracked with the chores around the house or helping the kids or walking the dogs because you're at work. So when you're at work, be at work. When it comes down to it, it's really about accountability. It's important to remember that you're not gonna have the same parameters stopping you from getting distracted like you would at work.I mean, you're not gonna have your boss telling you what to. You're not gonna have a coworker reminding you about the conference call at such and such a time. So you have to create your own rituals and systems of accountability. And the accountability is the panacea of distraction. That's a fancy word for opposite.Let's talk about expectations for a minute. You're gonna wanna clarify expectations from your stakeholders, and I'm not just talking about stakeholders at work, also your stakeholders and your other partners at home. Clarification could sound like this. What do you need from me? And when do you want it?By not something vague, which is the worst for adhd when someone says, yeah, whenever you get a chance, could you or please get that to me asap. For our brains, everything is asap. So we're talking specifics. What are the timelines? As you might know by now, ADHD brains benefit from shorter timelines and really clear consequences, right?And remember, it's the same for your stakeholders at home. Let them know when you're planning on working and not working so that the kids don't come in when you're in the middle of trying to record something, for example. And, Hey dad, can you help me with something?Uh, not now, bud. I'm in the middle of working. Okay. Come back in a little bit like when you're trying to do what Cal Newport would call deep work for significant. Having this clarity around expectations really helps to reduce tension. For example, if your partner expects you to make dinner and put that all together before the rest of the family gets home, all that's gonna be is a recipe for disaster and disappointment.You don't want that resentment and you don't wanna do that to each other. Clear expectations are really gonna help. In love and in life, know your strengths, know your weaknesses, and stack the deck in your favor with clear expectations. Here's a tip that I've told my clients about dressing for success.Blurry boundaries are bad, and I know when people start working from home in recent years, the internet fluttered with humble brags about how great it was to work at home in sweatpants or take a conference call on your bathrobe, but here's what the truth is. Dressing for success is more than in just impressing others or looking good on a conference call.It's about dressing up for yourself. What do I mean by that? I'll use myself as an example. You know, not to get too personal, dear listener, but let me tell you what I'm wearing. A shirt and a tie and a clean, crisp pair of dress pants. Here's what happens. It makes me present myself to the world a lot.Differe. Than I would if I was standing here in a cutoff t-shirt and pajama pants. It's very important to have, I'm using air quotes here, work clothes that you wear during the day. Having both work clothes and lounging clothes gives yourself both clear cut boundaries of when you're at work and when you're able to relax at home.I know for me, when I put on that favor pair of sweatpants, I know that it's time to relax. I understand it's a subtle difference, and even though no one else sees it, I promise it's gonna make a difference in your self-esteem. Another thing that I highly recommend is having a notebook near you at all times.When you're working from home, and I know I've talked about this before in some of the other stimuli episodes, but it bears repeating where you can write down the ideas as they pop into your. That is so important. Whether this is paper or digital notebook or a tablet, having a dedicated distraction free space that's always available to capture those thoughts, it's gonna help you feel more together, less distracted, and less stressed.So make sure you have one reliable place to capture those ideas. Here's another piece of it. Noise canceling headphones. I can't say enough about 'em. This will change the game for you because even if you don't have those other coworkers around you, like you did in the office, you may have new coworkers, like four legged coworkers or tiny coworkers and diapers.Either way, noise canceling headphones will give you peace of mind and help you to focus in noisy environments staying focused. One of the most successful techniques that I use with my clients to help them stay focused every day is one that I use myself. It's called mvp. I may have mentioned it before, but it's important to say it again.Most valuable priorities. It's a written list of three items. Did you hear what I said? There? Just three items that are most important and that helps me and my clients to guide our activities and our behaviors throughout the day. Anything else I get done on top of that, it's just a bonus. Are you familiar with the Parato principle?It's also known as the 80 20 rule. This principle states that many times 20% of your work is responsible for 80% of your results. So what does this mean? It means shut off your email, shut off your cell phone, and get to work. Think of how much time you spend in emails. It can suck up to 80% of your time while only delivering 20% of results.So take back control. Use the 80 20 rule to your advantage. Less distraction means you'll get more work done and less time seriously. Have you ever tried not checking your email for an hour? You'll get an incredible amount of work. While I was preparing for this episode, I turned off my phone and all incoming notifications to my laptop.It helped me to lock in on what I needed to get done. Okay, so we've covered a lot. Scheduling time, being mindful of transitions and distractions, accountability, expectations, dressing for success. Using tools like noise canceling headphones and notebooks, and staying focused with the 80 20 rule. Don't forget to check out part two where I'm gonna teach you how to best approach the physical challenges and proven success strategies for staying fit and healthy mentally and physically while working from home with adhd.I'm Coach Ryan Mayer, and I believe in you.