The 5Gs of Working from Home with Kimberly Crossland

Are you working from home right now? Or have you considered it? As I record this podcast in September 2020, working from home has become more prevalent than ever in light of COVID-19 quarantine measures and continued restrictions. That’s why episode 20 of The Positively Living Podcast is about navigating the ins and outs of working from home!

Today’s guest on the Positively Living Podcast is Kimberly Crossland.

Kimberley is the owner and founder of The Focus-Driven Biz, a company designed to keep entrepreneurs present, productive, and profitable. The goal of her work is to inspire meaningful change through the power of a strategic, thoughtful approach to business. In her free time, you can find her looking for a new adventure together with her two toddlers.

She and I met through the online business world and bonded over intentional time management, but since inviting her on the podcast, I have learned more about what she does and have become a huge fan of how she combines effect strategy with a positive spin. I know, I know, you’re shocked that that would resonate with me, right? Our conversation today is mom-to-mom to be sure, but the takeaways are overarching life lessons for all of my multi-tasking, multi-passionate listeners who want to up their work-at-home game.

In the episode, Kimberly shares her story of creating and growing her business while caring for two children. She found a way to make it work and is now sharing those tips with others. I’m happy to say we’re debunking the need to “multitask”. It was never actually a thing and anything who insists it is is trying to sell you something! We instead cover so many of the things I enjoy discussing, such as energy management, enjoyment and enthusiasm, intentional time management and task coupling, and flexibility.

We dug right in to her list — the 5 Gs of Working from Home. Kimberly offered simple steps and resources for each guidepost The 5 Gs are:

Gamification — making things fun, because we need more of that
Growth minded — shifting how you approach goals and staying open. She mentioned a fantastic TED talk about Growth minded v. Fixed minded approaches.
Grounded — balancing physical and mental energies to reduce stress. It doesn’t have to be walking outside barefoot, it’s really more about getting outside your head. This is especially good for those of us who are passionate and have all the ideas.
Gratitude — you know that’s one of my favorite topics and she brought a new angle to it today by mentioning a TED talk about “joy spotting”. Of course, we had to talk about self-care and the guide I created happens to be called a JOY list. You see, the connections are everywhere!
Go with the Flow — this was less about telling you that you need to go with the flow and more about giving suggestions on how you can support yourself to do so. We talked about her tethered time approach and how when we intentionally and carefully combine certain tasks, we can become efficient within the overwhelm

Be sure to listen for a metaphor Kimberley shares about making life like a museum. It’s unexpected and effective and reminds me of the Positively Productive mantra of making space for what matters. You’re going to love it. She has these detailed descriptions of what a museum is like and when you make your life similar to that it can open up so many opportunities for you.

If you work from home, I’d love to hear from you. What have your greatest challenges been? What are your favorite tips to make the most of it? Do you love it or are you made for the commute? Send me a message.

Thank you for listening! Be sure to tune in to all the episodes to receive tons of practical tips to create space for what really matters in your life

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CONNECT WITH KIMBERLY CROSSLAND:

Facebook Page | Facebook Group

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