“I was once the black sheep of the family – I joined gangs, did drugs, and even committed illegal activities. I’ve also been a three-time drop-out from college, but…”

…of course, none of those are true (I’m a good guy)! :D I don’t wanna be all dramatic about the word “PAGBABAGO” – yes it is true that people’s lives turned around at some point, but what I wanted to share is how simple tweaks I made in my life (specifically work-related) made a huge impact in my family’s life – and maybe yours too!

Let me detail out how a workspace makeover changed me and my family’s life from good to AWESOME!

Starting off: I work from home. I plan, develop, implement and maintain websites for a company based at the opposite side of the world. When I started working from home, I SUCKED AT IT!

For a novice, it was hard to find clients. Then the list went on: I can’t meet deadlines, deliverables were less than satisfactory, I failed to update them about the status of the project, and worst of all I wasn’t paid well. How can I feed my family if I can’t earn a decent income?

Then I realized that I had to take action; kailangan may PAGBABAGO! Somehow I have to start changing something. But I don’t know where to start? I figured out that I have to do some revamping on my work area. This was my very first work setup:

All of these contributed to a more stressful, less productive, and a low earning job. How to fix this? Here comes PAGBABAGO! Here are the changes I made:

• I purchased a wireless keyboard and mouse bundle (by Nortek). It was a 999-peso investment but really well worth it. The keys were quite bigger and of higher quality – they don’t get stuck at all. It allows FREEDOM of motion – no tangling wires. Plus the benefit of a tidier desk.
• I also replaced the default computer desk with an old office table. It was just hanging around our place, not being utilized well.  It gave me bigger space to work with – I can now place a notebook at the side for that occasional note-taking and maybe a couple of Goldilocks mamon or ensymada for my breaks. Didn’t need to spend at all with this really nice upgrade!
• I raised the monitor to eye level. This allowed me to sit straight and lessen the strain on the eyes.
• Another investment I made is upgrading the RAM from by adding another 2Gb stick of memory worth around 2,500 pesos. I now have 3Gb of RAM. Multitasking with my computer now feels like its REALLY multitasking.
• I added a second monitor. I did spend 6,999 pesos, 583.25/12 months courtesy of a local credit card company. It doubled my screen space and  I can now work faster and more efficiently simply because I can see multiple windows! Lesser WIN+TAB action!

And now for the pictures…

I must say those changes (along with roughly 10k pesos and some elbow grease) made me 500% MORE PRODUCTIVE!

If you do the math, that means better pay! Because in reality, it matters a lot to make a decent income. I am a dad, I need to provide the needs of my family. And if I can’t support them well, then it will reflect to the quality of their life. You know what I mean, right? But why stop there? The keyword again: PAGBABAGO! There will always be change; there will always be room for improvement. Sure the workspace has been upgraded already, but I also had to improve internally. Improving work habits and sticking to it was my new goal:

• I kept a work schedule and maintained it. I now work at 12:00 am – 9:00 am. Distraction-free schedule since most people are sleeping by this time.
• I wear work clothes. Seriously. Meaning: pants, polo shirts, shoes and jacket. I know it might sound ridiculous to dress up late at night in work attire at our own home in front of the computer! But really, it psyches me up to enter that work-focused stated of mind.
• Cutting down on non-work related stuff. I had to discipline myself to avoid Facebook, Digg and StumbleUpon while within the work hours since it totally kills productivity. I’ve also uninstalled Plants vs. Zombies from my computer.
• I write notes on a notebook. I write my ideas, plans, implementation guides, or just random work-related stuff on a notebook. It helps me retain those information rather than just copy-pasting it into a Word document.

This is getting lengthy, but the point is that these “PAGBABAGO” improved my work performance drastically. My clients are happy, I have more quality time with my family, and we don’t worry so much about the bills. Thing is, I never really thought about changing my workspace and work habits until we hit “rock bottom”. That initiated me make that risk to invest some time and money to change what I currently have. That’s what I had to do if I am serious about work. Just like when a pro photographer buys a chunk load of expensive dSLRs and lens kits, that simply means that that they are serious with what they do.

Finally, here are four points you can take in mind to increase productivity while you work, whether at home or in the office:

• Inspire yourself. Think of good reasons why you need to accomplish your current task, or what could be the greatest benefit you would get if you finish your task in the best manner possible with high quality output.
• Play for a while on breaks. You can continue tending your farm, maybe poke around with Facebook on your break time, or a quick table tennis game with officemates. This can actually increase your creativity and puts your insanity level to a minimum.
• Ask Google (or a workmate). Sometimes a certain task is too complicated and you don’t know where to start. You can always find some resources online! Somewhere, someone might have been assigned that certain task (or something close to it) and posted his solution on a blog or forum. Google can really come in handy! Or maybe a workmate has accomplished it before. Try asking.
• Drink some caffeine. Coffee is a top choice (maybe toss in some Goldilocks Choco Crinkles in the equation). Caffeine keeps you awake in the wee hours of your work schedule. You can also try some energy drinks available – try whatever works for you.

There you go! This is my own story of “PAGBABAGO” and I hope it inspired you to make some improvements on your workspace and work habits for more productivity!

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Some things I added were Project Wonderful ads at the bottom, and also trimmed out some fat from the sidebar. Also, got back my Nuffnang ad at the right (hopefully some ads would start popping!). I also removed “Continue reading This Post Title…” links on the homepage to speed up some loading time.

I was inspired to finish the redesign today because of Nuffnang’s recent contest for Goldilocks. If I wanted to join then I’d need to fix my blog first. Do check it out!

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