Ep.60- Be a Work-from-Home Warrior with Claire Pfeiffer

In this episode, Kiera and Lia bring a special guest, Claire Pfeiffer. Together, they unveil the ultimate survival guide for modern-day work-from-home warriors. Learn how to unlock your true potential and dominate the remote work game. From battling distractions to conquering isolation, they have the secret weapons you need to skyrocket your productivity and reclaim your sanity. Get ready to thrive like never before.

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Hosts: Kiera Masters and Lia Bliss

Guest: Claire Pfeiffer on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok

Kiera on LinkedIn and Instagram

Lia on LinkedIn and Instagram

Podcast Manager: Kimberly Smith

Find Lia’s book here: Everything Is Your Fault by Lia Bliss

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Transcript

Intro:

You’re listening to Master Your Bliss Life. Join Kiera Masters and Lia Bliss as they dive into the magical, mysterious, and mundane elements of life, helping you to master your purpose and find your bliss.

Lia

We just, this is the format of the podcast. We just, it’s a conversation that we’re having…

Kiera

And we just all of a sudden hit record and there we go.

Lia

And here we go. And here we’re now on the podcast. So, with us today, we have Claire Pfeiffer.

Claire

Hello.

Lia

Who, I don’t know, what company do you want to associate with? You work with us, but is that a secret?

Claire

No, no Blisspoint and LinkedIn is, you know, my main job.

Lia

Excellent.

Claire

There’s not much Telecom on LinkedIn.

Lia

Nice, ok, so in your own words, what do you do for work?

Claire

I am a project manager. I just received my certified assistant project manager certificate.

All

Woot woot

Kiera

So great.

Claire

From The Project Management Institute. So, I have all my credentials, passed my test. So I run a lot of big projects, and mainly at Blisspoint I do our book publishing projects.

Kiera

Awesome.

Lia

So, low-key you’re a book publisher.

Claire

Lowkey.

Lia

Lowkey. Incredible. And you are in the process of putting out your own book right now.

Claire

I am. Hopefully by the end of the year. I have that as a goal.

Lia

The goal is by the end of the year. We’re setting hard deadlines.

Claire

Yep.

Kiera

It’s gonna happen.

Claire

Yep.

Lia

It’s going to happen. And your book focuses mostly on, is it called a work-from-home survival guide? Is that what we’re calling it?

Claire

Yes, that’s the working title. Although, it won’t be official until the book’s written.

Lia

Ok.

Claire

I always tell people to not choose your title until the very end.

Lia

Ok, unofficially it’s, it is a work-from-home survival guide, title pending.

Claire

Yes, title pending.

Lia

Ok, so what’s the, so if you’re going to teach us how to master our bliss life through work from home. Which, Kiera’s new to this work from home life.

Kiera

Yes.

Lia

I’ve been doing it for two  and a half years now. I feel fairly proficient. But for those who either, I mean, what’s the biggest struggle that people have. Is it people who, for people who are new to work from home? Or halfway through the pandemic were like, I love this and I want to keep it going? Like, who’s the people that are going to benefit the most from this book?

Claire

I’d say, working from home is a constant battle, I mean it has a lot of great benefits. You get to make your own schedule, you can travel more often. But, loneliness is a big thing that I see a lot of people combating.

Kiera

Oh, yeah. I can see that.

Lia

Yeah, that hits me right in the feels.

Kiera

Yep. Whenever I get lonely I just message Lia, Do you want to hop on a zoom call?

Lia

Do you wanna talk to me for a minute?

Claire

Yeah, which is great. That’s a method that we’ve been doing is our little writing, where we just get on a zoom call and just work with someone else’s face in front of us.

Kiera

Yeah.

Claire

Which has worked.

Lia

Yeah, so let’s talk about that for a second. So, our, we do something called a write-a-thon, where, cuz a huge majority of our work is just writing. Whether it’s in book publishing, whether we’re doing content creation, whether we’re just writing comments on LinkedIn for hours.

