On Staying Productive

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So, as my pregnancy comes to an end I'm looking maternity leave square in the face. I am so looking forward to having that time at home with our sweet little boy. However, the idea of leaving my job for 12 weeks {or whatever, I haven't really figured out how long yet} is a pretty intimidating. The longest I have ever been away from work was for our wedding and honeymoon for 2 weeks. Of course this time someone will be covering my accounts for me but it's still a little scary.

I've really had to put some thought and intention into my last few months at work {count down... 8 weeks to go!} to make sure that everything is neat and tidy by the time I'm ready to walk out the door. When I "come back" to work, I'm actually going to be working from home full time, at least for a while,  which is a big change compared to what I'm used to. Right now I'm in a big fancy office building, get dressed for work, cubicle type of situation. The transition to working from home with a newborn is going to take a lot of focus and will definitely require me to figure out some methods to stay productive so I don't get behind.

Here are some fool proof methods that I already use and some that I plan to put into place.

A Pretty Work Space
Like I said I'm in a cube for right now. I actually enjoy my little space, everything has it's place and I've decorated it up pretty cute. But in the end it's still a cube. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to be able to put together my own little home office. I wouldn't mind something a little like what you see above. I'm going to be setting up in our gym room. Queue the Pinspiration!

Coffee.
Not much more needs to be said. Waking up and knowing that a nice hot cup of coffee {let's be honest, it's usually lukewarm} will be spending the morning at my desk with me definitely gives me a little more motivation to get my a** out of bed and get moving. I'm sure that after late night feedings, diaper changes and other newborn shenanigans this will be even more necessary.

A {bunch of} Calendar{s}
I would forget to screw on my own noggin every morning if it wasn't on my to do list. I rely so heavily on written reminders that it's a little concerning.  I keep my lovely Lilly Pulitzer planner in my purse, my iCal on my phone, an Outlook calendar, a desk calendar,  and a white board calendar on the fridge all completely synchronized at all times. Everywhere I go there is a calendar within 12 inches of me. I can't even imagine what this is going to look like in another 5 years when we have a million kid activities to keep track of?

Music/Quiet
Depending on the task at hand usually determines if I need quiet or music. If I've got a day full of conference calls, I'm musicless. If I'm drowning in budgets {which I currently am} I've got Pandora on all day long. And? As of November 1st I've got Christmas music on. Not at all sorry.

Pressure
I do my best work under pressure. Good thing because my job can be mega stressful. I was never the type to start a paper in college weeks before it was due. I was much more likely to be awake for 24 hours before a midterm exam or paper was due. It's just the way I am. This is both annoying and amazing to Nick, who is definitely a write the paper 3 weeks ahead of time type of guy. I work best with deadlines and harassment. It's sick, I'm sick, I know.

There are times that I have day dreamed about starting our own business. I love the idea of leaving the suburbs and the corporate world far behind. Maybe we'll move to a small little town in the mountains {or by the beach} somewhere and do something that we love. Nick wants a coffee shop where he can spend all day making perfect sandwiches. I'd love a cute little boutique. That's where Kabbage comes in. Kabbage offers small business lines of credit from $500 to $100,000 with just a quick online application you can be qualified within just a few short minutes. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to boost your productivity, Kabbage is an online provider of small business loans that can help you grow your dream business!