Whether you already work from home or about to start, follow our top 10 tips to help you stay productive:
Set up your workspace
Choose a corner of your house that you can dedicate to your work – if you’re lucky enough to have a home office, how great for you! If not, choose a location that has good natural light and a comfortable place to sit and work away from distractions.
Turn off your phone
There is a difference to using your phone for work and aimlessly scrolling through Instagram. Intentionally starting your day without social media and by focusing on the task at hand sets you up for the day. Give yourself specific times in the day you can check in otherwise – keep on airplane mode.
Choose your working hours
And choose your breaks! Whether you’re an early bird starting at 6 am or a night owl that really gets going after 6 pm intentionally choose your hours and when you will break. You will find yourself being far more productive within the confines of the time.
Don’t spend all week alone
Treat yourself to a morning a week in your favorite coffee shop or spend the day working with your freelance friend. You will find yourself much more inspired by a change of scenery.
Have a morning routine
Whether this is starting your day with meditation, exercise or 30 minutes of journaling, having a morning routine that you look forward to will mentally set yourself up for the day. I have a routine where I will wipe down my desk, open the windows and make myself a pot of coffee before starting work. This signals to my brain that it’s time to get down to it!
Take breaks
When you are working on your own and you get into the zone, the time can fly past and you realize you have been working straight for 6 hours! On the other hand, with no boss to check in on you, it can be very easy to be scrolling through your phone while you are meant to be working. Having a dedicated break allows you to put your phone on silent and focus for an hour knowing you will have 10 minutes of guilt-free Instagram time!
Set goals
Set daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals – this will help you focus yourself and keep you motivated on a day to day basis.
Spend money on your business
It can be tempting to save every cost you can including your working environment but making sure you have a good computer and comfortable place to work will pay dividends in your productivity and enthusiasm for work in the long term.
Schedule Me time
Whether this means a no phone / no work Sunday or turning off for the day at 6 pm sharp – make sure you commit to You time. Don’t work from bed on a Sunday and don’t reply to emails while sitting down for dinner with your OH. Be strict with yourself as long term this will really start to affect your happiness.
Enjoy it!
Lastly, enjoy the freedom and comfort of working from home. That feeling on a Monday morning knowing you used to be stuck in rush hour traffic as you sit down to work with your freshly brewed coffee with your puppy by your side!