15 Tips For Working From Home To Maximize Your Productivity
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Running your own business as an entrepreneur, freelancer, or blogger while working from home is the dream for many.
You get to set your own hours and work in your own comfortable space. And if you want, you can even wear PJ’s all day and no one will stop you!
Working From Home Is Not As Easy As It Looks
Although working at home is totally awesome, it’s definitely not for everybody and you need to constantly motivate yourself and be a self-starter if you want to make it work.
No one is going to breathe down your neck if you’re not being as productive as you should be. After all, you are your own boss!
So if you’re spending your time scrolling through social media and not getting work done that you should be, this can be detrimental to your business. This can mean less money for you if you don’t complete a project, find enough clients, write enough blog posts, and so on.
Secondly, distractions and procrastination can be hard to resist.
If you have a whole mountain pile of laundry that needs to be done, or your toddler is crying in the second room, you just might be tempted to do other things that aren’t work-related if you’re trying to avoid doing a certain task on your agenda.
15 Tips For Working From Home
If you want to successfully work from home, finding ways to be more productive, freeing yourself from distractions, and motivating yourself are key.
Here are 15 tips for working from home that will show you how to stay productive at home so you can reach your business goals.
1. Have A Work From Home Schedule
Having structure in your day is very important to get things done because it’s easy to be all over the place if you don’t have a schedule set up.
Just like at a desk job where you work for someone else, having set hours is necessary.
During these hours, it’s the time to put all of your focus into work and nothing else. So don’t schedule appointments or go out for drinks with your friends during set work times because you have to respect your work hours.
2. Know Your Most Productive Times
In addition to having a schedule, it’s good to get to know which times during the day are your most productive hours.
When you want to get important tasks done that need your full attention, do it during these hours.
You might want to experiment with this to figure out when the best time period is for you.
For me, the best time is right in the morning after I wake up because I’m more well-rested and there are fewer distractions around the house. For you, it could mean late at night when your kids are asleep.
3. Have A Morning Ritual
Just like a day job, having a morning routine or ritual is a great way to start your day.
Your morning ritual can include things that add joy and happiness to your life as well as help you set your intention and mindset for the day.
For example, you can do yoga, meditate, and read a chapter of an inspiring book for 15 minutes in the morning while drinking your favorite beverage.
All of these things can help put you in a state of mind to conquer the day and be as productive as possible.
4. Use A Planner
Using a planner is a great way to prioritize all the things that you have to do and know when to do them.
Write down all of your projects, tasks, and deadlines that are important in a planner.
Some planners have time slots to write down what your schedule hour by hour so that’s a good choice if you’re looking to be very disciplined with your time. Others also have great goal-setting pages which are helpful to get you closer to your business goals.
Here are some of my favorite planners that you can check out:
Freedom Mastery Deluxe Law Of Attraction Life Planner
5. Time Block
Time blocking is a great way to be more productive when you work from home because it keeps your focus times short.
To time block, take one task and give yourself a deadline to complete it in a set amount of time, such as 30 or 45 minutes.
Once that time is set, take a small break as a reward for a job well done and then start time blocking again until you complete another task.
A great app you can check out to help yourself time block is Pomodone.
Check out my post on 7 amazing productivity tools to boost your productivity here.
6. Batch Your Tasks
Batching your tasks is another great way to be more productive.
Have you ever noticed how the more you do something, the faster and more efficient you get?
This is the same concept that applies to batching.
The more you do a task over and over again, the faster you’ll be because you aren’t going back and forth doing different tasks.
So an example of batching your blogging tasks is to spend an entire day writing multiple posts or creating all of the Pinterest pins on Canva that you need to schedule out for the next 2 weeks on Tailwind.
7. Take Your Breaks
Just like a desk job if you worked for someone else, it’s important to take your lunch break as well as coffee break even if they aren’t paid.
Taking breaks is great for both your mental health and physical health because it gives you time to take your mind off of work so you can avoid burnout, and move your body if you’re always sitting down.
So give yourself time to have a healthy lunch as well as take small walks during the day because it’ll help keep you staying productive when you’re actually working.
8. Skip The PJ’s
Although you’re working from home and you might think that it doesn’t matter what you wear, wearing PJ’s when you’re working might actually be making you feel less productive and lazier.
Instead of wearing PJ’s, wear clothes that you would normally wear to work because it can help put you in work mode.
9. Create A Work Space That You Love
Creating a productive workspace that you love is key to staying focused and working well.
Find an office chair and desk that you feel comfortable working at. When you have enough space to do your work without feeling cramped and have a nice comfortable chair to sit in, this will help you stay more productive.
Have a clutter-free work area. A cluttered workspace is the worst thing for productivity. Make sure you regularly clear out your desk to make space and stay organized with desk organizers.
5-Piece Rose Gold Desk Organizer Set
3-Piece Acrylic Rose Gold Desk Organizer Set
Use office supplies that put a smile on your face. I love using acrylic and rose gold supplies on my desk so choose something that you like personally that makes you happy whenever you use them.
Add wall art that adds inspiration to your day. Wall art is a great way to add some personality to your workspace and make it feel less cold.
Create a workspace with lots of sunlight. Creating a light and airy space with lots of natural sunlight can put you in a better mood.
10. Turn Off The TV
If you often sit in front of the TV and think you’re getting a lot of stuff done, think again!
Working at home while sitting in front of the TV and half watching whatever show is on is not a good idea if you want to be as productive as possible.
You’ll find that you get a lot more done if you’re not doing two things at once.
11. Stay Off Your Phone
We often spend hours on end scrolling through social media and wasting time refreshing our email inboxes without even knowing it.
All of these things add up and can be a huge time suck which is really bad if you’re low on time and have a ton of things to do.
So turn that phone off or leave it in another room so you can focus and work more efficiently.
12. Turn On Music
A great way to stay focused is to actually turn on some instrumental music if you can’t stand the sound of silence but you don’t want to turn on the TV.
I love playing classical, jazz, or calming music when I work because it helps put me in the mood to work.
Experiment with different types of music to find genres that work for you.
13. Don’t Neglect Self-Care
Self-care is always important but if you’re working from home, it’s really easy to forget about it especially if you’re always busy.
Check out my post on 8 self-care tips for entrepreneurs and bloggers you can add to your day.
14. Leave Your House
When you work at home, it’s easy to get cabin fever because it feels like you never leave your house.
To combat this, it’s important to get out of the house periodically. Try your best to take walks during the day, go to the gym, or run errands before or after work.
You can also switch things up and work at a cafe every once in a while to change up your environment.
15. Keep your family and pets away
Last but not least, family and pets can be a huge distraction if they’re constantly disrupting your productivity when you work from home.
Make sure you communicate your boundaries to your family (especially your kids), that you need to focus and be alone when you’re working.
Having a space where you can close yourself off is really helpful to keep them from intruding when you work.
More work from home productivity tips
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A planner is something that I gotta put up on. Right now just not too productive without it.
Will definitely keep these tips in mind, thank you for sharing!
I definitely agree with this list. A morning routine should go in place as well, especially for a mom like me. I love the planners, I have 2-3 I think though I must admit, I don’t use it as often. Thanks for this list. Cheers!