Working from home can seem like a dream come true. It has plenty of advantages. You can work in the comfort of your own home. You can avoid a long commute to work. You can save money on gas, automobile maintenance, and trips to the cleaners. Although working from home is awesome, you may have to take steps to be productive. Below are a few strategies I use to work from home productively.
- Create a Routine – Establishing a daily routine and schedule will help you stay on track. When you are working outside of the home, you have a schedule. The same rules apply when at home. Without a schedule, it’s easy to get side tracked and not accomplish your required tasks.
- Designate a Working Area – This area should be free of distractions and have all the basic things you need to perform your work tasks. Even if you do not have a separate home office, it is best to designate an area to work in. Consider converting a closet or other small space or corner into a productive office. Check out my post on turning an closet into a office and YouTube video tour.
- Get Dressed – Most people who work from home brag about “working in their pajamas.” Although working in our pajamas is very comfortable, it’s great to wake up and actually “get dressed” for work. Literally rolling out of bed into our home office may not put us in the right mind frame for work. Take a shower and put on fresh clothes. Even a fresh t-shirt and yoga pants may work.
- Avoid Distractions – It’s easy to get distracted at home. There are so many things and projects that need to be done. Folding laundry, watching television, cleaning, …. these are just a few things that are easy distractions. When you are working, concentrate on your job and avoid these distractions.
- Identify Your Top 3 and Live Frog – Prior to starting your day, make a list of all the things you would love to accomplish. Identify the top three things. Those are the things that you should concentrate on. Also, identify your live frog. Mark Twain said to eat a live frog first thing in the morning. The live frog is the task you most dread doing. If you do it first, everything else is easy.
- Don’t Forget to Take Your Lunch Break – Sometimes when we are “on a roll” working, its easy to work straight through lunch. Its important that you take your regularly scheduled breaks and lunch break. You are more productive fully hydrated and nourished. If you sit at a desk, you also need to stretch your legs and stand up at least once an hour.
- Be An Over Performer – Help disprove the myth that working from home is not real work. Try to set yourself ahead from the people who work in the office. Make sure you are producing more than your co-workers. You don’t want to give your supervisor a reason to revoke your opportunity to work from home.
- Set Boundaries with Friends and Family – Make sure your friends and family are aware of your work hours. Make sure they respect your work time and not visit or constantly call you. They should treat your working time at home as if you are physically at work outside of the home.
- Plan Your Day The Night Before – Planning your day the night before can ensure your day is productive. Check out these 7 Things to do at night which will promote a productive tomorrow.
I hope you found these tips helpful. I would love to hear any comments and or suggestions you may have. Please feel free to leave them in the comment section. If you found this post helpful, please subscribe to stay updated on home décor ideas, organizational tips and planning & productivity strategies.
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Great tips! Get dressed really does work too! It’s amazing how much that can trick you into instantly feeling more productive.
I tried working from home when my son was little but I was too easily distracted – I think I needed your tips back then!!
Excellent suggestions. My most difficult is avoiding distractions. I definitely need some help in this area!
This is great advice! I always have trouble staying on task when working from home! tackling your most dreaded task first is something i will start doing from now on. That way you don’t get distracted trying to avoid that task and watch accidentally 3 episodes of your favorite show instead!
Really useful tips. I have never heard that live frog saying before but it’s so true, once you get that task done that you’re dreading everything else seems easier. And I have to get dressed too – though this morning I did write a blog post on my phone before I even got out of bed (I was feeling inspired!)
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Love this post! People who hear I work from home are always like “ugh! so lucky you get to lay on the couch with your laptop all day in sweats” .. if only that was the reality!
such great ideas, I’m a planner so I write lists for everything. I am totally guilty of the working in my pajamas and trying to get out of that.
Great post! So important to follow a regular schedule when working from home (and actually getting dressed)!!!
Getting dressed is one of my favorite tips that I use to stay productive! It is so tempting to stay in your pjs.
Great tips! I’m trying to get better about getting dressed in the morning. I have an office now but it’s not set up very well. We should be moving soon and I want to set my office up to help me be more productive.
I work from home and I think that a little more structure would help me. Also working on getting my home office set up.
I can be a little too involved in work, so much so that other things suffer. I am pretty good about taking a break mid-afternoon for a siesta and I now eat away from my computer. My house could use a cleaning though. I think I am a little too focused on work, and forget that this is also where I live!
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The shower and fresh clothes are the only way I feel human! I hope to be able to apply these other tips before the end of 2016.
I work from home and it is so a blessing but I’m falling into a bit of a rut. I need to re-evaluate my routine and finishing getting my at home office done. Thanks for sharing this post. I definitely needed it!
I really need to work on some of these more! I am self employed and therefore work from home, however I spend a ton of time working in a day though I don’t actually get a lot of work done, because I get so distracted, haha.
Great tips! Having a routine and a set working space always helps me when I’m trying to get work done at home!
I have the absolute hardest time working from home! It really has so many distractions. This post is great can’t wait to adopt some of your habits!
I’ve heard that getting dressed helps a lot of people but not for me! I love to stay comfy. What works for me is usually getting up early. If I get up at 6 and work hard until noon, I’m usually tired and in need of a brain break! Great post!
ROUTINE is huge in being able to work from home!
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Such great tips! I truly feel it’s so important to have a space and get dressed!
Sheryl recently posted…To The Women On My Journey
I hope to work from home some day and will need these tips when that happens.
xoxo, Jenny
Planning is so essential when working from home. I agree, breaks are a must! Great notes. I’m transitioning soon so I’ll bookmark this!
It is so difficult to work from home when you have kids. I thought it would be the best thing ever, but now that I’ve been doing it for 3 years, I’m really wishing I could just get to an office for maybe 4 hours a day to get some real solid production time. Maybe that’ll happen when the kids are all in school, haha.
What a great post! I love tip #5. I’m usually good about identifying and prioritizing my to-do list, but I need to tackle the most daunting item first.
Great tips!
Great tips! I work from home and absolutely love it, I find I am more productive than when I go into the office because I don’t get the constant interruptions. That being said, I need to be more disciplined about actually taking breaks – it can be too easy to forget the lines and boundaries and just keep going back to the work.
These are all great tips to follow 🙂 The only thing I don’t want to give up on is working in my pajamas, that’s my luxury and I like it this way 😀
I’m a stay at home mom/blogger but I try to abide by some of these rules as well. I always get dressed and plan my day the night ahead. It usually doesn’t go as planned with a toddler running around but I try!
Great tips! I love when I get occasionally work from home
Fabulous tips! I like working from home, but it definitely ends up being less productive than when I’m at the office. lol I will definitely do more of these next time.
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Really great article. Working from home was definitely an adjustment for me…especially considering I have a toddler at home! Setting a schedule that works is probably the most challenging. I also agree that it’s important to dress well at home. I notice my mood is affected by what I wear. Thanks again for the great tips.
This is really great advice. The getting dresses part is what I’m going to try next because sometimes when I’m in my pajamas I get lazy and just want to relax. Avoiding distractions is one of the hardest parts for me!
This post is so accurate. It’s easy to fall into a slump when working from home. I found that works best is act like I’m still in the office. That means I get dressed, eat breakfast and schedule out my day just as I would if I were leaving my home to get work done. Otherwise, absolutely nothing is accomplished.
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Very good tips! Thank you for sharing!
I like working from home, but sometimes I go to a coworking space to work. I find myself more organized and productive working there.