How to Stay Productive When Working From Home

Working from home can be the ideal workplace. You don’t have to spend hours in traffic, money on rent nor have to deal with pesky coworkers. It saves lots of time commuting and shields you from unnecessary expenses. All in all, working from home can be quite relaxing. Yet it can be hard to stay productive. Constant distractions and the lack of a fixed working schedule makes it hard to stay focused. Having no boundaries on your “break time” can be damaging to your productivity and achieve little output.

To counteract non-productivity at home, one of the first things you can do is to have a routine. The absence of a schedule can make it easy to slack off and leave work to the last minute. Establish a routine at home. Devote a certain part of the day to work. If you’re an early riser, then take advantage of the morning freshness and get to work after a full and healthy breakfast. Working from home is a huge bonus for night owls. They can sleep in late and revel in working night hours in a quiet house and when their senses are most alert. Figure out what time of the day is best for you and use it to work.

Your home can prove to be a very distracting environment. If you have kids or even adult roommates, there’s always something going on around the place. Don’t work in the living room, in front of the TV and where other residents are most likely to be. Rather claim a room where nobody ventures and establish it as your office. If you have the space then make one room exclusively your office. Every time you step into that space, you’ll be ready for work.

Not having coworkers around can make breaks boring. Social interaction is important. Take your breaks in the park or at a coffee shop nearby. Check in on your friends or just take your dog for a walk. You’ll come back feeling refreshed and energized. Give at least an hour to doing something relaxing everyday.