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Like a moth to the flame, working from home and being unable to stay motivated were pretty much the staples of my remote working journey in my first few months. Every few minutes, I would wander away from my home office, start work later, and finish earlier, and sooner or later my performance started to suffer.
Taking regular breaks, finishing work as you would normally, setting up a home office, and communicating effectively with your colleagues are some of the best steps you can follow to help keep yourself motivated when working from home.
Which of these tips works best? and why do we find motivation an issue when working from home? Keep reading to find out more.
Now it’s worth mentioning that this post has a lot of information and so if you’re curious about the best equipment needed to work remotely simply go to my resource page here.
Schedule your day
Easily the biggest and easiest impact you can have on getting distracted and staying motivated when working from home is to just schedule your day.
Taking the time to block out the tasks you need to accomplish and the amount of time it will take to do them gives you the ability to focus on the tasks at hand
Word of advice though guys, please ensure you schedule our break and take the time you need on them. If you don’t schedule a lunch break or breaks throughout the day it’s super easy to be left feeling frustrated.
So what is the best way to schedule your day?
Whilst a lot of people will try to sell you on fancy paid-for apps or books, I always found the best thing to do was to use google calendar which gives you the option to block out your day.
This works from a motivational standpoint as it will allow you to visualize exactly how much you have to accomplish per day, making your tasks more bite-size and easier to handle.
Stick to your regular work hours
This one took me a while to figure out.
When working from home we get into the habit of only wanting to work harder and longer to prove to management that we are not taking working from home for granted.
Sticking to your regular work hours is one of the most important things you can do to stay motivated.
This is because we remote workers have the tendency to work longer and harder than our office-based counterparts, eating into our personal lives and ruining our focus.
For example, let’s say your normal work hours are 9-5 and on Monday you work 8-8. By Tuesday, your performance will be a lot more diminished and it will take a lot more time for you to get into the habit of work.
If you are struggling to take breaks – feel free to check out this blog post I wrote talking all about taking breaks when you work from home.
Soundproof your office
Another reason why a lot of us struggle with staying motivated is because of sound distractions.
Whether it’s your kids busting into your home office or some roadworks kicking off outside, staying motivated to continue working under these circumstances can be tough.
As such, soundproofing your rooms is a quick fix response that can easily help dampen some of the noise coming into your lovely home office.
There are a few ways to do this, firstly you could invest in soundproof tiles ( link takes you to Amazon) on the walls that sound seems to come through from – this is great if there are multiple people working in the same house as it will help for everyone to not get in the way of each other.
My ideal for soundproofing though would be a nice pair of noise-canceling headphones, my choice would have to be the Sony WH1000XM3 which are the market leaders in terms of popular noise control, you can read up more about them here.
Meal prep your food
When it comes to staying motivated, one of the ways in which we struggle working from home is because of life’s general distractions.
Whether this is going to the dishes, cleaning up, or prepping your food, these things can get in the way of your flow state and not want you to do work anymore.
On average, people spend about 61 minutes per day meal prepping there three meals
There is nothing worse after a hard day of work, to think of fresh food ideas five days per week, so why not take this challenge out of the equation by making your food in advance
I just started dieting myself (working from home has made me pack on the pounds a little) so I like to prep all my food on a Sunday night for the weekdays.
Invest in storage boxes to store your food to keep them fresh.
If you’re struggling to find the room in your fridge one workaround would be investing in a mini-fridge or mini freezer which costs a lot less than buying a full-blown tank of a fridge.
Keep your pets and kids somewhere else
Did you know there are roughly 3 million remote workers who have pets?
Pets can be distracting enough even if you don’t work from home and throw kids into the mix, getting distracted is pretty much a way of life.
One of the best ways then to avoid the distractions that kids and pets bring is by keeping them outside of your office.
I’ve written an entire blog post talking all about how to stay focused when working from home with pets and with kids but keeping them in a different room is a sure-fire way to keep them focused.
