Tolu Ade is a digital marketing expert and CEO of REALESTATEKO, an agency that helps real estate firms with everything from social media management to email marketing.
Running his own business has afforded him the opportunity to work from home for over four years. He shares some of his tips and hacks for staying productive while doing so.
- Current role: CEO and Co-Founder REALESTATEKO
- Location: Lagos, Nigeria.
- Current computer: Dell XPS 15 Notebook
- Current mobile device: Samsung Galaxy S10
- Describe what working in this pandemic is like, in one word: Conserving.
Tell us briefly how you started out your career and how you got where you are today.
I started exploring the Internet at a very young age with my old man’s desktop, configuring proxies for people to stay stealth and also to enjoy unlimited Internet surfing in exchange for money. I majored in statistics, worked as technical team leader at Google Nigeria, for GMB Project. With an interest in search engine optimisation (SEO) I interned at Hotels.ng. After my experiences with different projects, I saw an opportunity in real estate digital marketing and I went for it.
Is this your first time fully working from home?
I've been working from home for over four years. Except for client meetings, we use project management tools that make our work seamless and hassle-free.
Walk us through a typical workday since you started working from home (like a diary of a recent day)
I stopped waking up to my phone and that has helped a lot with my productivity.
Wake up: 6:00 a.m., meditate: 5-10 minutes, check on the whiteboard for To-Do tasks, that, and then start the day's tasks.
What apps, gadgets, or tools have you been relying on to work from home, and how do you use them?
For teamwork:
Google Sheets: Easy to manage teams, email collaborators, clients get to view their projects in real-time with Gantt Charts for quick work progress overview.
Trello: I don't use this often as Google Sheets gets the job done, but some clients prefer this.
Be the smartest in the room
Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.
Eye Leo: I would recommend this to anyone that stays up to six hours on their PC daily. Apart from helping to practice the Pomodoro technique, it gives room to exercise your body within the breaks.
Tidy Tabs: A great productivity tool that lets you manage your apps in tabs.
My phone and my notebook.
Having to work from home, how do you allocate your time between work and other things?
Honestly, I'm still trying to figure this out.
Do you live/work alone? If not, what’s your living condition like and how do you avoid/cope with distractions?
I live alone, so it’s simple; I just turn on “Focus Mode” on my Samsung because phones are major distractions for a good percentage of people.
How do you recharge or take a break?
The Pomodoro approach does that for me pretty easily. I get to stand up from my PC every 33 minutes when the timer beeps.
What’s your biggest challenge with working from home and how are you trying to solve it?
The Internet. Having a bad Internet can mess up your whole day.
What are you currently reading, watching, or listening to? What do you recommend?
Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki
A millennial’s Guide to Investing in Cash Flowing Rental Properties by Antoine Martel
What piece of advice would you give someone trying to adapt to working from home?
Wake up, have a bath, dress up like you're going to the office to work. It's all a mindset game.
Who would you like to see answer these questions?
Ramos from Ramos of Lagos Realty,
Tayo Aina from Tayo Aina Films,
Antoine Martel from MartelTurnkey.