Kiera

Hours on end.

Lia

So, about, what do we do, every month? Every month we get together for two hours, the whole writing team and the sales team, and we just sit on a zoom call with our cameras off. Like, it’s literally not different than working normally, but for some reason, just knowing that we’re all there together helps.

Kiera

Oh, yeah.

Claire

Yeah, it’s like comradery. We’re working on the same thing and we’re all accountable, even though we’re not technically. We feel more accountable.

Lia
Yeah, we do feel more accountable. And that’s fun. Ok, so what are the best work from home survival tips that you have?

Claire

I mean, basically if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That’s Benjamin Franklin.

Lia

Yes.

Claire

But, it’s really just making a plan to be social and have people hold you accountable. Like going to the gym. Even meal prepping when you work from home. People are like, Oh, I don’t need to meal prep if I work from home. But then you are staring at your fridge, deciding what to eat, wasting time.

Kiera

Absolutely. That is something I need to be better at.

Claire

And then you end up eating junk food, cuz, you know, it’s easy to grab.

Kiera

Yes.

Lia

You eat Doritos for lunch.

Claire

Yeah.

Lia

What do you have there Kiera? A muffin?

Kiera

It’s a chocolate chip banana muffin.

Lia

That sounds delicious. 

Kiera

Yeah. My little house owner that I rent from brought me down some today. They were nice and piping hot. And they were amazing and melted in my mouth. 

Lia

Cute.

Kiera

But they are not healthy for me.

Lia

I’m rocking tup life today. I’ve got my…

Kiera

Look at you.

Lia

… quinoa and ground beef, and cuz I…

Kiera

I still have yet to make that. I’m going to do that today. I just made some quinoa earlier.

Lia

Oh my gosh it’s so good.

Claire

I do love quinoa.

Kiera

I love quinoa.

Lia

Kiera’s the quinoa queen. Claire told me today that apparently quinoa is one of the leading causes of world hunger? That is an exaggeration. 

Claire

Well yeah, a lot of the people, the cultures that eat quinoa every day, they’re like now depleting their resources of quinoa.

Kiera

Oopsies.

Lia

Right?

Kiera

Apparently I am going to buy Costco out of their stock.

Lia

Right? I was like, Ooooh is Costco sustainable sourced? Cuz I feel like probably no. Probably not. But that’s ok.

Claire

<inaudible>

Lia

Well it’s like in today’s world, how can you even know, like I feel like, right? There was this big push for like eat organic, and then it was like organic is just a construct of capitalism where they’re able to charge you more money. It’s like, ok well that’s  out. And then all these fad diets come and all these like new healthy superfoods. It’s like, and Claire, you made the analogy to that tv show, what was it? The Good Place.

Claire

Oh yeah, where the consumer, it’s like you buy a tomato, and it’s like, 50 negative points, 5000 negative points.

Lia

Yeah, you’re going to hell because – you’re going to the “bad place”...

Claire

Yeah.

Lia

…because you didn’t like…

Kiera

That’s the one with uh…

Lia

Kristen Bell.

Kiera

Kristen Bell huh?

Lia

Yes.

Kiera

I started watching it. It’s super cute.

Lia

Oh my gosh, it’s so good.

Kiera

Yeah.

Lia

Season 2. No spoilers. It’s so good.

Kiera

Oh, really? I’ve only watched Season 1.

Claire

Every season is so different, and better, and it just building on each other.

Lia

So much better.

Kiera

Sweet.

Lia

The main guy. What’s his name? The white hair with the bowties. What’s his… the actor.

Claire

He’s in everything now.

Lia

He’s in everything now. So, the bowties from that show – cuz he’s always wearing these really elaborate, fancy bowties.

Claire

Ted Danson.

Lia

Ted Danson! That’s who it is.

Kiera

Ted Danson. Yeah.

Lia

Ted Danson. The bowties that he wears in The Good Place, Richard bought – our boss, my father – bought his wedding bowtie from the same manufacturing company.

