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If you’ve ever worked from home then you know the struggle to shift your mindset from home life to work life. Some people are able to successfully navigate that without any issues. Others of us (me included), need a little help. I’ve been running my own business from my home for close to two years, and here are some things I’ve learned along the way.
10 ways to stay productive while working from home
1. Have a schedule
Just because you have flexibility doesn’t mean you necessarily should throw away any sort of schedule. Yes, there are benefits to working from home, one of which is the flexibility it often offers. Trust me, I know. As I wrote about here, I run my own business as a freelance bookkeeper. And this flexibility has been amazing as I also am a single, homeschooling mom. But, even though I have tremendous flexibility, I also know that I need to have at least a loose schedule to stick to. Without some structure, I find it almost impossible to stay on top of my tasks. If you need to deviate away from your schedule, then great, that’s a perk of working from home! But make sure it’s done only when necessary and only with a backup plan to stay on course with your goals.
2. Make a designated space
Whether you do your work solely on a computer or you’re in the creative market making things to sell, there is a lot of benefit that comes from having a space that is set apart just for your work. This ensures that you have everything you need at your disposal when you need it. This also keeps your work life from bleeding into your home life, as I believe it’s healthy to keep those areas separate. When you’re in your home life, you don’t want to be carrying around your work with you. If you have limited space and can’t have a designated space, try to make sure your office is moveable so you can transition back into your personal life when you “clock out”. There are some creative work-arounds for small spaces, like this wall mounted floating desk.
3. Keep personal items away from your work area
Now that you’ve set up your designated work space, it’s important that you keep your personal life out of your work space. If you start piling up your desk with personal bills, notes, etc., you’ll be easily distracted from your work. You need to make sure that when you enter your “office”, you’re ready to work. In the same way that most employers don’t want you bringing your personal life into work, you need to be diligent to set that boundary with yourself.
4. Set boundaries with friends/family
Speaking of boundaries, setting them with friends and family is so crucial when you’re working from home. I’m typically a “yes” person, so this one has been really hard for me to navigate. I think people have the misconception that my work has less importance than if I worked outside the home. Other parents assume I’m always available to help them with carpooling or hosting playdates during their work hours. I have people who stop by or want to plan social visits during all hours of the day. Because we’re a homeschool family, I sometimes have to set blocks of time where I’m unavailable to the kids because I have a deadline. Make it clear to those in your life that the flexibility you have working from home cannot be abused or taken advantage of.
5. Work in blocks of time
I’m not good with overly precise scheduling. Some people are great with that. I have one client, for instance, who schedules every minute of her day, and she thrives with that. I find that type of scheduling too rigid to work for me. But I do like to work in blocks of time. Working in blocks of time just means that I will set X-amount of time to be productive in my business doing certain tasks that are on the top of my priority list. I will keep working on my tasks until that block of time is over. Unless an item has to be done with urgency, when my block of time is done, I move on to the next block of time. I like variety in my day, especially because my business is 100% computer based. To add variety, I switch up blocks of time between business and personal. For example, one block of time is dedicated to my business, followed by a block of time dedicated to chores, homeschool tasks, exercise, etc. But by knowing that I’ve carved out a specific amount of time for different priorities motivates me to stay focused and productive on that one thing.
6. Enforce “work policies” for yourself
This might seem kind of silly to have policies for yourself, especially if you’re your own boss. But hear me out. Just like we talked about not bringing personal items into your work environment, you need to be diligent about treating your work like a normal job. This might mean making policies for yourself that you’ll abide by as the “employee”. Some of my policies I try to abide by are:
- No personal emails/texting during work hours (blocks of time)
- Have regular business “housekeeping” tasks that I plan (ie, periodically clearing out saved documents, clearing out my inbox, filing paperwork).
- Giving self-imposed deadlines…and sticking to them!
You may not have someone looking over your should to make sure you do these things, but being your own boss and holding yourself accountable will help your productivity immensely.
7. Dress to be successful
When I first starting working from home, I relished in my work from home uniform. Sweatpants and fluffy socks. Yes, please. And I still have my days when I enjoy the comfiness that can be had working from home. But, even on those days, I make sure to do my hair and makeup. It’s common knowledge that you perform better when you’re dressed for success. I find that I take myself more seriously when I’ve made an effort to do self-care and present my best self. Not to mention, any last minute Zoom requests won’t send me into a panic.
8. Start and end your day with a priority list
Your productivity will soar if you start implementing a priority list. At the end of each day, write down the tasks that you want to accomplish the next day. I like to have a “Top 3” that are my non-negotiable tasks, and then the rest of my list are things I’d ideally like to get done, but maybe aren’t so urgent. The next day, use your priority list as a hard and fast guidepost. Without having a clear direction of how you spend your time, it’s really easy to get distracted or even become overwhelmed because you’re not even sure where to start.
9. Turn off notifications
Notifications are great. Until they’re not. Unless you absolutely need to be notified of something, turn off your notifications. Email, text, chat. Whatever is pulling your attention away from the thing you’re trying to focus on should be silenced. Very rarely are there super urgent things that demand your attention immediately. Your productivity will plummet if your focus is constantly being diverted. Do yourself a favor and turn them off.
10. Stay on top of personal responsibilities
If you’re at the office and you’re reminded of the growing mountain of laundry at home, well, there’s nothing you can do about it so you keep plugging away at your job. But, if you’re at home and that pile of laundry is nagging at the back of your brain, you’re going to find it extremely difficult to not “quick do a load of laundry”. I’m not saying you can never pause your work to take care of a quick chore, but if it’s a common theme for you to lose focus because you have too many personal responsibilities vying for your attention, then you need to do something about that. This is where utilizing blocks of time might be useful. The more you hone your routine, the most successful and productive you can become. If your personal life is chaotic, that will 100% bleed into your professional life. Trust me, I have dozens of clients, and the ones who have the messiest business practices also seem to have messy personal lives.
I love working from home. It is honestly one of the biggest blessings that God has allowed me to make a good living from the comfort of my home with tremendous flexibility. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t have to work at it to make it successful. I know that if I’m not diligent, I won’t have a productive business.
