I absolutely love the look of a retro style keyboard. There is something about the mix of the digital and analog worlds that lights me up inside. It’s such a vibe!
You know I love to mix digital and analog, there is something so romantic and sentimental about it. It’s the reason I love to use a paper planner despite living in a digital world and running a business online. It just adds a more visceral, tactile experience to your life when you have those analog style tools. There is nothing more unexpected than when you see a chic modern office with a few whimsical analog pieces styled.
So, I’ve been shopping around for some retro chic typewriter style keyboards and found a few wireless bluetooth versions that would be the perfect compliment to your home office!
This mechanical wireless keyboard is such a vintage inspired throwback. I love the silver metal accents on the keys, you know they would feel so good to type on.
This vintage pink keyboard is a throwback to 80s and 90s style computers. I will never forget the sound and feel of typing on these square little blocks.
Let’s be honest, this Retro Pink Typewriter style keyboard is definitely one of the showstoppers of this bunch! I’ve always loved the look of a typewriter, but they just aren’t a practical tool for my life. This keyboard, however, could fit in quite well!
I have to say, I think this retro mechanical style keyboard is probably my runner up from this selection of keyboards. I like that it looks the part of a vintage typewriter, but it also has a lower profile which I appreciate for my desk.
I had to include this colorful pink keyboard in the roundup! I’ve been more drawn to the color pink this summer and I love the variety of tones in the keys.
I hope this roundup of Retro Chic Keyboards inspires you to restyle your home office desk to add a little more whimsy into your day while you work from home! Let me know which keyboard is your favorite in the comments.
When you work from home, the line between work and home begins to blur very quickly, and with it go many of our productive work habits that we had in place when we worked outside of the home.
There are plenty of different productive habits I hear about that are suggested for people who work from home, but much of the usual advice you hear is a lot of extra fluff that really just wastes our time. Sure, in a perfect world were we all have unlimited time, energy and willpower, we could all wake up early, go for a run, shower, cook all our meals from scratch, clean our homes, do it all and of course be super productive at the same time.
But the reality of the situation is that most of us need to prioritize and make hard choices throughout the day for how we will spend our time. It’s not that most of us don’t want to do it all, but it’s that we just don’t have the time and energy to get it all done.
Working from home presents a unique challenge to productivity because being at home gives you the illusion that you have more time or have the ability to do more for your personal and home life while you are at work than you might be able to do if you worked outside the home. But this mindset can get us into trouble with our time and energy management, stealing time from our work, and keeping us from truly feeling finished with our work at the same time.
So, I have landed on 7 Productive Habits that truly do make an impact on your work and quality of life when you are working from home.
Set a reasonable wake up time:Notice I didn’t say, set an early wake up time. Look, you work from home and you have no commute, so you can spend an adequate amount of time sleeping so that your energy is as high as it needs to be for the day. Don’t skimp on sleep, it’s one of the most productive things you do in a day.
Plan your day in the morning:Research shows that you make better plans when you plan in the morning rather than at the end of your workday for the following day. It’s because those who plan at the end of their days often have a lot of decision fatigue and they aren’t the best judge of their plans. So, make your plans in the morning before you get to work, set aside 15 minutes at about the same time each day (set an alarm if need be) and start establishing this productive habit.
Set a consistent work schedule: One of the major struggles of working from home is having a clear boundary around work time and home time. So, set a consistent work schedule for when you will begin working each day, when you will take breaks and when you will stop working each day.
Take regular breaks where you relax and recharge:Your work breaks should be focused on your rest and giving you a chance to recharge your energy so you can continue to do consistent work throughout your day. Don’t take your breaks to do personal tasks, your breaks need to be for you.
Set boundaries to limit the personal tasks you work on during your workday:Now, I understand that the convenience of working from home means you have the ability to work on some personal tasks throughout your day, but you need to keep these tasks to an essential minimum and plan them into your schedule separate from your breaks.
Organize your workspace at the end of your day: For those of us who work from home, it’s often hard for us to stop our work for the day even if we have a set end time. In order to trigger us to actually close up our work for the day, I like to use a cue like organizing my workspace and preparing it for the next days work to help me shift out of work mind and into home mind.
