How to Stay Focused While Working From Home

2 years ago

Working from home is kind of awesome. Your commute gets eliminated, you have a lot more control over how you set up your workspace, and technically, you don't even have to wear pants.

That being said, it also does come with certain challenges. When there are no bosses or coworkers around, it can be a lot harder to stay on task and to avoid certain temptations, and every decision becomes yours to make, which can be a little overwhelming when you're used to having your schedule at least partly set by someone else.

Remote work could mean freedom, well that kind of freedom without some rules can mean procrastination laziness, and being unproductive, or feeling like you're busy but being busy on the wrong things.

And in this article, we're giving you the best tips and advice that helps stay focused and get things done while working from home

1. Have a Morning Routine:

Don’t start working the moment you open your eyes, it might seem like a great way to take advantage of the whole no-commute thing. If you work from home, getting your morning routine down to a tee will have a huge impact on how you work — and feel — for the rest of the day. The beauty of leaving the house and going to work every single day is that you get to leave the house and go to work every single day. it's rhythmic it's automatic, it's just what you do, unfortunately when you start working from home that routine goes away and that's a dangerous thing because you can have slower starts and longer finishes. So even though you don't have to clock in each day and you get to make your own choices, I would still choose to have a morning routine that'll set yourself up for a very productive day. that means setting an alarm and getting up at the same time each day that means take that shower, start that morning pot; do whatever you need to do to get your day started the right, which leads us to my next tip

2. Get Ready Like You Normally Would To Work:

This might seem like a simple tip, but it’s a crucial one. Get changed out of your pajamas every morning. It will help get you in the right headspace for work and allow you to make video calls on the fly. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean that no one from work will see you. It’s 2021 and we’re all about to have a lot of video meetings.

You don’t need to dress as formally as you might for work, just change into clothes that make you feel good AND comfortable, but the simple act of changing clothes serves as a signal that it’s time to wake up and get things done. You don’t need to go as all out as you would for the office if you don’t want to, but waking up and taking care of your appearance can go a long way toward helping you feel like you’re taking care of yourself.

3. Have a Designated Work Place:

Separating home from work might be difficult when it comes to working from home you don't really have that work home differentiation which can be tough, one of the way to make that separation is setting up a designated workplace in your home, I'm talking about having a space that has a singular purpose. You wanna set up a space that is only used for work, and then have another space that's used for relaxation. The surroundings that we put ourselves in have a certain amount of influence over our psychological states, and in the choices that we make. So you wanna make sure that your brain doesn't have to work too hard against your environment to stay on task. If you can't set up a permanent workspace, you can get into the habit of setting up a temporary one each day, and you can even make this part of your morning routine. Have your shower, make your breakfast, make your coffee, and then clear off a space on your kitchen table or get out a folding table, and in the case of the latter option, you also have the flexibility to experiment with where to put that folding table.

4. Set Real Work Hours, Schedule Your Day, And Make A To-Do List:

The beauty of working from home is that you can be flexible in setting your working hours. For example, if you are most productive in the morning, or if you need to get the kids to school, then you may want to set your work hours from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Working from home requires you to be responsible for any minute piece of work you are given, and prioritizing and organizing your work will help you get the best results. So if you are going to make working from home an everyday commitment, then set specific business or work hours.

5. “I Am at Work” Principle:

The first few tips were about helping YOU get in the mindset of actually starting work even though you’re still in your home but this one it’s for the people around you; You need to embrace the phrase and say it often I'm at work. Sometimes people don’t understand that work is work even though you’re working from home. So during your working hours be sure to tell your kids, your neighbors, to whoever it is, I'm sorry I'm at work right now I’ll get back to you when I'm clocked out.

6. Take Breaks:

take breaks this is pretty obvious to you but even though it's obvious trust me I know that you're going to not do this sometimes or at all when you should. breaks you need breaks, mental breaks physical breaks. get outside remove yourself from the work environment and then come back even stronger, even though you may be cranking on a deadline I know it's hard to just walk away from that but like cramming for a test you're going to be much better off by taking a little bit of a break re-energizing and I promise you you'll come back even stronger. maybe it's just a 10 to 15-minute walk or a water break with a little bit of social media time, You may also take short naps or do breathing exercises to be more mindful and efficient throughout the day.

· Add a proper break-time schedule to your planner

· Specify how much time duration is assigned to each break

· When the clock strikes the specified time, stop with your work instantly

You can launch a timer on your device’s screen in a way that would lock you out of your computer during breaks. There are apps, such as TimeOut for Mac and Smart Break for Windows, that let you set a schedule for when you'll lock yourself out of your computer. Don't need any more apps in your life? Set an alarm or timer on your phone, or mind the time with a standard clock. No matter how you track your breaks, make sure to take them in their entirety. For example, if you plan for an hour break and return to your desk after only 40 minutes. Walk away for another 20.

7. Have an Evening Routine:

Give yourself something that will signal the end of work and serve as a buffer. Make a habit that signifies the end of the workday, just like you can start the day with a routine. It could be a business text app sign-off, an evening dog walk, or a yoga lesson at home. It can be as easy as turning off your machine and listening to a favorite podcast. Whatever you choose, make it a habit to mark the end of the working day.

Now, the last thing I wanna say here is that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to working from home, these are tips that might work for some and don’t for others, but we tried to gather the best techniques and methods to help you stay focused and get as much for done as possible during the day, take ideas then personalize the plan so that it works for YOU