Claire

Wow.

Lia

So he wore like a pheasant feather like artistically hand-crafted bowtie for his wedding. So that’s fancy-pansy. Bowtie life. Ted Danson bowtie life.

Kiera

Bowtie life. I feel like we got off subject there. Claire, you gave us one example.

Lia

One example. Meal prep.

Kiera

One example.

Lia

Meal prep.

Kiera

Meal prep.

Lia

Ok, what’s next?

Claire

Me and my friends, actually we get together and we all meal prep together and then trade our meals, so we’re not eating the same thing every day.

Lia

So, each of you meal prep one meal, and then  between the three of you, you diversify.

Claire.

Yeah.

Lia

Magic.

Kiera

That’s a great idea.

Claire

Yes. Yeah, so, if you have some friends that are also working from home – or even not, they’re teachers – but we still just meal prep together.

Kiera

Oh yeah.

Claire

Definitely joining a gym. That’s a great way to get out of the house and meet other people. That’s how I met my friends here.

Lia

You met your friends at the gym?

Claire

Yeah, by going to 9 Round.

Lia

Ok, 9 Round. That’s like a boxing gym, right?

Claire

Yeah.

Lia

I, Kiera, you’ve met a bunch of friends at the gym.

Kiera

Yes.

Lia

I, I don’t know if I have a resting bitch face, or if I’m just like, Aaaah! Afraid of everyone at the gym, but I have made zero friends at the gym in my life. Literally zero.

Claire

Maybe you’ve got to be more outgoing.

Lia

Maybe. I mean, I made friends at yoga, but I feel like that’s different.

Kiera

No, it’s the same. Well, I mean, you go into yoga, you don’t go into yoga with headphones in, ready to pump action. You’re not like taking your pre-workout and like “Rah go!”

Lia

Right? I’m like deadlifting, like screaming, like Aaaahh!

Kiera

Come talk to me.

Lia

That’s probably, yeah. I’m probably very unapproachable at the gym. 

Claire

Yeah. You’re going to the gym to get fit. I’m going to the gym to like, I don’t really want to gain that much muscle or anything. My goal is building my mental health at the gym and getting out of the house and seeing other people.

Lia

Yeah.

Claire

Because when I was a waitress, I didn’t go to they gym. I was on my feet all day. I talked to people all the time. I didn’t want to go to the gym after I got off waitressing.

Lia

Yeah, but that fulfills… so the gym really fulfills a psychological people need vs the like combat the effects of sitting at your desk all day.

Claire

Yeah.

Kiera

I think it’s both.

Claire

Even if you don’t want to get super fit, I still think it’s great to go to the gym if you work from home. Any type of gym. Yoga.

Kiera

I call it my therapy.

Claire

Yeah.

Kiera

My me time and my therapy. And then my other therapy is Lia.

Lia

Yay! Is making this podcast. It’s therapy. I have to have a…

Kiera

You guys don’t know this, but we come up with every podcast based on what I’m talking to her about that day.

Lia

I mean…

Kiera

Based on my therapy. No, I’m just kidding.

Lia

Medium. Medium true. I go to the gym, I usually have a personal trainer because I’m just, as I explained, I got a new personal trainer yesterday. I was like, I was explaining to him, I have to have a personal trainer because I am just a princess when I go to the gym. I’m like, Um, maybe I’ll lift some weights. Maybe… and I just kind of am like, Where should I go?

Kiera

You need to have someone to hold you accountable.

Lia

Yes.

Claire

You should do 9 Round. We have a, you know, timers that go off and tell you to go to the next station, so it’s like, you have to do it.

Lia

Yeah, like a class situation, or something where it’s like peer pressure like yoga, I do great. Because it’s like I can’t embarrass myself. My friend is the teacher.

Kiera

Right.

