Whether you own your own business or work a salary job, you may find yourself working from home a lot more than you used to. While home used to be a place solely for sleeping, eating, relaxing, and participating in hobbies, more and more people are using it as their office. This can blur the lines between personal and professional life.
Not only can working from home be distracting, but it can also be hard to stay motivated and focused on work. A lot of people are finding that they do not have the drive to stay productive throughout the days and weeks.
If you find that you have issues staying motivated no matter where you are, then you may also want to check out the advice offered by therapists at www.betterhelp.com/ca/motivation/. They answer common questions about motivation that can be helpful.
However, if you have lost motivation moving from working at an office to working at home, then there are some things that you can do that may help you stay mentally focused and inspired to stay productive.
Develop a Schedule
When we are working from home, we tend to have a less structured routine and schedule. This can lead to distraction and procrastination. We may shift our work hours around from one day to the next or delay starting at the same time every day.
This can make it hard for our body and mind to adjust. It can also make it easier to become distracted or to take time off. This can make a task take way longer than it should and can make us feel drained before the day even begins.
Try to set a clear schedule for every workday. This means that you need to wake up at the same time every day, start working at the same time, eat lunch at the same time, and end the workday around the same time. This can get your mind used to the work routine, which, in turn, can boost your motivation.
Have a Clear Work Area
While it may be tempting to sit on the couch with your laptop on your legs, that is not conducive to the right mindset for work that keeps you feeling motivated and productive. It also keeps your personal space and your workspace separate if you have a dedicated area to work.
While you may not have a whole room to use as your work area, try to set a desk up in a corner or in an area that will foster productivity and motivation. Also, it is a good idea to place your work area away from the kitchen, because it can be tempting to eat throughout the day.
You should also try to keep the work area clean and clutter free. Doing so may boost your productivity. Make sure that all of your work materials are easy to access and reach. Keep trash can close and remove any unnecessary paperwork and supplies that may be distracting. In addition, try to clean up your digital space, which means organizing the files on your computer and removing any unneeded software.
Reduce Distractions
Distractions can be a problem for anybody working at home. You may see the mailman come by your home or children may be running around your space. It is best to reduce all of these distractions as much as possible. While it may be impossible to eliminate distractions completely, limiting them can go a long way towards getting in a groove where motivation is plentiful.
One way to limit distractions is to mute your phone so that notifications and calls do not bother you throughout the day. You should also avoid checking your email every 20 minutes. Find a healthy and positive way to keep your children occupied if you work from home with young kids.
It can also limit distractions to work in small amounts of time throughout the day. This can allow you to plan things that you need to complete within the next hour or so. Then you know what you need to get done, which can boost the motivation to do it.
Have a Morning Routine
If you work at home on your own time, then it can be hard to get up and feel like it is an actual workday. Working from home makes the weekdays blend into the weekends, which can hamper your motivation. Getting up early and having a routine for the morning hours can help you feel ready to tackle the work of the day and provide lasting motivation.
Research shows a correlation between morning activity and proactiveness. When you wake up early, just make sure that you have a routine that you can follow until it is time to get to work. This can include a coffee, reading or watching the news, taking a shower, and eating breakfast. You may also find it gives your mood and motivation a boost if you exercise in the morning.
Also, make sure to wear work clothes. While you can probably get away with wearing pajamas for work every day, getting dressed can help our mental state and foster motivation and productivity. Casual clothes may make you feel like relaxing and doing weekend activities. There is evidence that dressing for work can be great for staying on task and productive throughout the day.
Identify Your Productive Times
It is unlikely that you are productive all day without bursts of energy and times of sluggishness. Examining your work habits to identify these times can be great for allowing you to improve your work efforts and output. You may find that you work best in the morning, or you may have a slow start every day, but get going strong about an hour after lunch.
You can also reward yourself for task completion and productivity. When you finish a task or project, you can reward yourself with a snack, a quick television show, or playing a game on your computer or phone. As long as you can get back to work after, this can be beneficial to motivation levels.
In fact, taking breaks throughout the day is great for task completion. Nobody can stay focused and productive all day each and every day of the week. Just taking a 5-minute break once per hour can help keep your mentally and physically fresh.
Take Care of Yourself
When we don’t eat healthy foods or get enough sleep, then we may feel fatigued or have low energy. Never work in your bed because it can psychologically attach work to your sleep area. In fact, if you can try to work in a different room from the place where you sleep.
Regular exercise is great for physical health, but it can also boost mood. This can help your motivation and work output. Try to get a half hour or more of exercise almost every day.
Conclusion
While it may be harder to get motivated when you work from home, it may just take some adjustments and getting used to. Developing a routine and schedule for every workday can go a long way and you should also clear a work area that you do not use for anything else. Also, take care of yourself and reduce or eliminate distractions as much as you can. You may find that you get as much, or even more work done when working from home!
Author:
Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with BetterHelp.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
