If everything goes as planned, we’re currently in the final months of lockdown and we’ll be back to normal sometime in June. But even if our everyday lives get back to normal, there’s a good chance that the pandemic will have permanently changed the way many of us work.
Working from home was booming across the UK even before lockdown – around 40% of new companies registered are believed to be run from home.
Anyone who’s had to suddenly work from home for long periods will confirm that it can be tricky staying motivated. And that’s before you consider the amount of distractions there are around the home.
If you’re a home worker suffering from a severe lack of self-discipline, here are some top tips to keep motivated.
How to stay focussed when working from home
If you’re struggling with focus and motivation while working from home, check out the video below and then read our top tips.
Get dressed for work
This may sound like an arbitrary thing, but even a simple like getting dressed for work – as opposed to lounging around in your comfy clothes – can be enough to get you in the right frame of mind.
This doesn’t necessarily mean putting on a suit – though if that works for you then go with it – but getting out of the clothes you’d normally relax in and into some more business-like casual clothes might just help put get more focussed for a full day’s work.
Set a work schedule
If you follow the first step, then the second step should come a whole lot easier – while the idea of falling out of bed straight on to your laptop is great, working in this way and without a structured routine can really impair your productivity.
So set a daily schedule and stick to it. This means getting up and starting work at a set time, taking breaks as you would in work, and conducting business meetings and conference calls in work time, all of which will help you stay focussed on your job.
Make a better start to your day
One of the major benefits of working from home is you can cut out the daily commute, meaning your mornings should be far more relaxed – but instead of spending an extra hour in bed, why not make the most of the extra time by getting up early, having a healthy breakfast and getting some exercise in?
Not only does this come with the obvious health benefits, it’ll give you more energy and help you stay more focussed on your work. You really should give it a try, it might even improve that magical work/life balance.
And speaking of work/life balance, if you’re a parent, you could use the extra time to make better use of the morning with the kids before the madness of the school run.
Don’t get distracted
The internet has revolutionised the way we work, but it also provides an infinite amount of distractions that can severely impair productivity – so try to steer clear of personal emails, social media (except for business use), newspapers and magazine sites.
Oh, and shopping sites, these are not only time-wasters but have the added bonus of sapping your funds!
If you have trouble in the self-discipline department then consider apps such as StayFocused, a Google Chrome browser add-on that limits the amount of time you can spend on your favourite sites. If Firefox is your browser of choice then try LeechBlock, while Safari users should give MindfulBrowsing a try.
Do you have any more top tips to stay motivated when working from home? Share your thoughts with our work from home community.
Image from Pablo by Buffer.