Lia

Like, that’s embarrassing if I just don’t do it. And then, yeah, I have to be in a group setting. I’ve gotten a lot better about going and actually lifting by myself. But I don’t rest the proper amount of time between sets because I’m just like, what am I… I feel like an idiot just resting between sets just like…

Kiera

Standing there, waiting 60 seconds.

Lia

And when you lift super heavy, like I do, I call it death by deadlifts. So I do six sets of six reps of deadlifting. And I do it heavy enough that it’s like, I’m breathing heavy, I’m sweating. But I don’t, I feel stupid to just like do six, and then just stop and like, look around.

Kiera

Isn’t it like a two minute break? It’s supposed to be like a two minute break for those ones right?

Lia

Yeah, it’s yeah.

Kiera

60 seconds, 30 seconds seems too long. You’re like, has the 30 seconds passed yet?

Lia

Come on.

Kiera

Two minutes? I’d be like.

Lia

And the gym I go to is like a big influencer gym, and so there’s people there that like, there’s people, like, everyone has a tripod kinda gym.

Claire

Oh.

Kiera

Oh yeah. Everyone is recording, and if you get caught in the background not doing anything, just standing there and you like now on social media.

Lia

Yeah, you get famous people.

Claire

I would not go to that gym.

Lia

Like, um, like what’s his name? From…

Kiera

I know who you’re trying to talk about. We talked about him a couple weeks ago. Um…nevermind.

Lia

From… oh my gosh. I’m going to have to google it. Continue. But yes.

Kiera
I was thinking, because you said, oh my gosh now I can’t think of his name… the singer.

Lia

It’s fine.

Kiera

That’s his name. That’s his gym, too.

Lia

The singer?

Kiera

Tattoos.

Lia

Oh, Post Malone 

Kiera

Post Malone. Goodness gracious.

Lia

Oh yeah, I go to Post Malone’s gym. And… Queer Eye. One of the guys from Queer Eye goes to the gym.

Claire

Oh, really? Which one?

Lia

Yes. I don’t watch it, so I don’t…

Claire

I love all of them. Probably not Jonathan Van Ness.

Lia

No. He’s like short and has the fabulous bouffant with the gray.

Claire

Yes! Um, Fan, fan, van.. He has a weird name.

Lia

Yes. He goes to my gym. And Post Malone. So, it’s embarrassing to stand there and be like, looking around. Cuz you don’t really want to look around too much because then you get real embarrassed. And everyone’s in stupid shape. But.

Kiera

Yeah.

Claire

Tan. I said Fan. Instead of Tan.

Lia

Yes. Tan Francis. That’s, ok that’s the one.

Claire

I messed up the name.

Lia

You mixed it up, it’s good. See, we don’t have to be completely like pop culture relevant. It’s fine.

Kiera

No. It’s fine.

Lia

Go to the gym, or I feel like be around other people.

Claire

Yeah, just really make a plan and like, it’s really easy to stay in your house all day. For even days on end. If you, especially if you live alone and work from home, don’t have kids to pick up and… getting yourself out of the house. Even working out of the house. Going to coffee shops, or like, I see so many people say, You have to set up your desk in one room to be, you know, to focus that way. But I focus like working in many different spots around my house.

Lia

Oh.

Claire

Sometimes I’ll be at my desk. Sometimes I’ll sit on the couch and work. Sometimes I’ll set up at my bar and work. But like, the movement helps me keep my brain focused.

Lia

Oh, interesting. I do not do that.

Kiera

I’ve worked on my couch before. My back started to hurt and I was like…

Lia

Yeah.

Kiera

Put my laptop in my lap, and there you go.

Claire

Yeah.

Lia

I can’t. I think it’s just because I can’t type on my laptop keyboard.

Kiera

Oh.

Claire

With your fingernails?

Lia

With my long fingernails.

Kiera

You have to bring your laptop, your keyboard, your mouse.

Lia

Right? I’m just so high-maintenance.

Kiera

You just need to get one of those like, brunch things that just sits over your lap so you can put everything on it. You know what I mean?

