productivity Archives - Daniel J. Lewis

Why Moving Your Home Business Out of Your Home May Be Your Best Decision

April 2, 2016 by Daniel J. Lewis 4 Comments

Working from home seems like the entrepreneur's dream, but it may not be as fun, productive, and profitable as you may think.

I left my full-time job in 2011 to fully commit to my growing podcast-consulting business (known as The Audacity to Podcast). Being recently married, I thought the combination of doing what I love, around the woman I love, and in the place I was most comfortable was a dream come true.

But it was far more stressful than I ever expected. Moving my studio office out of my home—four years later—was one of the best things I did for my business and my marriage.

Your story and situation are probably quite different from mine. So you may need to adjust my advice for your circumstances.

1. Clear boundaries

My home office had always been in the lower level of our bilevel home. (These seemingly state-mandated constructions are like two-story homes half-sunken into the ground. The entry is between the two floors with immediate stairways. The kitchen, living room, and bedrooms are usually upstairs and the “family room” and fireplace are usually downstairs.) And there was no door to my office.

Not having a door is an issue all on its own. But the proximity of my workspace to the rest of my life made it difficult to create and maintain healthy boundaries.

It was too easy to be interrupted by home life. Every brief question, kitchen noise, and even small moments of affection were interruptions.

Plus, it was difficult for me to stay away from work when my same PC also doubled as an entertainment device.

When I moved my business into separate office space, it made it much easier to leave work at work and enjoy home at home. The small commute gives me time to transition between work and home mentalities. Plus, my home is no longer set up for intense, focused work, so I'm far less tempted to let that kind of work interrupt my home life.

It's now much easier to make home a place for family and my office a place for work.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Moving your business out of your home creates clear boundaries.” quote=”Moving your business out of your home creates clear boundaries.”]

2. Greater focus

With far fewer interruptions, it's much easier for me to focus on my business priorities while I'm at work. There's no washing machine, there are no clashing dishes, and there's no noise-maker from hell (also known as the vacuum clean or—worse—the dryer buzzer).

Working from home requires a lot of discipline. You still need discipline working from a private office, but the opportunities to be distracted are far fewer. It's like the difference in maintaining a diet while you're walking in a park versus walking through the candy aisle.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Moving your business out of your home brings greater focus.” quote=”Moving your business out of your home brings greater focus.”]

3. Improved relationships

I totally love my wife! I made a lifetime-binding oath before God and man that I would always and forever love her. But that's not easy when I'm being selfish and under pressure. Marriage is hard work (because it means my changing and growing), but it's totally worth it!

During the first few years of my business, it was only my wife and me in the house—all day, every day. That continuous exposure to each other was bound to stir up nastiness we didn't realize we had (marriage doesn't create problems, it reveals them). So in addition to learning how to live together and become more Christlike toward each other, we also had the extra stress of my new business.

With blurry boundaries came frequent interruptions. With the interruptions came reduced productivity and increased stress. With increased stress came more temptation to be ugly.

I'm not saying that a home business will cause problems in your marriage. But it certainly is an additional burden stacked on what you may already be struggling to work through, which makes it easier to fail.

I hated facing a crisis multiple times every day. My crisis (or turning point) was how to balance loving my wife and investing myself in my business. I hated making those decisions between important priorities, and I was confronted with them throughout the day. Those decisions, alone, caused more stress in addition to all the other stresses (especially when I would make the wrong decision).

When I moved my business into a separate office, my marriage improved significantly. It wasn't this decision, alone. There were other things changing, too. But removing this collection of stresses made it easier to focus on and appreciate my relationship with my wife.

Let me be clear. Moving my office did not save my marriage; God saved my marriage. And I believe God gave us the wisdom to finally move my office space and relieve some of that stress on our most important relationship on Earth.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Moving your business out of your home can improve your family relationships!” quote=”Moving your business out of your home can improve your family relationships!”]

4. More flexibility

My business is podcasting and helping podcasters. This means I record a lot of audio and video—reviews, podcast episodes, consulting, courses, promotional videos, and more. That kind of multimedia work requires specialized equipment, a quiet environment, and sometimes lots of space.

Recording anything was always a challenge. I would cage our dog and ask my wife to be absolutely quiet—no dishes, microwave oven, flushing toilets, and sometimes not even walking around (because my office was below the kitchen and dining room). My activities and responsibilities were conflicting with my wife's activities and responsibilities. This meant my recording times were extremely limited, or the inconveniences would create additional conflict.

