Talking Work-Life Balance with Kevin Kirkpatrick: Community Conversations
Inspiration can come from anywhere, but for us, the most valuable comes from listening to our community. As part of our quest to learn more, we’ll be talking to Tempo users to get their take on what it means to “be productive”. Each providing a glimpse into their world and offering tips on how to add structure to daily life; something that’s more cherished now than ever.
First up is Kevin Kirkpatrick, an entrepreneur and advisor based in Seattle, currently operating as the Chief Product Officer at Markedly.
No stranger to working remotely, Kevin has been working with distributed teams for almost eight years and has perfected his daily routine, combining work with a splash of respite. For him, finding the right work-life balance is about being somewhat disciplined and making sure to offer flexible space for creativity and leisure.
“I’ve intentionally blocked off time on my calendar for non-work routines like walking my dog, exercising, reading, and spending time with my family,” comments Kevin. When asked about his daily routine, he offers a quick rundown:
“7–7:30: Walk my Bernese Mountain dog through Olympic Sculpture Park
7:30–9am: Creative work — writing and designing
9am-12pm: Customer meetings, product strategy and planning
12–12:30: Walk my dog and eat a quick lunch
12:30–4:30pm: Project focus time and customer meetings
4:30–5pm: Workout
5–7pm: Dinner with my family
7–9pm: Emails and additional project work”
During this well-oiled routine, Kevin points out that he’s at his best working-flow around mid-morning, after completing a few tasks and setting priority to his day.
It can be really tough maintaining focus when working from home, so how many hours a day do you feel like you’re at your most productive?
Kevin: “I find that deep focus work maxes out around 4–5 hours. If I want to be productive for the rest of the day, I just need to ensure that I schedule my day around my productivity cycles. I consider productivity the rate of improvement.”
Wow, that’s super-insightful! Do you have any specific methodologies or tools that you swear by to help staying productive?
Kevin: “Besides Tempo, I also swear by the daily task manager, Sunsama, and Clockwise, the calendar assistant.”
Do you have any tips for maintaining your sanity when working from home?
Kevin: “Yes, it’s critical to create space, both physical and mental/emotional.
- If you can, move your computer to one room and leave it there. If you don’t have a home office, set boundaries for when you’re ‘offline’. These boundaries are key to building a healthy balance and setting appropriate expectations with your teammates.
- Create a schedule that emphasizes your priorities. For example, if you want to stay physically healthy, schedule time for a workout or yoga.
Act like you’re going to the office. If you normally wear a suit to work, consider wearing a suit or at least a nice shirt. If you wear jeans and a t-shirt, you’re all set. The key is to keep a routine and create the right mindset.”
“Email provides balance to the equation by forcing people to have more thoughtful communication.”
With several personal and professional communication platforms on the market, how important to you is email as a tool for communication?
Kevin: “Email is critical. When your team is distributed, communication is vital. Tools like Slack are great for quick, asynchronous communication. But not all communication should be immediate. Email provides balance to the equation by forcing people to have more thoughtful communication. To minimize disturbances, I try to look through my inbox three times a day: 7am, 12pm, 7pm.”
To conclude our conversation, Kevin points out his worst habit is not taking enough breaks. In a time that stress levels are at an all-time high, it’s essential to step away, clear the mind, or get some fresh air. Just wash your damn hands.
If you have a unique way of approaching productivity, we’d love to hear from you.