Lia

Right? Just like, in the bathtub just like, It’s fine now. Yes. For those on the podcast listening, and haven’t checked the nail situation on my Instagram, I have been getting my nails done. They’re like, they’re probably like a solid inch past my fingertips. And I’ve been getting them done for like 10 years. Finally figured out how to do them myself. So, now I do them myself at home. But, I was eating sushi yesterday and someone was like, You have chopsticks on the end of your fingers, don’t ya? Shut up. Also, yes.

Claire

When I had the long nails, I’d always get the, Are you gonna claw someone’s eyes out with those? Like, every time.

Lia

Yeah, buddy. Yeah buddy!

Kiera

Don’t ask me… walk away.

Lia

Why are you askin’?

Claire

Tempting fate here.

Lia

Right? We’re gonna claw someone’s eyes out? Not yours. You wish. It’s for special occasions.

Claire

Right?

Lia

Why do people have to comment on women’s appearance?

Claire

Oh, every time.

Lia

Every time. I had, ok, tell me what you think about this theory. Cuz I’ve tried to talk to our boss, Richard, my father, about this. And he’s like, Whatever I don’t get it. But, like, girl hot vs guy hot. I feel like, um, Mila Kunis… guy hot. I don’t know a single man that would be like, Nah, she’s weird. Like, Mila Kunis, um Scarlett Johansen, those are like guy hot women. 

Kiera

Guy hot. Yeah.

Lia

But then like Lady Gaga. Girl hot.

Kiera

Girl hot.

Claire

It’s the, well, do they wear baseball hats? If you can see them in a ponytail, baseball hat… guy hot.

Lia

Then they’re guy hot. That is an excellent distinction.

Kiera

Yeah, I like that.

Lia

Because I feel like, every once in a while I’ll wear something, like if I’m going out with just my girlfriends, I’ll put on my “girl hot” outfits, because I know that these are not conventionally attractive, but they’re like, fabulous.

Claire

Yeah.

Lia

Like I have a pair of crushed velvet overalls, and I love them. They’re also cropped.

Claire

I’ll say guys like that velvet stuff though. They like textures for some reason.

Lia

That’s true.

Claire

They’ll be like, Oooo.

Lia

Let me touch it. But like, I feel like, when I dress more eclectically, maybe is the word? It’s, I get so many compliments from women. When I wear like crazy, jazzy outfits, they’re like, Oh my gosh, everything, this is fabulous. And then men see it and they’re like…

Kiera

Meh.

Lia

Why are you wearing so many tassels?

Claire

Yeah.

Lia

It’s for fashion, Derrek! Shut up! But then, yeah, cutoffs…

Claire

But then put on Daisy Dukes, tshirt… yeah. You’re saying the same thing.

Lia

Yeah, daisy dukes, white tshirt, baseball cap, and I cannot keep them away with a bat.

Claire

I know.

Lia

Just, ugh. Maybe that’s why I don’t get hit on at the gym, because I do not wear hot girl gym clothes. I wear…

Claire

Oh yeah, you wear the Lululemon and another girl’s like, Oh my gosh a Lululemon? And then you guys will be best friends.

Lia

I wear a lot of Fab – I’ve been Fabletics brand specific for years. I’m Fabletics brand… if Fabletics wants to sponsor our podcast, we wear a lot of that. We do that shit here. But, I feel like I’m always wearing like the funky outfits, and like, they’re super matchy. I’m very, like, girl hot at the gym. Hence, nobody wants to talk to me.

Claire

Ooooh, so maybe intimidating.

Lia

Maybe I’m so intimidatingly beautiful. That’s what I’m going to tell myself. Thanks Claire. Ok, let’s wrap up with your last and most best tip.

Claire

Well, speaking of clothes, getting up and putting clothes on is very important working from home. It’s easy to wear your pajamas all day, and then you just don’t feel productive by the end of the day when you’re still in your pajamas. And then it’s like 5 o’clock in the afternoon. So even you don’t have to get all business dressed up every day, but just putting on realy clothes.

