Working from home can be a great experience. It is convenient, you save time on the commute and you get to work in the comfort of your own house. While all of that is true, there are also some cons. Sometimes it is hard to keep motivated at home, and there are unique distractions that you have to deal with. We talked about dealing with the unique distractions in another post, so this time I want to focus on how I create my work-from-home atmosphere. The right atmosphere is paramount to working from home effectively.
Now this list is how I personally prepare, so it might not be completely in line with how you work, but feel free to tweak any of the steps to fit your lifestyle. At the end of the day you just want to make sure that you create the work atmosphere most conducive to your personal success.
1. Make the time: Make sure you have a nice chunk of time to work. Don’t sit down and prepare to write 5 blog posts, when you have to pick up the kids in 5 minutes. If you want to work from home you have to dedicate hours just like you would at work.
2. Keep drinks or snacks on hand: I sometimes like to snack and/or drink when I am working from home. If I have to get up every couple minutes to go to the kitchen, I will lose a lot of time. Sometimes I will use being thirsty or hungry as an excuse to procrastinate. I found it best to nip that in the bud, so I make sure I have water and healthy snacks nearby when I sit down for a work session.
3. Music: This is a real personal choice. I know some people who need complete silence to work, so you can ignore this if that is you. I actually love working with music and am more effective. I find that music drowns out other sounds that I find more distracting. If I am doing something like writing, I will turn on some instrumental music, so the lyrics don’t distract me.
4. Choose a quiet area: If you do need quiet, try to choose a quiet area of your house to work. I don’t think choosing a corner of the living room while your entire family is in it, will be very effective. If possible try to set up your home office somewhere that isn’t busy or loud.
5. Comfy chair and clean desk: If you are dedicating hours everyday to working at home, a good computer chair is one of the best investments you can make. A good chair will make your work day more comfortable, is better for your health and will actually encourage you to work. A clean comfortable desk is a personal preference. I don’t want to waste time tidying it up, knocking something over, or searching for a pen.
These five steps are simple, but they have significantly effected my work output. I work faster and better if I keep the 5 tips above in mind. When I work faster and better – I make more money, simple as that. If you want to increase your work-from-home productivity or profits, then consider the above 5 tips.
Good luck, and please, share your own work-from-home tips.
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