Working From Home

My home is my office. As you can imagine, that could be hard to do. How do you sleep, relax, play and work all in one place? Well, the answer is tricky because it’s not that easy at first – it takes practice, it takes learning but I now get it. Not saying it’s always easy, but I now know what I need, when I need what and have figured out a balance that works well. While I can always improve my work habits, I think I’ve done a good job which is why I get asked all the time how I do it.

I wrote a post not long ago with 10 productivity tips which do help me with how I work from home but below are 3 tips specific to someone who works from home.

Tip #1: Have A Set Wake Up Time

Having a set wake up time is probably the most important one for me. Like any normal job, there should be a start time. Think about how disoriented you feel waking up on the weekend when you don’t have work… now imagine having to work and be your own boss (or even if you work for someone else) having to focus and get on your computer after that. For me, it would be impossible.

Tip #2: Write Out Your Day or Have Your Calendar Set

This is so important for me to stay focused. I am someone who is very goal oriented in general, but even if I wasn’t, everyone needs goals and motivation in work. Without daily goals or things we have to do, I would be lost in my days and probably wouldn’t get anything done. Even if my calendar has things like “from 9-10am go through emails”… that is something that needs to be done, therefore it needs a time allotted to it to keep me on track. My dad always taught me this and it is something I’ve done to manage my anxiety. Writing lists and my to do’s out have helped me immensely. 90% of the anxiety for me is feeling like I don’t have enough time to get it done. Writing things down has removed that feeling.

Tip #3: Check In With Yourself Each Day

Some days are easier to focus and get work done than others. Some days I wake up and know that no matter what it will be a struggle. My places feels like my home that morning and not my office and I feel lazy, cozy or whatever it might be and I just can’t focus. Whenever I feel that way, I have to not fight it and leave my house.

Whether it is going to a coffee shop to work or a walk in my neighborhood, I just have to leave. I find working from coffee shops really motivates me since typically other people around me are working too so it’s a nice way to work with people in a sense even if we’re not together. Luckily I live near great coffee shops but there is always a coffee shop nearby wherever you live!

In short, working from home is intimidating at first and I hear a lot of people say that they don’t get how I do it but it is possible and actually really nice once you have your system down! Do you work from home? If so, what are your tips and tricks to it? I always like comparing notes and learning from others. Let me know in the comments below.

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