Working from home is a reality for so many people, and a dream for so many more. But there are distractions everywhere and obstacles that might prevent you from doing your best job, making enough money and finding the balance between work and personal life.
Don’t get discouraged, though. Here are some tips on how to make it work and get things done daily while loving what you do:
1. Find your most productive time in the day.
Don’t listen to those telling you to wake up early and get to work. Yes, it does lead to better focus and productivity for most people, but don’t push it if you’re more of a night owl, or just enjoy sleeping in.
Find when in the day you’re most productive, and just make sure you structure your work and everything else around that time.
2. Be ruthless when working.
Now that you know your working hours, tell people not to bother you then. Some might not take it seriously, but eventually, they will.
Also, ignore other distractions, such as checking mobile phone too often or browsing the web purposelessly. Set limits to that. Do it before and after work, for instance.
3. Be alright with saying ‘no’ to clients that aren’t a good fit.
You’ll be quite miserable if you accept all the projects that come your way. Be selective. You now have that freedom.
If you keep doing it only for the money and work for any client you see, rather than to be picky and work harder to scale and find new, better ones, you’ll end up working yet another regular job you need an escape from. And that’s not the idea behind working from home.
4. Have rituals.
A great way to be creative and get things done daily is to create some rituals that will help you clear your mind before work, or in the end of the day, or let you boost your energy and focus.
It might be a morning routine. When you wake up a bit earlier and do some healthy, positive and successful habits such as meditation, a quick workout, energetic breakfast, and journaling. It might be special relaxation techniques your research and take advantage of, such as deep breathing, reading something inspirational, a daily walk, or else.
Whatever it is, these things will keep your mind sharp and yourself happy at the same time. Also, they give you control over your life and discipline in your days. And as freelancers or online business owners, we all need that.
5. Keep it healthy.
For a start, know how to relax.
Working too much is an option and you can easily fall into that trap without even realizing. Make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew, as that might lead to burnout. This, as a result, will cause you a long period of getting back on track and that means money and reputation lost.
Also, if you work all the time and leave relationships, social life, the little pleasures in life, and daily wind-down periods behind, you might end up being depressed. But that’s what a regular job can do for you. Instead, you should be grateful for being able to work from home and make the most of it daily.
So sleep and eat well, take regular breaks while working, relax in the evening, and keep doing the things you enjoy in life.
6. Manage your time well.
No one else is responsible for your time management other than you. It’s a big responsibility but you can get better at it over time.
To begin with, analyze how you’re currently spending your time and think whether everything on this list is necessary. You might find out that you’re wasting precious time daily in activities that lead to no progress. So eliminating them might be a smart move.
Then, do more of what works and gives you results. This might help you find more clients, double your income and make you more productive.
Time management is the only way to stay sane when you’re working from home, to have time for everything you want, to enjoy this lifestyle, to never leave an important aspect of your life behind, and to do work that matters.
7. Automate what you can.
We live in the era of automation. Make sure you check out all the software tools available, free and paid, that can save you hours and take control of aspects of the job you need to do repeatedly, such as payments, posting on social media, following people, making updates, tracking time and progress, etc.
8. Keep things organized.
Your desk should be decluttered. Also, let it be your sacred place and don’t do work in your bed or anywhere else at home. It’s your home office, so respect it and take care of it. You might want to upgrade it with a standing desk, bigger screen, or some tools you find useful. It’s usually worth the investment.
Then, start tracking everything you do. What gets measured, gets managed. So keep your money, time and work projects on track.
Use deadlines, even if the client doesn’t assign one to you. The mind just works better when there’s an end date.
Another thing to know to work better and be productive is single-tasking. Multitasking is the enemy in this case and you end up losing time if you do that. So work on one thing at a time and you’ll end up getting things done much faster.
Working from home is a sure way to be happy, enjoy every day of the rest of your life, and make money from the comfort of your own place. But that will only happen if you don’t let distractions get in the way and know how to have the right mindset at any time of the day.
Now that you have some ideas on how to actually get work done at home, what changes can you make to your approach and daily life so that you can be twice as productive?
