How to Stay Motivated While Working From Home

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Working from home can be amazing. You can wear whatever you want, you can sit wherever you want, and you can work without interruptions from chatty coworkers. But, staying motivated while working from home can be a challenge. I work a 9-5 office job during the week, but I occasionally work from home. And when I’m working on this blog or any other writing projects, I’m working from home. When I started working from home a few years ago, I quickly learned that it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. There are distractions around the house that you didn’t even think were distractions. And since I’ve had the twins, I’ve discovered even more distractions. But, here are a few tricks that I’ve learned over the years to help keep me stay motivated.

1. Have a dedicated working from home space.

This tip is so important when working from home. I have a room in my house that I use as my office and I always feel more focused when I’m working in that room. I try to switch up my work place now and then, but in general, I always feel like I get more done when I’m in a space that’s dedicated to work.

Don’t get me wrong, I keep my home office very cute and pretty and girly. I like that there’s a desk and a comfy chair and no TV or other non-work distractions. When I start feeling uninspired or bored working in my office, I sometimes work on my couch or bed or dining room. There’s nothing wrong with working in other places, but I find that it also helps to have a dedicated working from home space to go to when you need to really focus on only work.

2. Carve out time to take a break.

When I’m working from home, I find that I work twice as hard as I do when I’m in the office. I think it’s part of my personality. I never want anyone to think I’m slacking off so I push myself to work harder. This is really great for my productivity, but it’s also easy to get burned out when you’re working at double speed all the time. So, for me it’s been important to work in breaks while I’m working from home. This includes a lunch break. I walk away from the computer, go downstairs and eat lunch. Typically I don’t work while eating (which I usually do in the office), but I use that time to relax and decompress a little before the second half of the workday.

I also try to take quick five-minute breaks here and there to stretch and walk around a little. I’ve read several articles that say it’s bad to sit all day long. So, I really make an effort to stand up and walk a few times a day. Since I write for a living (at my full-time job and my side hustle), taking breaks is also really important for my creativity. Sometimes you work on something for too long and your brain has trouble coming up with new creative ideas. I’ve found that stepping away from something for a few minutes can help get my creative juices flowing again.

3. Make a schedule to help you stay motivated.

This is pretty much a general rule in my life, but having a schedule while working from home is helpful. At the beginning of the day, I sit down and make a schedule for the day. I don’t make it too strict and to-the-minute. Before the real schedule, I make a list of the projects I need to finish that day and rank them. I know that I have the most energy in the morning so I schedule myself to work on the hardest projects early in the day. I try to schedule my tasks hour-by-hour, including my lunch break. As the day goes on, I continue to check in with the schedule to make sure I’m staying on track.

4. Set realistic goals for working from home.

Keeping realistic goals while working from home fits together with making a schedule. When I make my list of tasks for the day, I make sure to keep in mind how long I’ll be working, whether it’s a full 8 hours or 1-2 hours. It’s important to keep your goals for the day realistic. As I mentioned before, I tend to overwork myself when I’m working from home so I try to keep my goals for the day short and attainable. If I add too many tasks to my list, I feel like I have to do them all before stopping for the day, which can interfere with my home life.

You have to have some boundaries on your time when you’re working from home. This is especially true if you’re a working mom like myself. My kids deserve my dedicated time when I’m with them. If I have to finish some work after they go to bed, I can do that. However, I don’t work while I’m supposed to be spending time with them.

5. Stay flexible.

My last tip is to stay flexible while working from home. Keep a schedule and a goals list, but be ready to shift priorities. As I mentioned earlier, if I have an important project that’s due and I haven’t finished by the time I have to pick up the kids, I’ll plan to pick it back up after they go to sleep. That’s ok now and then. Sometimes we have to do what we have to do. I try not to make it a habit of working too much during my off time. Chill time is important and I try not to impede on it as much as I can avoid it.

Working from home is great, as long as you can stay motivated and focused. The key to successfully working from home is to make a plan, but also allow yourself some slack.