Working from home is a blessing a curse, depending on how good you are about getting distracted. There are a few ways to make working from home pretty close to working in the office – you just have to get the setting right. The positive side of working from home is that your hours are slightly more flexible (no commute!) and you can work in the comfort of your own PJ’s. The negative aspect of it is that if you aren’t careful, you can get very distracted and cut your productivity in half.
Here is what I did to make sure that working from home was as productive as working from the office:
- Create a workspace. Just like you have a desk at the office, you have to make a work corner or some sort of work space for you at home. If you have a laptop, which you probably do since you have the option of working from home, take a but of time and create the workspace. Not only will it help you sit down and remain much more focused than working from the couch of kitchen table, but it will give you motivation to keep working since workspaces are so chic these days and are helpful with distractions.
- Break up your day as if you were in the office. You would normally get to the office at 9:00AM, work until 1:00PM at which time you would probably go to lunch, right? Do the same at home. If you are working from home sporadically because you have something in the middle of the day that kept you at home, try working around it. Try to keep to the hours you would normally do in the office in a setting that is similar to it – on your brand new workspace you created for yourself.
- Keep distractions at a minimum. Just because you’re home doesn’t mean you can look at your phone or social media accounts all the time. This is the part where self-control comes into play. When you are sitting at your home work area, make sure to keep your phone on vibrate and treat it as a work phone. The same goes for social media accounts – when you’re on your lunch break you can do whatever you want, but otherwise you should act as if your boss is there with you. This is especially important if you are the one running the business. Yes, you can do whatever you want, but don’t you want the most productive day ever?
Working from home is so much fun, though. It gives you the flexibility you need in case you are waiting for a repair guy or have a sick kid at home. If you are able to keep it together and work from home as much as you would in the office, even better. If you are unable to be home and are working from a coffee shop or meeting location, the most important thing is to have headphones! They will keep noise and distraction out of your way, as well as keep others from approaching you.
