The recent pandemic has shown that working from home is a viable option for many jobs. However, some employees struggle with motivation. One of the biggest reasons behind the problem is the fact that people associate homes with a place of leisure.
The environment itself can affect one’s productivity. Add potential distractions that get in your way, and you have a recipe for a problematic workday.
This article will offer some insights as to how you can eliminate potential motivation problems and have better overall productivity while working from home.
1. Look for Help From Other People
Let’s start with a tip that might not seem pretty obvious at first. The workload itself could be the leading factor behind poor productivity.
If you notice that it takes longer to carry out certain tasks or that you simply do not have enough time for them, why not get some help?
Take custom merchandise, for instance. Say that you have to come up with new designs for women’s baseball jersey, t-shirts, hoodies, caps, and other merchandise while also being in charge of promoting the business.
Juggling multiple roles simultaneously is bound to backfire eventually. If you find someone who can take some of your workload off you, it may lead to a better balance, or if you get a DTF printer, it may help you with personalization and costs, which leads to higher productivity.
2. Get Rid of Distractions
Distractions tend to be prominent regardless of where you work. In the office, there are other people coming up to you and chatting about work-unrelated things. Random distractions can also be quite disruptive.
At home, you do not have as much supervision, which means that it is up to you to do the work without getting pushed by other people.
Since there is no supervision, you might be tempted to spend time on your smartphone browsing social media or online stores. Another example is playing video games. The temptation to play a video game for half an hour in the middle of the workday can lead to some bad habits.
These distractions are detrimental to your work. You should avoid having bad habits and focus on your work instead.
If you have to, delete video games from your computer. Or, at the very least, remove the shortcut from the desktop so that it is not in your vision. A similar thing can be said about websites. If you browse random sites, block them for the time when you are working.
3. Establish Ground Rules With Other People
Living alone is a benefit when you work from home. You do not have to worry about dealing with people in person, and that leaves you with one less problem to worry about.
On the other hand, plenty of people have families or roommates that they live together with and that sometimes leads to conflicts.
First and foremost, establish ground rules so that you are not getting disturbed while working. Sure, there might be exceptions, but in general, other people should not bother you when you are busy.
You might have noisy neighbors. The struggle to deal with them is a tricky thing because they do not live together with you. If you have to, try to explain to them that you are working from home and that they should not be as noisy.
There are instances when you cannot really control other people, but if you can influence their behavior in a way that will affect you positively, you should take such opportunities.
4. Dedicate a Room for Your Work
Having an established workspace is a difference-maker. As already mentioned, home is what we associate with leisure. At the very least, you should have one room dedicated to work. Turning it into a home office is a common approach for remote workers.
In case you do not have room to spare, a desk should be more than enough. Ultimately, it is about having a location that is meant for work and nothing else. The mere fact that you can sit down and realize the time for work is now is often enough to increase productivity.
5. Establish a Schedule
Working from home can lead to a pretty scuffed schedule in the sense that you will not have a strict routine.
The lack of discipline leads to a wacky sleep schedule, and that can snowball into other issues, causing notable productivity problems. When you do not have to worry about work commutes, you are tempted to spend more in bed in the morning or go to bed later than usual.
And it is not just about sleep. While working remotely, you might also skip proper lunch breaks because you want to finish the work earlier. A skip now and then is not that big of a deal, but do not get in the habit of making it a regular occurrence.
Forcing yourself to establish a routine can be tricky, but try to do your best to have a healthy lifestyle. Otherwise, you will struggle not just at work but also in other aspects of your life.
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