Bored & Unmotivated? 3 Ways To Stay Productive In Quarantine

If you've been staying home for months now — and you're anything like us — you're probably feeling a little bored (even if you're working from home), frustrated and unmotivated. Totally understandable! And while it's okay to not be productive all the time (give yourself a break!), "Shark" Barbara Corcoran is your gal if you're looking for ways to get back on that horse.

Here's how she's keeping herself in check and staying productive in quarantine.

1. Divide up your day to create a routine.

"It's so important that you feel productive in whatever you're pursuing. For me, what I'm doing is I'm doing a little mental trick on myself. I divide my day into three chunks. I think of them as pieces. I start my day exercising — more for my head than my body. 15 minutes, I'm kind of a little bit lazy on that. Then, I clean my house. By 10 o'clock, I'm almost at the office, at my kitchen counter — but I think of it as my office. I'm there until 3 o'clock. At 3 o'clock, I'm back with my family and making dinner."

2. Use extra time at home to hone useful + competitive skills. 

"I think the one treasure I feel like everybody has right now is they have time at home. With the time at home, if you're unhappy with the person you were before the pandemic hit, you've got all the time in the world right now to become somebody different. Let's say you're a decent artist — you can become a graphic designer. Take free courses on Zoom and become somebody who you always wanted to be. You can re-tool yourself for a different tomorrow and make your life even better. Get to where you always wanted to go. What's your excuse now? It's all for free. It's all online. You've got the time at home, if you make the goal-setting for yourself."

"I totally changed my skill set in areas that I always felt weak. I've really polished up, because I think there's going to be a war out there of competition in the workplace, and I want to compete." 

3. Keep video calls concise with Barbara's fridge trick. 

"I got a great piece of advice a few weeks ago online that I'd love to share. It said, 'Prop up your phone against a milk carton in your refrigerator. The light in your refrigerator is equivalent to a Hollywood diva light. You'll look phenomenal.' And it's true. Then in about 20 seconds, my refrigerator beeper goes off because I have the door open, and then I use that as an excuse to end the call. Let me tell you, you pretty much say what you're going to say in 20 seconds, in my book. I'm anxious to get on and get off FaceTime."

Okay, so maybe not all calls can be 20 seconds — but Barbara's onto something. Time is money, after all!