Most people are likely to have worked from home at some point in the past few years as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Many people are perhaps still working from home.
Working from home can be lonely and monotonous. It’s much easier to slack off, procrastinate, and generally operate at a lower level of productivity than if you had to answer to a boss or coworker on a daily basis. Working from home also means there are fewer natural checkpoints that keep you on task throughout the day.
Unless you have clearly-defined routines and ritualistic habits (and hopefully you do!), staying focused and motivated can be challenging.
Working from home can present a unique set of challenges for anyone who works remotely in any capacity. If you work from home with any regularity, then you know how difficult it is to stay motivated and productive working from home.
If you’re one of these people, you might be familiar with just how difficult it can be to remain motivated. Keep reading for 5 of the best ways to remain motivated.
Create a proper working environment at home
The first step to setting up a productive work environment is to make sure you actually have a work environment, to begin with. If you work from home, that means having a dedicated space for your computer, files, and other tools of your trade.
If you work from a single room, try to section off as much of that room as possible. This will help you stay focused and keep the rest of the house quiet so that you don’t get distracted. You may want to invest in a few acoustic panels to keep the noise to a minimum. If your room isn’t completely soundproof, you can also invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones to really tune out the rest of the world.
It can be easy to get stuck in a cycle of propping yourself up in bed with your laptop and getting to work, but various research has shown that not only will your quality of sleep decrease if you’re using your bed as your office, but you’ll find that you’re extremely less productive, too.
All of which leads us on to our next point:
Dress for the job
Again, One of the most important factors in creating a professional environment is to look the part. although it’s tempting to stay in your pajamas all day, getting dressed and ready for your day will make you feel more productive and a whole lot more ready to tackle the day ahead. If you’re finding it difficult to get your day started when working from home because of COVID, consider using a serviced office space.
Serviced offices
Just because you’re not able to go into your regular office, doesn’t mean you’re not allowed into another office. In the same way that having to arrive on time and dressed appropriately helps you to get up and motivated for your day when you’re working from your usual office, working from a serviced office gives you the same structure to your day when you find yourself struggling.
You’ll also benefit from being able to choose exactly where you sit, the level of light you require, and whether you want to work in complete silence or not.
Structure your day
From birth, we need a set structure to help us function well and this doesn’t change as we get older. Keep a steady start and end time to your working day and set yourself clear tasks for each day so you know what you need to achieve.
By planning out your day in this way you should avoid becoming overwhelmed and get everything you need to get done each day done.
Keep in touch with your colleagues
With technology advancing as quickly as it is, there are no shortages in the number of ways that you can keep connected with your co-workers while you’re working from home. For a lot of people, colleagues are the people they spend the majority of their time with, and it can be hard to get used to this change.
One way that you can keep in touch with your colleagues is to schedule a regular time each day or each week to talk online, just like you would in the office over a morning coffee. By making an effort to keep in contact with your colleagues you’ll feel a lot more motivated to get your work done remotely whilst waiting for things to go back to normal.
Final thoughts
Though many things have returned to normal, it is not known when the effects of COVID will be completely eradicated. Until then, it is essential that we continue to remain motivated and productive, no matter where we are forced to work.