Lia

Like underwire. Like, maybe let’s try some underwire and see how we feel today. Kiera.

Claire

Yeah.

Kiera

No, I don’t need that.

Lia

Kiera.

Claire

But also, if you want to have a pajama day. Where I’m like, you know, I’m gonna wear my pajamas today because I work from home and I can and it’s a nice perk. And I don’t have any meetings today.

Lia

And it’s a perk. Yes.

Kiera

Right?

Lia

Yeah, I think that, if I have like client-facing meetings, on some days it’s definitely like a, it’s a eyeliner kind of day.

Kiera

Yes.

Lia

It’s a hair straightener kind of day.

Claire

Well, you know, it’s like casual Friday, or even at school, when you’d have pajama day. It’s just like a little treat. But if you do it every day, it’s, you know, it’s not a treat anymore.

Kiera

Yeah. I think another thing, at least for me anyway, is getting up and making my bed every morning.

Claire

Yes. I do that so I don’t get back in it.

Lia

Yeah.

Kiera

I mean, I’ve always done it, and it’s not, also my camera is facing my bed, so of course when I’m doing calls and everything – I’m washing them now – but they’re, my bed is made every single morning. But I did it even before I started doing calls where my bed was showing. Like, it’s just something, I think I’ve been doing it for maybe a year now? But, it’s a video that I watched about making your bed every day, and it’s going to help you be more productive with the day and make you feel more confident about the day. And it has helped. It has helped.

Claire

Yeah. Like a visual…

Kiera

If I, if there’s days that, I think there’s probably been a handful of days, maybe two handfuls of days, in the last year that I haven’t made it, and I look at it and I’m just like, Why didn’t I take…

Lia

I feel like it’s more when I get into bed. When it’s made.

Claire

It’s more <inaudible>

Kiera

You don’t want to get into it?

Lia

Well, it’s more fun. 

Kiera

Oh yeah.

Lia

Like, at the end of the day, when you see your nice crisp bed made and it’s like 9:30 – yes I go to bed at 9:30 – it’s 9:30 and you’re like, It’s bedtime. And you get to pull back the covers and get into bed. Oh, feels so, feels so glamorous for no reason.

Kiera

Right? Yeah. And I like to be tight in my bed. I don’t know if you guys like the loose sheets, but I wake up and tuck my sheets back in and make it all tight.

Lia
Yes.

Kiera

Because I love getting in there when it’s tight. I’m like, Yes.

Claire

Like a hotel bed.

Lia

Yeah. Yes.

Kiera

It feels like a big hug.

Lia

I get a weighted blanket for that effect. We’ll have to do another whole episode about sleep hygiene. Because I’m obsessed with sleeping.

Kiera

Yes, she is. We had a sleepover. She. We had a sleepover and she came over, and she like gets in her bag, and pulls out like her eye mask, puts her headphones in, starts playing her Harry Potter or whatever the hell she was listening to.

Lia

Don’t tell them, don’t tell the people about Harry Potter.

Kiera

It’s just a sneak peak into the night…

Lia

It’s a sneak peak, oh my God. That's so embarrassing. Alright, Claire, thanks…

Kiera

I’m just looking at her like, Ok.

Lia

Shut up. Jim Dale is in national treasure. Oh my God. Ok, Claire, thanks for joining our podcast.

Kiera

Yes, thank you.

Claire

Thank you for having me.

Lia

Hope you’ve enjoyed listening during your hot girl walk, and/or doing your dishes. Maybe you’re doing your sheets right now. Or maybe you’re working from home, and this has brought a little sunshine into your hum-drum life. But we appreciate you being here, and we’ll see y’all next time. Love you. Bye.

Kiera

Love you, thank you, bye.

Claire

Bye.

Ending:

You have been listening to Master Your Bliss Life. Make sure to check out the show notes for any relevant links and follow Kiera and Lia on Instagram and LinkedIn.