Working remotely is easier than it has ever been before, and being able to cut their commute and work from a laptop at home remains the goal of many office workers and entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, working from home isn’t always as easy as it looks.
Many people think they’re going to be more productive than ever before when they can roll out of bed and immediately start their work day, but now their productivity is directly tied to their work ethic. They no longer have a supervisor looking over their shoulder to make sure they stay on task; they have to manage their own time during their work day, perhaps for the first time in their lives. That’s a bigger adjustment than people realize, and it’s an adjustment that they don’t always make successfully.
If you really want your telecommuting experiment to work out, there are are a few things you need to do to be successful.
Have a Plan for Your Day
The best way to stay on task when working from home is coming up with a plan for the day and sticking with it. This usually means coming up with clear goals that you want to accomplish and working towards them. It’s not necessarily about working for a specific period of time and stopping for the day; it’s about working until you’ve accomplished all that you set out to accomplish.
Work Without Interruptions for Blocks of Time
The reason why working from home is so hard for some people is because there are so many distractions everywhere. Not only do you have to worry about social media and your email, but there are always chores to do, television shows to watch, and other things that can distract you and ruin your productivity. If you really want to get over these distractions, tell yourself that you will work completely uninterrupted for blocks of time. Work for an hour or so, and then take a short break to indulge in the things that might otherwise distract you from your work.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be Flexible
Even though you should be sticking to your goals, you also shouldn’t be afraid to be flexible once in a while. After all, your flexibility is one of the major perks of working from home. If you’ve been good about sticking to your goals and staying productive lately, don’t be so hard on yourself if you find that you have an off day once in a while. As long as you stay accountable for your work and you’re getting things done, cut yourself some slack once in a while. Everything will be back waiting for you when you get back on track.
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