Ways to Stay Motivated When You Work at Home

Almost every office worker who has to trudge out of bed and scoot along in rush hour traffic every day wishes they could work from home. Generally speaking, at-home workers have a more flexible schedule, so we can sleep in if we want. We can stay in our PJs all day, and take as long of a lunch break as we like. However, to work from home effectively takes a lot of self-discipline and motivation. Here are a few ways to stay motivated from your home office.

Create a Separate Work Area
Working from your laptop in front of your TV on the sofa is a great way to distract yourself from working. If you can, find a quiet place in your home that you don’t generally spend time in relaxing or doing other activities. Your brain will start to associate this place with work, you’ll get more done, and it will be easier to focus in your designated work area.

Know Your High Productivity Times
Some of us jump out of bed at the crack of dawn, ready to start the day off with a bang. Others of us think clearest and work best in the middle of the night, when the whole world is asleep. Everyone has a point of time in the day when they can get things done with maximum efficiency. Try to schedule your work hours around this period.

Say No to Distractions
Is your cell phone constantly ringing off the hook during your work day? Do your friends and family send you funny YouTube videos and jokes via email all day? Maybe you catch your thoughts wandering and start Googling all kinds of irrelevant topics while you’re supposed to be working? Say no to these distractions. You’ll have plenty of time to goof off after you get your work done. Exercising a bit of self control now will pay off in the long run.

Get Organized
Using a weekly planner will help you organize your tasks throughout the day, making everything seem more manageable. Listing actual tasks on a to-do list is also helpful. When you are able to physically cross an item off the list, you will feel like you’re getting things done, which will lead to increased motivation.

Filter Your Emails
Most e-mail programs come with tools to filter emails automatically into different categories. Think about sending all of your work emails to a corresponding folder. While you are working, only read emails in this category. That will cut out hours of time sorting through personal emails when you could have been working.

Take a Break
You’re not a work robot. You need breaks too, just like those who work in brick-and-mortar offices. If you work yourself too hard, you will feel burned out, which will completely kill your motivation. Read a book in your favorite café, take a walk around the block, or do a couple of short errands. The break will be a relief from thinking about work, and when you come home, you’ll be ready to pound out those pending tasks.

It can be hard to stay motivated when you’re working from home, but it is doable. Remember, you’re living the dream! Who wants to go back to the office now?

J. Stephenson is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on call centre management for Guide to Career Education.