Most of the time, you consider yourself lucky. There’s no need for you to wake up too early to prepare for work and brace yourself for the daily commute. You get to set your own rules in your home office. You can work while being close to your family or watch over your children. But while it’s awesome to have loads of flexibility, one of the biggest challenges you need to face when working from home is lack of motivation. You may find yourself slacking from time to time, or many times you are unable to focus and maintain your composure.
If you’re a remote worker who can’t seem to find your usual work groove, here are some tips to help you stay motivated, increase your productivity, and love your work from home job more.
1. Get showered and dressed for work.
When you work from home, every day can be a Casual Friday. Moreso, you can wear your most comfortable set of clothes for most of the day since you’re starting work soon after you get out of bed. And with no co-workers and bosses around, what’s the point of dressing up? However, studies suggest that what you wear can actually impact your daily motivation and productivity. Hence the saying “dress for success.” We’re not suggesting you put on a suit and tie or an office blouse with a pencil-cut skirt, though. But one way to keep your motivation levels up is to shower and wear nice clothing that can help boost your confidence and helps you be at your best throughout your workday.
2. Squeeze in some exercise.
Most office jobs these days are sedentary, but more so when you’re working from home. You only need to take a few steps from your bed to your home office, and you can get anything from your fridge in seconds. But keep in mind that being sedentary isn’t just harmful to your health — it’s also detrimental to your discipline and motivation. Luckily, one of the perks of working remotely is that it allows you to accomplish some activities that you can’t normally do in a traditional office. You can use some of your time during a workday to work out. Others are even incorporating it into their morning routine for optimal benefits. Working out gives you a boost in productivity and get you to think more clearly for the entire day.
3. Work from a different location once in a while.
Cabin fever is real, especially if you are sitting inside the same four walls all week and your human interaction is limited. So switch up your location and get a change of scenery once in a while. Even if it means there’ll be a slight change in your routine, it can help improve your concentration levels and give you a reason to interact with other people. Some remote workers enjoy working from a coffee shop or a local library; others feel more productive in co-working spaces since it’s more relaxed than a regular office but still stimulates a work environment. Here at Ylopo, we see to it that our teams meet up once a month and work together so we can catch up with each other and make sure everyone is updated about our work processes and company goals and achievements.
4. Turn your distractions into rewards.
Working from home means you can do whatever you want and manage your own time. But to make things worse, distractions are all around us. There’s always the temptation to put your actual work off until late afternoon to binge-watch a few episodes of your favorite show on Netflix or play ML for a few hours. But instead of getting carried away by these distractions, why not use them as a motivation to finish your work? You can tell yourself to finish work early so you can watch a few episodes or go see a movie. Or, get that one important project done and then squeeze in an hour of playtime before pursuing another project. These distractions can be your micro-rewards and they can go a long way to make you feel accomplished. They can also give you the respite you need so you can tackle more important tasks ahead of you.
5. Remember your “Why”.
If all else didn’t work out for you, think about why you started working from home in the first place, of what motivated you to start working remotely. Is it for freedom? To avoid the long commute? Was it for money? Was it to spend more time with your family? Even if your reason is as common as “I do this to pay the bills and buy whatever I want,” the most important thing is to be clear about what drives you forward. Invoking the same feelings again will help you maintain your motivation to help you strive harder and find joy in the work you do. #