Hey, it’s Christiann and Brian here sharing our morning routine because We WFH Together and want to share how we make it work! We’re having a podcast style discussion to share the things that have helped us work together productively in a one-bedroom condo as little as 500 square feet! If we can make that work, then you can be successful as working from home too!
Today we’re talking a little bit about the importance of morning routines with your work from home spouse or partner.Â
Meet the We WFH Together Couple
Christiann has been working from home for the past few years. She’s a virtual teacher, and even before that, we spent a lot of time working from home together because teachers generally have a lot of time off. Like during the holidays, spring break and summer vacation.
I started WFH around 2011. So it’s been almost 10 years of working from home for me. The majority of that has been together. So we’ve been developing our success strategy for quite a few years now.
Christiann made a point to mention that we don’t have some giant house, or even extra bedrooms, our condo is a little over 800 square feet, but even prior to this, we were living in around 500 square feet. We aren’t really able to separate. But we strategically created areas for our workspaces. So we are able to make it work.
Even before Christiann officially started her WFH job as a virtual teacher, she was pursuing a master’s degree in Instructional Technology and working on other side projects. So, even before we were both full-time WFH, we still understood there was an important dynamic we needed to develop to be successful.
It’s important to recognize that working from home successfully can be for more than just your job. WFH may also be excelling in your side project or getting a new degree.
“Yes. Very true. So I was working on the master’s degree. And when I wasn’t doing that I was messing around with creating.” – Christiann
Our WFH Couple Morning Routine
So we should talk about how we have a structured morning routine.
“Yes, morning routines are important. We’re constantly working on ours. It wasn’t something that came naturally for us. Making sure we’re getting up in the morning and getting our bodies moving with some sort of warm-up exercise. That’s something that I think has really helped us excel working from home, especially in the mornings.” – Christiann
Yes. And unfortunately, with the virus that has been something that’s been harder for a lot of people that rely on going to gyms, because, you know, around the world gyms are closed now.
“Yeah, that’s definitely been our biggest issue is getting up and getting moving in the morning. It hasn’t been happening as much as we’d like it to, and maybe it’s making us a little bit less productive.
But we’ve been altering our routine to adjust to the changes. More running. I’ve been streaming some of those at home workout classes. So I think that’s been helping with at least getting out that extra energy as much as we can.” – Christiann
Yes, for sure. Why don’t you tell us about some other things you like to do for your morning routine.
“Well, I’ve been working on doing more journaling. That’s something I’ve been working on for the last few years because it does help. And it also helps to reflect back at the end of the day, but it’s definitely a work in progress.
Like, I don’t always go back and reflect at the end of the day, as the five-minute journal suggests. It’s something you know I’m trying to do more of. But, the next morning I’m still able to look back say, okay, what worked well yesterday and what should I do more of. Or oh, that didn’t work out as planned. So I could brainstorm another idea. It doesn’t always happen as you want it to.
But just making sure you somehow go back and reflect I think is super important.” – Christiann
Yes, for beginners, I like to recommend a simple five-minute journal or any type of gratitude journaling. Those are great strategies if you are looking for some guidance in your journaling.Â
The idea is really to just do something that will help get your thoughts flowing. The 80-20 of journaling is having an outlet, even if you just have a blank paper. You’re going to see a huge benefit from just thinking in the morning and getting something out on the paper before you do anything else.
“Having a checklist is another essential part of an effective WFH morning routine. Making any type of list for just about anything seems to help me a lot. I like to use my teacher planner for organizing my lists. In the morning I write everything that I need to do that day, any meetings, teaching time, or grading. Later on, I love adding those checkmarks as I complete my day.” – Christiann
Absolutely. Well, we covered the first topic for this discussion about how we WFH together. We discussed the importance of a morning routine. Getting your morning started with some exercise. Journaling. And creating checklists. I’m looking forward to discussing more of these types of topics and more in-depth next time.
“Definitely, journaling, exercising and then, if you have a somewhere available where you can go sit outside for a little bit and enjoy your tea or coffee or juice, whatever you drink in the morning it’s a nice way to think and get your mentality in the right place for the rest of the day. That could even be like a meditation as well. So I do look forward to seeing what we talk about next.” – Christiann
