How To Be Successful In A Hybrid World
The working world has shifted and has a drastically different look these days. The amount of flexibility the majority of us have now is greater than it’s ever been before. Overall, I think most of us would say this is a nicer way to live. However, in many situations without a set regular routine it can create some added difficulty when it comes to planning.
Before 2020 I was going to the office five days a week (well, technically four days one week and five days the next.). I trained at two different locations. The building in which I worked had a pretty decent gym and not having to drive after work was too good to pass up. However, on off days or weekends, it wasn’t my preferred gym. So, I had two gyms but I didn’t have two gym bags, two pairs of lifting shoes, or two pairs of wrist straps. This meant I had to bring things back and forth each week. Because I walked a handful of bocks from my car to the office, I just brought all of my things with me in one trip-work bag, food bag, and gym bag. All this to say I learned how to be efficient with what I brought and how I packed it.
I set up my training split so I’d need minimal things on the office training days. It was a lot easier to leave behind my lifting shoes and lifting belt. I think they weigh ten pounds, combined. This way I could just pack a smaller bag with a few days of training clothes and the absolute essentials.
I ate four meals during a work day so bringing all of my meals for the week on Monday wasn’t an option. I’d have to bring a cooler to carry it all but I think my coworkers would have not been a fan of me using a full fridge just for my own meals, lol. So, I had a backpack meal bag to bring my food daily. Of course, I didn’t cook all of those meals each night. Saturday was spent grocery shopping and Sunday was spent meal prepping. In the morning I’d grab and go!
Then 2020 happened. Let’s be honest, nobody knew how to plan for anything for over a year. Most of us went fully remote for work, some ended up losing their jobs. My routine obviously became much less involved. We didn’t use our cameras for meetings so I didn’t even have to look presentable. I woke up and walked ten feet to my office. I didn’t have to prep my food because I was able to cook it during the day. I was actually laid off at the end of 2021 so that REALLY made the routine less intrusive…unless you count stressing as my routine. In that case, it was a very needy routine, lol. I got lucky; in mid-2022 I was offered a position back where I had been before (different role but same company and location.)
Great! I know how to set my routine. This is easy. Except for this time, it wasn’t the same routine. Now I work a hybrid schedule. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but now I have to be more prepared for quick unexpected changes.
I now have to be more flexible and yet more structured than before. These are the tips I’ve implemented to stay on track.
Create and keep a routine even when a routine isn’t required. During the time when I wasn’t working it was easy to do nothing and follow no routine. I actually gave myself permission to do nothing for a week. I told myself I was allowed a one-week vacation and then it was “back to work”. I didn’t retire (I wish!) so I knew I’d be back to a working routine at some point, so I woke up each day and followed a routine very close to what I had followed before. Even when it’s not required, sticking to a routine keeps us productive, motivated, disciplined, and organized.
Plan for all of the scenarios. When there is no set routine it’s important to think ahead and plan for all of the scenarios. Look at your calendar and think through what events/appointments may be upcoming and try to plan for any surprise changes.
Create a support system with coworkers. When you have a support group it makes it much easier to do the hard things on the days we don’t want to do them. From a group of people with the same goals; or at least find some that will support and encourage you when you’re struggling.
Remember your why. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when things change last minute or when trying to plan for different possibilities. It’s easy to find excuses to not stick to the goals we have when our routines are a roller coaster. Remember and remind yourself regularly of your why. Keeping that reminder in front of you will help enforce discipline and motivation.
“He who fails to plan is planning to fail.”
These are the things I’ve found most helpful for staying on track and getting closer to my goals. If you want some extra help with these, grab you FREE weekly planner here. At the beginning of each week I use this digital planner to get organized for the upcoming week. This way I have no excuses!!
P.S. A full yearly planner will be available soon. Grab the free weekly planner now and you’ll be automatically notified when the yearly planner is released!