I hope you find these 7 Productive Habits to Establish if You Work From Home helpful!
There is ONE MORE THING I think you will find helpful if you are an at-home worker that isn’t a habit, but a resource!
If you work from home and you are missing the company and socialization of co-workers, I highly recommend joining an accountability group to act as your virtual work family. I know for some of us, we work solo without co-workers, but even if you work with a team virtually, it still isn’t always clear that these co-workers are available for socialization the same way they might be within an office setting.
So, for that reason, having a group of virtual on-demand accountabilities buddies is a guaranteed way to get the support and socialization you need during your workday and beyond!
THE WORK FROM HOME LIFESTYLE ISN’T ALWAYS EASY
It’s not easy being an ambitious working woman in today’s society. Women have more responsibilities on their shoulders now then they ever have, which is why goal getters like you and I need to stick together!
If you would like more guidance, support and inspiration for living your best life, I welcome you to join the Productivity + Planning Mastermind!
This is what I created the Mastermind for:
To be a safe space for women like you and I who see beyond the surface of our societal expectations, challenge the accepted norms, and know there is a better way to live.
It’s a place for support, encouragement, accountability and ongoing personal development for us to continue challenging accepted norms and choosing our own unique path to success.
→ The Mastermind includes so many resources to help you on your journey, from multiple live calls each month, to on-demand strategies, tools, and even a complete course on productivity!
→ We have our own private chat forum where we connect and discuss topics ranging from planning, metaphysics, mindset, and wellness.
→ We have a monthly book club to help nurture a growth mindset and continue to learn.
→ We even have a dedicated group for small business CEOs to learn and connect as well!
→ The best part is, when you join the Mastermind, you get immediate access to the entire library of resources, masterclasses and bonus materials that I have been creating since it’s launch.
→ There is no waiting, content isn’t dripped to you, it’s all there for you to explore and access on-demand as you please.
→ And of course I am there as well for guidance and to answer your questions along the way.
When you know better, you do better.
Are you ready to do better for yourself, your family and your future by committing to your personal development to become the best woman, mother, spouse, sister, daughter, aunt and friend that you can be?
I love working from home, but I have to admit, the single thing I have struggled with the most as an online business owner is the loneliness. For as much as co-workers can be a distraction, I often miss the sense of having someone working alongside me. If you work from home, you’ve likely experienced this yourself, and unless you are an introvert, you may struggle to get yourself motivated to work without the presence of a co-worker.
This is why I created a new video productivity tool to help mitigate this issue for us.
Imagine having me as your personal office buddy and co-worker, silently sitting by your side working away.
Wouldn’t that be awesome?!
Thanks to the power of the internet and video, I can be your virtual co-worker in this 3 Hour Work with Me!
In this video you can work alongside me and listen to a great track of relaxing ambient music with brain power frequencies to help you focus and do your best work.
Use this video as a tool to help you block off time for work and get down to business.
In the video you will see me do some planning and then work on business tasks at the computer. During this session I wrote and scheduled two blog posts, an email, posted to Instagram and performed my weekly accountability for my Productivity Master Mind, all within my 3 hour work session.
You can achieve much in a three hour block of time if you have a clear plan of tasks, the focus to stay on task, and a co-worker who’s silent productivity keeps you motivated to keep going with your work.
So far, the response to this video from my community has been stellar!
“I loved this! I felt like I had someone working with me and keeping me company!” – D G
“This is great. We need a series of them to replay later on. 😃” – Julie Crowley
“This is lovely!!! Thank you for filming this!” – Happy Halloween
“Love the music you chose for this. Thanks for sharing.” – The Ambient Sound
I am beyond pleased that so many of you have watched the video already and are planning to use it as a tool to get work done on a regular basis. You can definitely expect to see more of these types of videos from me with different lengths and music choices to appease a variety of productivity needs and tastes.
Let me know in the comments what work you were able to get done in your session and consider scheduling a 3 hour block to work with me on a regular basis.
