How to Stay Disciplined When You Work From Home
We truly are blessed, aren’t we? No morning commute, no clocked in lunch break, no awkward conversations at the photocopy machine…
Pft. Like I know what I’m talking about…But it sounds horrible. I went from 9 years of serving and retail to like 5 1/2 minutes in an office to working at home.
So I truly get how lucky I am to work from the comfort of my own home. The hard part: staying disciplined when there’s a dirty kitchen right next to you, a cozy bed in the next room, and of course, Netflix.
I can only imagine it’s 10000000 times harder when you work for yourself. Oh my god… If I only had myself to answer too….
After 6 months of working from home, I think I’m definitely figuring out how to keep myself on track and not get distracted. (because omg it can be so so easy) Some days are definitely better than others.
In a time where more and more business are able to operate out of homes (or cafes), I thought I’d better share all my tips!
Set Your Space
Make your work space your sanctuary. Sure, there may be days you’re working from the couch. But try to avoid this is much as possible. Have your desk either in an office in your house or somewhere that you can turn your back to the rest of the space, and really focus on just your work. This helps too to separate work life from home life so you can more easily shut off in the evenings.
Keep your desk tidy. Maybe light a candle or burn your favourite essential oil. Make your tea or coffee. Have your water bottle by your side. Maybe turn on some chill music or a podcast. (For me, I just can’t work while listening to a podcast but music always helps me focus)
Show up as you would for an office
One of the luxuries of working from home? Sweat pants. But don’t fall into the rut of working in your pyjamas everyday. I find when I shower, do my full skincare routine, and get dressed the way I would for the office (or at the very least, the way I would to meet a friend for lunch), I’m preparing myself to be productive. It’s like a little reminder that I have to get shit done and I better have my game face on.
Schedule Your Personal Life Around Your Work Life
Another luxury of working from home,is you can run an errand when you need to or book an appointment in the middle of the afternoon. But to really stay disciplined, try to avoid this as much as possible. Treat your work hours the way you would if you had other people relying on you to be there or noticing every time you left the office.
Plan Your Day to Avoid Wasting Time
Before I start each day, I make a list of things I need to accomplish. Not just work things, but personal too. I use these little notepad books I get from Indigo/Chapters (Pictured below) and keep them organized: One notepad is for work tasks, one for personal, one for blog-related. First of all, when I sit down and really think of all the things I need to do in a day, I realize there’s all these little things that can be very unimportant but maybe they’re things I’d like to do or that could just keep me from procrastinating. I even write down things like “Engage on social media for 15 minutes”
Not only does this keep me from forgetting things I need to do, but it encourages me to check off the bigger tasks first and to avoid wasting time getting distracted. And here’s how: As with any job, there can be lulls in the day. Where maybe you’re waiting for an answer back on something. Or you just really don’t have anything to do at the moment but you could within the next 15 minutes. Or an hour or so. So instead of getting deep into an episode of shitty daytime TV, I take the time to do one of the “personal” tasks on my list. And boy, doesn’t it feel good to check something off a list!?
Change Your Scenery
It get’s boring looking at the exact same thing everyday. And sometimes you just need to get out of the fucking house. I go stir-crazy sitting in the house all day. A couple times a week, after I drop Lily off at school, I go to a coffeeshop to work. This puts me in a difference environment, around people (finally!), and for whatever reason, I can really laser focus in a cafe.
Break Up Your Day
I know it can be standard to get your workout in before or after work, but I find I like to do it in the middle of the day. Okay, not always as much a work out, but at least a walk. First, I make myself accomplish the biggest tasks of the day. I tell myself that once I finish such and such a thing, then, and only then, can I get out for a walk. Then I do a little 5k walk, listen to music or a podcast, and just enjoy a little “me” time. Sometimes I’ll take this time to engage on social media but never for more than 15 minutes. (And yes, this is a “task” (A fun one!) and not wasted time. As I’m trying to build a community, I’m really trying to focus lately on supporting and engaging with those who support me. The point of social media is to be social, right!?)
Okay, seeing as how wrapping up this blog post was one of my “blog-related” tasks to do during a short lull today, I’m back to work!
But before you leave, if you have ANY working-from-home tips, PLEASE leave in the comments below! (Leave your Instagram handle too so I can share!)