Plus, it wasn't practical to leave my video equipment set up, especially while we were trying to sell our house.

Now, having my own, dedicated space gives me the flexibility to arrange the space how I need it and leave my equipment set up. This makes it much easier to record something when time and inspiration hit.

[clickToTweet tweet=”Moving your business out of your home gives you more flexibility!” quote=”Moving your business out of your home gives you more flexibility!”]

Is a separate office for you?

As for me and my wife, we realized that even though working from home is very comfortable and affordable, it's far better for both our family and my business for me to work away from home—not even a small building on our property.

Your situation may be unique and still share some similarities with mine. You really have to decide this for yourself. But I hope this gives you some ideas to discuss with your family and associates.

Please comment with your own working-from-home stories and what inspired your decision for where you work.

Why I switched from Springpad to Evernote before I had to

August 15, 2014 by Daniel J. Lewis Leave a Comment

I used to be a diehard fan of Springpad and a hater of Evernote. I was even a guest on the Beyond the To-Do List podcast praising Springpad (although that was shortly after I started my transition).

What are Evernote and Springpad?

Evernote and the late Springpad were designed to help you remember things. Evernote was simple with notes that could contain text, links, images, and audio.

Springpad was a lot more intelligent with note types that could be recipes, products, videos, images, people, and much more. Each Springpad note type could have its own fields, options, and intelligence. For example, I could scan a book's barcode with Springpad and it would load the book's photo, description, best price, and link to Amazon.com.

Springpad wanted to be your personal assistant, Evernote wanted to help you remember everything (thus its elephant logo).

Alan Henry wrote on Lifehacker that you could even use Evernote and Springpad together.

But I couldn't settle for having my information in two places, so I made the switch and even upgraded to Evernote Premium. So I switched to Evernote long before Springpad shut down. Here are my reasons for switching and why I use Evernote for managing information.

1. Evernote has integration, Springpad didn't

Integration was a huge feature to me. It seemed like everything could integrate with Evernote! If This Then That (IFTTT), email apps, RSS readers, to-do lists, writing apps, and more. Besides integrating with other apps, Evernote could even integrate with my own device better. I was initially creeped out when I started a note at the Mixwest conference and Evernote accurately titled the note “Note from Mixwest” because it had looked at my current calendar event.

I was commonly frustrated by Springpad's lack of integration with almost anything. The best Springpad could offer was adding to notebooks via email, which was very limited.

2. Evernote has a desktop app, Springpad didn't

A desktop app may not seem that important until you consider features like offline use, quick startup (especially if your browser has to launch a bunch of tabs), and even local search integration (OS X's Spotlight search would search inside Evernote notes).

Springpad was web and mobile only. I would either have to visit their website (which logged me out far too often) or use the mobile app. If I was offline, I had no ability to make or access my notes.

3. Evernote has rich text formatting on mobile, Springpad originally didn't

Rich text formatting (RTF) is something we take for granted in most apps—the ability to bold or italicize something, change to bullets and numbers, indent, color, and more. Depending on your writing style for taking notes, RTF may be necessary for your notes to make any sense.

I started using Evernote more seriously because of its RTF. I loved the ability to make bullet points in multiple levels, which made taking conference notes really easy.

Springpad used a Markdown hybrid. That could seem great until you think about typing special characters like hyphens and asterisks on a touchscreen keyboard.

4. Evernote was simple; Springpad was complicated

I liked Springpad for its intelligence and various note types. But this intelligence made things complicated. It was impossible to change a note from one type to another, such as from a book type to a note type, or vice versa. Sometimes, things would be added as the wrong type, which meant having to re-add the note to pick the right type.

Evernote keeps things simple. A single note can contain any kind of information, formatted in many ways. A note can have an assigned URL, contain a photo or contact information, or almost anything that I wanted.

5. Evernote was fast, Springpad was slow

Adding or searching for notes on Evernote—web, desktop, or mobile app—is fast, even with a massive catalog of notes. But Springpad always seemed sluggish to me, especially on mobile (Android or iOS). It was common for me to delay a group because Springpad was working slowly to add my notes.

6. Evernote worked all the time, Springpad worked most of the time

Springpad could sometimes correctly recognize products from their covers or barcodes, and then enter the title automatically. This was great, but it worked only about half of the time. I actually had a progression of backup methods for adding things—scan the barcode; if that didn't work, then search for the product; if that didn't work, add the product manually.

Evernote simplifies this and just works. Although I wouldn't get the luxury of scanning barcodes and automatically entering text, Evernote could take a picture and make the text in that picture searchable—even for handwriting!

