Given the situation we’re all in, a large number of people started working from home. As someone who’s working from home for a couple of years, I can honestly say that it is as challenging as working anywhere else, if not even harder. Those who leave home for work wish they could work from home because they think it’s a lot easier, but the truth is that working from home is challenging, especially if you have kids or pets.
There’s nothing I didn’t try to make working from home easier and more productive. Every day, I got distracted by the simplest things that wouldn’t otherwise bother me if I worked at an office, no matter if I were alone or with a couple of colleagues. I noticed a couple of things that worked so I decided to share them with anyone experiencing the same problem. These things helped me improve my productivity and I hope they’ll help you as well.
Create A Work Space In Your Apartment/House
Until I created my own work area, I couldn’t dedicate myself to work as much as I had to. I decided to close up the terrace by putting in windows and create a very small office for myself. It has no more than a couple of square feet, but as long as I have room to put in a chair, a work desk, and a printer, it’s good enough for me.
Even though I can still see inside my living room, I try not to turn my head that way and the more I focused on my work, the less I noticed things around me. It took some time to get used to this kind of office, but as soon as my kids learned not to disturb me while I’m in there, my productivity skyrocketed.
If you don’t have a place to turn into a home office or it’s too expensive to transform a balcony or terrace into an office space, you can pick any corner of your apartment to make a small office space. You can separate your workspace from the rest of the apartment by using curtains, or anything else you can think of that will seclude you from the rest of the house. As long as you have a desk, a comfortable chair, and enough room to turn around, you’re good to go. This can be used for the first couple of months, but if you want to continue working from home, try to save some money and create an office space you’ll love to spend time in.
Create A Strict Routine And Stick To It
The biggest problem when it comes to working from home is adjusting to it when you first start. When you don’t have anyone to keep track of whether you came to work on time and whether you’re watching YouTube videos during your work hours, you can quickly get used to the freedom you have. In order to avoid getting too relaxed when it comes to working, you should create a routine and stick to it, just as if you were going to an office.
As soon as you wake up, do your morning workout, have a quick cup of coffee, and eat your breakfast. You can either sleep in a bit longer or take more time to enjoy your coffee, but when you start working, that’s all you should be doing. When it comes to breakfast, it would be best if you eat it before you start working so you wouldn’t make big breaks during your working hours.
Working from home gives you the opportunity to go and get snacks every once in a while. However, you need to resist that temptation because it will quickly ruin your productivity! Making small breaks every half an hour would just make you work all day. You’d be spending more time in front of the computer than usual but without achieving much.
You should also prepare everything you need in advance. If you’re used to drinking coffee or tea during your work hours, make enough so you won’t need to leave your workspace. Prepare lunch the night before and keep it in the fridge so you won’t need to waste your time cooking when you should be working.
Setting a time for breaks is a great idea because you’ll know exactly when you can take a short break for lunch or for a short walk around the block. Leaving the house for an hour is a good thing, but only if you can stick to your schedule. If you have a dog, take your pet for a walk. This way, you’ll be out in the fresh air and you’ll feel a lot more energized to finish off the day!
Make A Vision Board
Vision boards are a powerful tool to keep you motivated, especially if you’re working as a freelancer or you run your own business. I’ve heard about vision boards the first time I watched The Secret and it blew me away. I’ve tried a lot of things to remain motivated. However, the vision board was something that was always there and little by little, I managed to make things from my vision board come true.
If you don’t know what a vision board is, it’s a regular board where you can print out motivational quotes, pictures of your dream house, dream car, or anything else you truly desire. It’s used as a reminder of what you’re working for. If your goal is to buy a house with a pool, put it on your vision board. If your goal is to have a family with three kids, put it on the vision board. If your goal is to have a million pounds on your bank account, print it out and put it on your vision board. Every time you lose motivation or you have a hard time focusing on work, just take a look at your vision board and remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing.
When you’re motivated, you’ll be more productive and you’ll achieve more than you believed you could. Once you realize you’re getting closer to achieving your goals, you’ll work even harder and smarter than ever before!
Talk To Your Family And Make Some Rules Everyone Will Stick To
When you’re living alone, it’s much easier to work from home because you don’t have anyone distracting you from work. If you have a spouse and kids, make sure you put down some ground rules they’ll need to stick to. Remember that you need to stick to the rules as well because if you don’t, you’ll quickly lose focus and you won’t be as productive as you need to be.
You need to let everyone know that you’re working for 8 hours during the day, and during those 8 hours, no one should bother you with unrelated things. You need to stay focused on your work during your work hours and once you finish, you can do whatever you want. If you don’t have any rules, you’ll be bothered non-stop with the smallest requests that will take an awful lot of your time. If you take short breaks every once in a while, you’ll feel nervous and you’ll lose motivation extremely quickly.
Don’t Stay In Your Pajamas When You’re Working
Even though you’ll be staying at home, you shouldn’t stay in your pajamas when you’re working. When you get up, change into an outfit that you’ll feel comfortable in if you go out to your local cafe. This isn’t mandatory and you can stay in your pajamas if you want, but from my personal experience, dressing for work will make you feel more dedicated to doing what you need to do.
Exercise Regularly Before Or After Work
For the first couple of months after I started working from home, I wasn’t very active. I realized that I was getting more body fat and I just didn’t feel that good about myself. I tried working out right after my morning coffee, but I couldn’t make myself last long enough. I knew I had to be active because I was becoming lazy as well so I switched to working out right after I finish work for that day. It was a great move and it really helped me stay healthy, fit, and energized for the rest of the day. Because I didn’t have a morning commute anymore, I needed to do something to keep my heart rate up and avoid getting lazy. Once I started exercising, I noticed I was able to work more and I had a lot more energy during the day.
You don’t need to do exercise every day as I do, but you should pick two or three days during the week when you’ll be active. You can go hiking, take a long walk or run, go to the gym, or do any type of home workout, as long as you do it. The only thing you need to avoid is having a personal injury that would complicate things significantly in your professional and personal life. If you’re new to working out at home, do some research on the topic and see what you need to do in order to minimize the possibility of injuring yourself.
After I started implementing these things, I noticed a huge improvement in my productivity and I started feeling better than ever! Working from home can definitely be a challenge for some people, but when you organize your time well and you implement a healthy lifestyle, you can be successful at anything you do!