Kids will be a little bit more tricker, especially if they are not at school or you have younger children.
If you can try to drop them off to a babysitter or guardian for a few hours for your important tasks, and then focus on your busy work like admin whilst they are present so you still get facetime in with them.
Avoid any personal calls
Working from home is a lonely road and I would never tell you to cut out any social interaction when working.
That being said if there is a big task you have that needs to be finished at your workplace, it might be time to turn your personal phones into airplane mode and stay focused on the task at hand.
Okay so what about the roles that require you to stay next to your phone or make a bunch of calls like sales or customer service?
Most phones have the option nowadays of blocking certain callers for a few hours, alternatively, speaking with your manager or HR team about giving you a work phone.
If you are making work calls from your personal phone your workplace should help contribute towards either with a new phone or specific VOIP or internal calling apps.
Use motivational posters
Another quick option to help boost your motivation when working from home is to put up motivational posters in your home office.
Studies have shown that these have been shows o temporarily boost motivation and focus amongst those who see these types of posters.
That being said if the message is the same it does lose some of the effects so consider subscribing to an online newsletter that gives you a new motivational quote every day.
Do your chores later
One of the major benefits remote working has is the ability to do your chores during the workday when you have completed your tasks.
If you however find yourself getting distracted more often than not, doing your chores will often lead to longer periods of procrastination when it comes to work.
Instead, schedule your day to allow for times to do your chores.
To make this more interesting and not make chores feel like, well, chores, consider splitting your chores out every day so you have a different activity to keep you busy.
For example, I like to schedule doing the vacuuming on Monday, ironing on Tuesday, cleaning the bathroom on Wednesday ect. Doing this will make doing grunt work a little bit easier.
Figure out how to automate
There is a reason that Amazon is one of the most successful companies the world has ever seen – it’s learned the secret of automation.
Whilst automation has led to a lot of us viewing remote working as being the new normal, it also has its downsides with with an estimated 20 million jobs being lost to automation by 2030.
Automation can definitely be a double-sided sword but if used correctly it can save you a bunch of time and help spend your precious hours on the most important tasks at hand.
I like to use the following as a way to break down my tasks:
|
NOW
All the tasks which are critical to getting completed go into the now category |
LATER
Any tasks which fall into the later category are the ones which don’t take too much of your time and you won’t get in trouble if you leave for a few hours |
| DELEGATE
If you are a manager, tasks you delegate are tasks that do not require your direct attention in order to be completed |
NEVER
Some tasks will not require you to respond back ever such as responding back to spam emails. They can fall into the never pile |
Get facetime in with your colleagues
Part of the reason you might be feeling so unmotivated is just a lack of human interaction or facetime.
Human beings are social creatures.
Working from home is an isolating place and not getting human interaction can have some very serious consequences such as depression, anxiety, or has even been linked to things like heart disease.
A quick way to get around this especially if you find yourself in lockdown is to just use facetime or video calls to get time in with your colleagues.
You can catch up about work or even get to know them better by doing things like weekly quizzes.
This should not only give you a break away from your work but you should come back feeling refreshed than before.
Invest in noise-canceling headphones
Excess noise can be difficult when working from home, so investing in a nice pair of soundproofing earphones can go a long way to help keep you focused throughout your day.
One of the biggest benefits of noise-canceling headphones I feel is the full immersion and sound quality often being far superior to those of traditional in-ear headphones.
My recommendation would have to be Sony which offers market-leading soundproofing and sound quality at an affordable price.
This will (luckily) keep any unwanted sounds out that can distract you, or can help you listen in more carefully on important calls.
Use the Pomodoro technique
Long time readers of my blog know just how much I love this one.
Taking breaks is one of the easiest ways to keep focused and away from distractions when working from home.
Whilst a lot of us think it’s possible to work 8 hours straight without any distractions, most people can only work for about 2 hours and 53 minutes before the quality of their work starts to suffer.
