The 7 Ways to Stay Motivated While Working at Home
Working from home has been a dream come true for me because I get to set my own hours, be my own boss, and got rid of those business suits for good. However, it’s hard to stay disciplined and motivated, especially when the laundry’s calling my name and since I’m my own boss, I get to set the deadlines – and can extend deadlines too. Here are seven things I’ve learned to keep me motivated while working from home and living the dream.
Get into work mode
While it is tempting to laze around in pajamas all day, taking a shower, putting on my make-up, and changing into work clothes puts me into work mode and a professional frame of mind. This will increase your motivation and desire to achieve your work goals for the day.
Set appointments with friends and family
My friends and family know that between certain hours of the day, I am “at work”. That means, no dropping by or calling during that time. I ask them to treat my house like a regular business and be respectful of business hours. If I do get a personal call, I try to return their call during a scheduled break so I don’t disrupt my work flow. It’s tempting to pick up the phone to find out the latest gossip, but a ten minute interruption can actually set you back almost an hour because it takes time to move back into the work frame of mind. If there is an important personal matter that can’t wait, ask your friends and family to set an appointment so you have a beginning and most importantly, end time. It’s extremely hard to work with a child at home, but sometimes necessity outweighs convenience. Try to set a designated time to speak to your children or do household chores. This will do wonders for your sanity and workload.
Get organized
I’m fanatical about organization, especially when it comes to my work and home office. I remove my son’s toys that mysteriously got tracked into my office and any other things that do not pertain to work to ensure my office looks professional. Imagine if you were at a real office, you wouldn’t have Elmo hiding under your desk. Additionally, create a ‘To Do List’ to help prioritize daily tasks and help you plan for the week ahead. Schedule all important meetings and conference calls on your calendar. Google has many free tools like Google Calendar, a task list, and Google Reader to help you stay organized. Stay on top of organization and you will be surprised at how much time you save.
Take regular breaks
It’s important to stick to a schedule but just as important to take regular breaks. I find it all to easy to get sucked into what I’m doing and forget to eat lunch, which is not healthy – mentally and physically. A typical schedule would include two 15 minute breaks and about an hour for lunch. If you are your own boss, I won’t tell if you decide that one and a half hours for lunch is more your style. Studies show that taking breaks in a workplace actually makes employees happier, more productive, decreases stress levels and helps avoid injuries like eye strain and repetitive strain injury (RSI). [ find good exercises ]
Decrease social isolation
One of the toughest things I had to overcome with my work-at-home career is the feeling of social isolation. Take your laptop to your local library, a nearby coffee shop or park for a change of pace and mingle with the locals. Schedule lunch meetings at nearby cafes or restaurants or even a happy hour after work. Also, call your work colleagues, clients and external suppliers instead of emailing or instant messaging. One of the quickest tricks that helped me is turning on the radio. You can also increase your social circles by meeting friends online, joining your industry association, getting a gym membership or starting a new hobby such as learning a new language, how to cook, or running club.
Avoid distractions
Without a boss to look over your shoulder, it’s easy to fall into the habit of checking your Facebook or Twitter account, answering personal emails or chatting with friends via instant messenger. Similarly, it may also be tempting to watch your favourite show or get a few household chores done during the day. Try to get into the habit of working set hours with scheduled breaks. During the break, go ahead and update that Facebook status and answer personal emails.
Work standard hours
Where bosses may fear that employees are not working hard enough at home, the sad reality is that many employees who have the luxury of working from home typically work more than the standard 40 hours a week. Don’t fall into the trap of checking your work email every time you walk past your computer and keep work and home life separate. Stick to your set hours and complete your work within the time allocated. If you have a separate home office, close the door once the day is over. If you don’t have that luxury and have set up camp on the breakfast table, try to put away your papers and computer so you’re not tempted. Long hours can quickly lead to burn-out and a loss of motivation.
A successful career at home can be extremely fulfilling. There’s no doubt that it takes a lot of hard work, long hours, and staying motivated is the key. I hope these seven tips will help you work better and more efficiently.
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