My First Productivity Challenge

I've been working from home for three weeks now, and so far I've been patting myself on the back for remaining so productive. Though I have worked a few personal errands into my schedule, I have been very conscious about not sitting around wasting time. I haven't been watching television or spending a lot of time on the Internet doing things that aren't related to work.

Yesterday, however, I faced one of the biggest challenges in motivation I've had since I began this journey and I failed miserably. Without going into a lot of gory details, let's just say I had a horrible fight with my husband and since I'm a drama queen with a tendency to overreact, I was sure it would mean the demise of my six-month old marriage. There were also a few other things conspiring to make me feel a little depressed.

When I had a regular job, I would have had to suck it up and go on with my day. I would probably have gone into the office scowling, ingested major amounts of caffeine, kept my office door closed all day and slogged through my work. Staying home wouldn't have been an option.

But things are different now. All the things that haven't been much of a temptation since I started working from home suddenly were. I started out okay, writing my blog posts and taking the puppies to the dog park. Then everything collapsed.

I spent the entire day on the couch with the television on, alternately napping, watching t.v. and feeling sorry for myself. I accomplished next to nothing. Then I felt worse for not doing anything.

The lesson I learned is that it's a lot easier to be productive when I'm motivated. When I'm feeling sad or depressed, it's going to be a lot more challenging. I guess it's something I'm just going to have to be aware of and not let myself fall into that trap.