If you’re honest with yourself you will probably find that you take fewer breaks at home than you do at work so getting away from your desk will help you come back feeling refreshed and recharges.
The best way to take a break would be to use the Pomodoro technique whereby you do the following:
Work for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute break
Work for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute break
Work for 25 minutes
Take a 30-minute break
Recycle until your workday is completed
It’s been scientifically proven that taking shorter, fewer breaks is more effective than taking longer breaks, or definitely give it a try.
For more help on the Pomodoro technique check out the video below or read up my blog posts on taking breaks when working from home here:
Have a dedicated place to work from
The elephant in the room and one of the things I talk about the most on this site.
If you find yourself working from sofa to sofa or even worse… from bed, you might find yourself getting distracted more than most, which can ruin your motivation to work remotely.
Instead, invest in a room in your house or a corner in your apartment to have a dedicated office space setup.
Home offices can massively help with productivity and help counter stress, keeping you motivated for longer.
Unsure what products to use? Check out my recommended gear page for a full list of items but I feel as though every office needs the following:
Standing desk (why not get some exercise in when you work from home)
Now color can also have a huge impact on motivation so consider a shade of green-blue which has been scientifically proven to be amongst the best colors to keep people motivates – you can read up more about this on my blog post or check out the infographic below:
It’s also worth mentioning that most people are unsure where to put their home offices.
If you have room for it, consider converting an old loft which can increase your property value by as much as 20% – again you can check out a post I’ve written on the topic here.
Listen to binaural music
I know what you’re thinking. What the heck is binaural music?
Binaural beats help synchronize brain activity helping you keep focused for longer periods of time than you would be listening to normal music.
Having background music open that helps keep you focused is a great way to stop yourself from getting distracted when working from home.
For me, I like to open a YouTube tab while I’m working and listen to the following:
Set a clear boundary between work and home
This is a massive problem remote workers face and is one of the biggest factors that lead to a lack of motivation.
As discussed earlier, remote workers tend to work longer hours than their office-based counterparts, blurring the line between the workday and their personal time.
This can lead you to feelings of resentment towards your job, sapping your concentration and keeping you distracted throughout the day.
Instead set up a dedicated space to work and ensure you finish work when your workday would normally finish.
A great bit of advice I always learned was the work will always be there, but you will not so be sure to just do what you can in the time you’ve got and then move on and enjoy your evening.
Give yourself time to relax
When was the last time you really gave yourself time to relax and just enjoy the day?
Too many of us remote workers are nervous about putting time in our calendars to just do nothing and just switch off, like going for a massage or just staying in bed for longer than you might originally.
By scheduling this in as much as you would any work tasks gives you something to look forward to helping you to avoid any distractions.
For me I take a break every day between 4 pm and 5 pm which gives me time to just be present, speaking of which
Keep one hour just in case
A little trick I learned working from home is that you should give yourself an hour in case of emergencies when working from home.
Managers have a habit of pouting in emergency meetings to check in on their colleagues when working from home and so keeping an extra hour free in case you take longer to complete your project or for any of these similar projects will give you time to not feel overworked.
Get out and exercise for 30 minutes
The human body needs at least 30 minutes of exercise every day or around (150 minutes every week) to stay healthy and yet most remote workers struggle to get even an hour’s worth of exercise per week.
Working out or going out for a run for 30 minutes every day will not only keep you active which has a host of benefits, but also allow you to get some fresh air, ensuring you come back feeling more refreshed and focused than you were when you left.
Mixing up both aerobic and anaerobic exercise at different intensities will give you the biggest benefit.
For me, going for a run during the lockdown has helped massively and downloading couch to 5k has helped me get back in touch with outdoor activity when the gyms are closed.
Keep a journal
So when I first came across the idea of journaling It was something I felt was a little bit new-age, I mean writing down how my day went, and talking about my feelings was something that I felt was a bit too hipsterish for me to give any real thought to.
That being said, starting putting this into action was quite a bit different.