If you need to organize and remember stuff, try Evernote!

I like to describe Evernote as a blank canvas. You can create whatever “art” of information you want—plain text, bookmarks, photos, files. You can now attach reminders to any of these.

Evernote has a lot to offer, so try it today! If you find it really useful, as I did, upgrade to get more storage, security, and more.

12 ways to feel creative again

December 13, 2012 by Daniel J. Lewis 7 Comments

4391489272_75fe3a99e6_b — Photo credit: MissMessie

We all have those moments when portions of our brain act like a stubborn donkey and refuse to move. Here are ten creative ideas to get your creative ideas moving again! I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below.

1. Take a walk

Stepping away from the mental roadblock can give you a new perspective. Taking a walk gets blood flowing and exposes you to new aromas, which can help jumpstart your brain cells.

If possible, walk outside. Fresh air is always beneficial.

2. Read something inspiring

The Internet is full of inspiring articles and illustrations. Find something motivational from LifeHacker, Michael Hyatt, or your favorite blog. Read the article to its fullest (forcing your brain to focus), and then get back to work.

Don't let yourself get sucked into bouncing around the Internet!

3. Listen to a relevant podcast

There are podcasts on almost every subject! Sometimes, a simple comedy podcast can help you laugh. But more inspirational than that would be a podcast relevant to what you're working on.

Hearing other people talk about the thing you're trying to do will transfer some of their enthusiasm to you. It may even give you the missing piece you needed.

(I'll share my complete list of podcasts I listen to soon.)

4. Listen to some music

Maybe talking voices aren't what you need. Open your media player, grab your iPod, or launch Pandora to start listening to some uplifting music. Try listening to your favorites that make you want to move with the music, or stretch your mind by listening to something new.

5. Look at others' creative results

Someone once said, “imitation is the highest form of flattery,” but I'm not telling you to imitate anyone. Ultimately, your creativity needs to be your own. But looking at the respected results of others can give you ideas for your own task.

For example, I may see how another web designed uses a particular font on their site. This could inspire me to pick a different font, adjust my font sizes or colors, or perhaps springboard me to somewhere completely different.

6. Do some exercises

“Creative juices” must be in the bloodstream, because getting your blood flowing is one of the best ways to energize your mind. Do some jumping jacks, pushups, sit-ups, or a quick jog.

It shouldn't be anything so involved that you end up too tired to work. But it should be hard and long enough to get your heart racing. I suggest 20 or more pushups, or run (or walk) up and down some stairs a couple times.

This has many health benefits beyond helping your brain.

7. Play a musical instrument

Remember Sherlock Holmes? There's actually a science to musical instruments and the brain. Playing a musical instrument connects the left and right hemispheres of your brain.

Just like two animals pulling a cart, one side can motivate the other to keep going.

8. Drink a glass of water

Fill a glass of water that's at a temperature easy enough for you to drink. I recommend room temperature or slightly cooler. (I have this down to a formula of for the water I get in my 12-ounce glass.)

Drink the full glass without pausing, if you can.

Water has countless health benefits to our bodies. Most of us don't drink enough water.

9. Claim a small victory

“Victories” are contagious in your brain. If you can accomplish something small, it often encourages you to tackle the next project because you feel more empowered and a little bit more successful.

10. Clean your work area

Look around you. How much clutter or dust is around you? Start a timer for 15 minutes (use e.ggtimer.com if you don't have a timer on your watch or phone) and clean or put away as much as you can. When the time is up, stop!

This gets your blood flowing, helps change your surroundings, and can remove subtle distractions for your task.

11. Change your environment

If possible, grab your work and go somewhere else to do it. This could be a local library or coffee shop, another room in your house, or a public space at your work place.

Our brain gets into ruts. Being in the same chair, same room, same lighting, same everything every day creates a mental rut and our brain doesn't work as much. But changing your environment is like an energy shot to the brain.

If nothing else, try to change your lighting or sit differently in your chair (or stand!).

12. Write what you're thinking

Lastly, consider writing down your mental process or what you're struggling to solve. Even if your task is to write something, write something about what you're supposed to write about! You could write down why you need to do the project, what the goals are, or even what you think or feel about the project.

(Would you have guessed that this post is the result of my feeling uncreative?)

Writing gets your brain engaged and focused. Sometimes, it can also get the things off your brain that are distracting you from what you need to do.

How do you feel creative again?

What's your industry and what do you do to get your creative juices flowing? I would love to hear from you! Share your tips and experience in the comments below.