In recent times, working from home has enjoyed a cultural shift. Once, employers saw it as an indulgence; now, for the most part, its seen as a necessity. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, millions of workers have been forced to do their jobs remotely – and the advantages have been such that remote working is set to be a regular feature of the jobs market of the future.
Among the downsides to this kind of work is that it can be difficult to stay motivated. Without the scrutiny of other people, or the general atmosphere of a workplace, it’s easy to slip into a more relaxed mindset, rather than a productive one.
So how do we address this problem? There are several methods to stay motivated while working from home, and the most effective home-workers tend to use a combination of all of them.
Stay Motivated While Working From Home
Work Ethic
If you lack a strong work ethic, then it’s a near-certainty that you won’t get as much done at home as you would in the workplace. Take responsibility for your day’s output by diarising your progress, and reviewing how much you’ve achieved in a given day.
Routine
If you get into the habit of doing a certain task at a certain time, then you’ll make it more difficult to avoid doing that task. If you’re answering emails between 9 and 10 each morning, then you might even start to feel strange if you fail to do it.
Of course, a routine shouldn’t be ironclad – part of the joy of working from home is the flexibility it affords you.
Distractions
The home is filled with distractions. This is especially so if you’re working via the internet. It isn’t just YouTube videos and social media that you need to worry about, but news articles and websites, too. To give yourself the best chance of avoiding procrastination, it’s worth setting up a block-list that’s active during working hours.
Social Events
When you’re working in isolation, it’s easy to develop cabin fever, and to lose track of your workmates. For this reason, it’s worth taking the time to occasionally check in with the rest of your colleagues – perhaps using a virtual event platform.
At the same time, meeting regularly can eat into the time that you could be spending more productively. Be sure, therefore, that you’re not booking meetings for the sake of it.
Administration
If you allow your admin work to accumulate, then you’ll build up a backlog that might be difficult to deal with. If you log the work you’re doing as you go, you’ll tend to spend less time overall, as you won’t need to retrospectively wonder what work was done on what day.
Comfort
If your workspace isn’t set up in such a way that you can work comfortably, then you’re inevitably going to run into trouble. Ideally, you’ll want to set aside a given room as an office space, and furnish it accordingly.
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