If you have a problem, how do you know if it is persistent without checking in regularly on it?
Journaling allows you to keep a daily log of the days you feel less motivated and can help notice patterns, for example, if you always feel more distracted on a Monday it could be because you’re not sleeping well on a Sunday night.
Tracking patterns and journaling can allow you to take a step back and focus on some of your pain points.
Make a note of what you get demotivated by
Similar to journaling you should make a list of everything you feel you get unmotivated by. .
Human beings are different, and what might be demotivating for one person won’t be for another.
For example, it might be that’s having an hour-long meeting every day with your boss saps your energy for the day.
I know some people who can very easily work with the TV on in the background, me? absolutely not.
Taking a week to write down everything that demotivated you and then tracking that will give you an idea of how to improve upon this.
Set yourself deadlines to be accountable
Anyone who has ever gone to college or university and had a big paper due knows how little work is done up until a few days before you need to hand it in.
The same goes with work, and so setting yourself deadlines even if they are only imposed by yourself will be critical to staying motivated.
The best way to do this I found is on a weekly basis, schedule out your most important tasks for the weekend then give them active time frames when they need to be completed.
A great book I read that helped me do this Eat That Frog by Brian Tracey which you can find out more about here.
“remote workers work 16.8 days more than there office based counterparts”
Do one task at a time
I don’t know about you, but multitasking and having 17 tabs open at the same time just makes me feel more overwhelmed than productive.
I know it might not seem like you’re getting a lot done but believe it or not, doing too much work at the same time can also distract you.
Instead, try to break your day up into tasks as opposed to doing multiple tasks at the same time and you’ll find yourself getting distracted less.
Warm-up your brain
You wouldn’t train your muscles without stretching or warming up first so why would you do the same with your brain?
Doing simple exercises like writing down all the thoughts on your head on a piece of paper will give you mental clarity, and not make you feel like you’re being pulled in ten different ways.
Eat fewer carbohydrates
Did you know that diet can affect your mood?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those carbophobes who think carbs are the enemy, but anyone who has eaten a huge lunch only to crash a few minutes later knows exactly how damaging eating carbs at certain times can be.
Aim to eat slow-release carbs like oats or whole grains instead of fast-release carbs like sugar during the day to keep your blood sugar level which should help stop you from feeling lethargic throughout the day.
Get dressed in the morning
Getting dressed during the day will help give you a sense of direction, focus, and purpose for your workday.
It is especially important when working from home.
Studies have shown that people who dress professionally or dress for their jobs live up to the qualities of their roles.
To find out more about this I’ve written a post which you can read more about here.
“Employees who get dressed in the morning have a higher sense of self esteem and acomplishments then those who wear there bedclothes”
Leave your house
By the time it hits 5, too many of us home workers just feel like cozying up on the sofa avoiding the great outdoors.
This is especially true in the winter and what many of you might not know is that not getting the crucial vitamins into your system can lead to a number of health problems.
Seasonal affective disorder or SAD is a real thing and so it may just be that staying in the house during the winter months can be causing you to feel demotivated.
Aim then to leave your house for at least 15 minutes per day, you will come back home feeling more refreshed and ready to get on with the rest of your day.
Get plenty of light in your room
This is a great tip for anyone who struggles to work and stay motivated in the morning.
One of the best things you can do when working from home is to air out your rooms and try to get plenty of light in them.
Light causes the human body to want to stay awake and so aim to work from a room that either has a large window where you can get natural sunlight from.
Consider investing in LED light or lamps to really add brightness to your room and it should help you get on with your day.
Disable your social media
Social media is the bane of many of our lives with it being the single biggest factor contributing to why we are so distracted most of the time.
Using apps like Moment or App Detox are great ways to monitor your usage or even limit the amount of time that you are allowed to spend on these sites.
Start a side hustle
This might seem counter-intuitive in the first instance as giving yourself more work is going to make you less motivated right?
