A month ago, I gave up my 9-5 job to set my own work schedule and focus on my travel business. However, setting my work schedule has been one of my biggest challenge. I really wanted to get rid of distractions and work from home successfully. But I didn’t know there were so many distractions at home!
- Like oooh here’s a pen I can twirl for 30 mins
- Or thinking I should do my laundry in the middle of my writing session…since the sun is finally out
- Like seeing a random spot to clean on my clothes/door/desk/wall/you name it
- Better yet, finding a piece of lint to fidget with for the next 17 mins
Do you feel like there’s a million and one distractions in your house too?
Here are some useful tips you can use to get rid of distractions and work from home successfully!
Have a Separate Work Space
Separate your work space from the space where you relax – I have a work desk in a corner, for example. You won’t be confused. And when you sit down at your office (wherever that is) your brain will know it’s time for work. It will be easier to get rid of distractions so you can work from home successful. Reading, working, watching tv and sleeping in bed can be confusing and you might find yourself becoming less productive throughout the day. Plus, who really wants to do work while laying in a comfy bed?
Create a Morning Routine
What’s the quickest way to get rid of distractions so you can work from home successfully? Create a morning routine that doesn’t involve checking social media in the first hour of your day. Doing this has single-handedly jump-started my productivity levels.
Starting your day by checking email or social media just sets you up to spend most of your time reacting and responding to other people’s agendas. Take at least the first hour of your day to plan how you would like your day to run. Set your intention for the day, plan your agenda, identify your major must-do tasks for the day.
Do you feel like there’s a million and one distractions in your house? Here are some useful tips to get rid of distractions and work from home successfully! Click To TweetTalk to People Throughout the Day
Talk to people throughout the day do you don’t feel isolated (important for extroverts). Working remotely can be pretty isolating. You can’t stop by a colleague’s desk on your way to get some tea, nor can you have an impromptu discussion by your office. To ensure that you don’t lose connection with your team or lose productivity due to loneliness, check in with people throughout the day, even for just 5 minutes.
Get ‘Dressed for Work’
Get ‘dressed for work’; meaning don’t hang around in pajamas all day. Sometimes the act of getting ready for work actually gets you ready for work. This can trigger your brain to know that rest is over and now it’s time for work. Many of my friends say this helps them to get into work mode.
Not everyone needs to do this to get rid of their distractions in order to work from home successfully. I, for instance, work really well in my pajamas all day lol. In fact, sometimes stopping to get ready for work breaks my momentum and it’s hard for me to get back in the zone if I was brimming with ideas just before.
Set Boundaries with the People in Your House
Set boundaries with the people in your household to let them understand that you are actually working. So no, you can’t run to the supermarket or “watch the pot” or help to do XYZ…because you’re at work.
I’ve been using these tips and they’ve been helping me focus!
But I’m really curious to know what do you do to get rid of distractions so you can work from home successful?
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I trust and the income goes to keeping the site up and running.
This are some great tips for working at home. I’ve been working at home for about 2 or 3 years and you definitely have to be organized and have a separate work area at home. I’ve learned that scheduling out your time is important and not to neglect your fun time as well.
Yes scheduling fun is so important, otherwise you spend the entire day+night working working working!
This was very informative! My biggest distraction is probably my phone and getting up to get a snack every 5mins lol
I can def relate to the round-the-clock snacking. Sigh.
It is really a challenge avoiding distractions at home. Some of these tips i have been doing for while, but now with covid they become more relevant as my other half works from home as well. Though we do have our water cooler talks 😀
Gotta have those cooler talks lol! Do you incorporate any other tips to your wfh routine?
This post is so true, I have been working from home since 2014 and its been interesting figuring out how to stay focused, worse now I have a little one in the mix it takes extra planning. Great tips!
You’re a WFH pro Monifa! What are some of your fave tips that you use to stay focused?
On a good day I do all of these except for dressing up. Really great tips!
Hahaha I don’t dress up either 😅
Love these tips Diedre. So hard but so important to stay on track and focused when at home.
Staying focused when at home is like a constant battle against yourself. I’m always wanting to find “other things” to do.
Great tips, I too gave up my 9-5 in December 2019. I had enough of it and decided to do my thing full time. As I tell everyone whenever I teach a work from home class, you must set boundaries or you will end the week without getting much done.
Oh yes Mardene, I’ve definitely had a few weeks slip by me with little done because of poor boundary setting. I can so relate !
[****Editor’s Note*** I’m posting this comment on behalf of Leslie who had difficulties sending her comment. I hope you’ll get as much value from Leslie’s comment as I did. See Leslie’s comment below]
Like you, I’ve worked from home for a long time–so this crisis wasn’t a huge change in my usual routine overall, thankfully. The biggest change for me was having my husband now full-time working from home as well. We don’t have separate workspaces, because he typically goes into an office. So we’re sharing a workspace or trading places from office to kitchen throughout the day, depending on calls and video meetings. I don’t mind changing places, and I don’t mind having him here all day (it’s been nice to have a daily lunch buddy!), but it’s been incredibly hard to find a way to gently tell him that just because I’m here doesn’t mean I’m HERE. To your point about setting boundaries, he seems to think that if he sees me, I’m available for conversation or interaction of whatever kind. That’s nice in some ways, but I’m WORKING. Interruptions are really disruptive. I have a better understanding than ever of the frustrations who work in offices and have to deal with distractions all day–I find the distractions far less working from home most of the time. (And as for teaching him to not talk to me when I’m in front of my computer… I have given up. Fortunately, he’ll go back to the office eventually. Otherwise, we’ll have to set up separate offices at home for sure!)
Pingback: 10 Ways COVID19 Affect Travel for Jamaicans and Caribbean People