The truth of the matter is that starting a side hustle was one of the best things I did when I first started working remotely as it allowed me to manage my work time more effectively.
This often allowed me to overcompensate in my day job helping me stay more focused.
Personally, I’m a huge fan of blogging (you can probably tell reading this right!) and definitely recommend Project 24 by Income School which talks you through the a-zs of making money online- it’s definitely my side hustle of choice.
“Starting an online side hustle can be a great option for peopel who do not want to build a phuscial business”
Be patient
If working from home is relatively new to you it’s going to an adjustment period until you have figured out how to avoid getting distracted. The best thing to do is not to panic, stay patient, and work on the task every day.
Doing 1 thing 1% better every day leads to huge changes over time so don’t beat yourself too much if you are struggling to stay focused.
Get 8 hours sleep
Sleep is one of the most important things we can do for mental performance when working from home and so not getting enough quality sleep will lead to feelings of frustration and distraction.
Turn off your phone and any UV light at least an hour before you go to sleep and give your brain the time it needs to relax.
Do the most difficult task first
One of the major blockers that stop us from being motivated when we work from home is the tasks that we have to do.
Let’s face it if there is a really long hard task in front of us that we need to complete, I know I’m guilty of pushing this to the next day to make my life easier.
The truth is accomplishing these difficult tasks is what motivates us to want to continue, giving us a sense of accomplishment that we’ve achieved what we needed to.
Aim then to do the most difficult task of your day first and you’ll find yourself more focused to continue on.
Speak to your boss
Finally comes speaking to your boss.
While a lot of us are scared to do this if you are feeling demotivated working from home, letting your boss know can be one of the best things.
This isn’t their first rodeo and it’s likely they have had to help out other colleagues in the past that have struggled with motivation when they work from home, heck, they are probably going through the same.
Doing this shows that you respect them and their opinion and is always a better option than saying nothing, watching your performance decline, and acting like everything is okay.
Aim to catch up with them for 30 minutes at least once per week and you should be good to go.
“Imagine if somone you were close to didn’t let you know if they were struggling, you manager will linkely feel the same”
So hopefully these tips will help give you some ideas as to how to stay motivated when working remotely. That being said, there are a bunch of other FAQs that people have that I’ve given some quick-fire answers to below
What are some crazy ideas to help you work from home?
Working from a car, scheduling your day like a game show or acting like you’re the star in your own movie are all outside the box crazy ideas to help you work from home.
How do you motivate your employees to work from home?
Communicating constantly, investing in the mechanisms of working from home, and bringing your company values at the forefront of your employee’s work from home experience are all great options to help motivate you, employees, to work from home. Consider investing in your employee value propositions with things like recognition ecards or employee benefits like retail discounts to further boost their motivation.
Are people more productive when working from home?
Surprisingly, people who work from home are more focused than their office-based counterparts, working on average 16.9 days more per year than them.
Why do people get distracted when they work from home?
People get distracted when they work from home due to not having a dedicated place to work from and not setting clear boundaries between their work and personal lives. Remote workers should only work the hours required of them and not go above and beyond just because they work from home.
Which work from home roles get distracted the most?
Work from home roles that require a lot of interactions via calls and video meetings are the ones that are going to be more distracting. This includes things like customer service, sales and HR roles. This is because they are often not in charge of their schedules and are at the whim of other people and a good internet connection.
What are the biggest distractions that people who work from home face?
The biggest distractions remote workers face when working from home are interruptions by family members, pets, friends, clients, and poor internet connections, as well as entertainment like social media, Netflix, and the feeling of comfort you have at home.
So hopefully this blog post has given you several ideas as to how to work from home without any distractions.
Finally, a lot of people reading my blog want to know what products I recommend for a home office/remote working. You can find out my recommendations here and learn how I make money whilst working remotely on the side here.
The content on this site has been written by Fehed Nicass who has over a decades worth of experience in sales and has worked remotely for the past 2 years.