Keeping Motivated While Working From Home

Many people are likely to have worked from home over the recent years, and even more so during the past few months of the 2020 global pandemic. Due to this, more and more companies are making the change to offer remote working on a permanent basis. For many of us adapting to this new ‘normal’ it presents a whole new way of working that we aren’t used to doing on a daily basis. This means we have to face a new set of challenges around communication, alignment and productivity.

To help you with adapting to this new way of working, we have put together these seven top tips on remaining motivated when working from home.

Create a working environment at home

While sitting in bed or in front of the television with your laptop may seem like a great idea initially, it’s unlikely that you will be very productive and can have a knock-on effect. By associating your bed with work can interfere with your sleep, affecting your performance the following day. If you have a spare room or quiet corner, use this as an office space and keep anything work related in that area. Creating a working environment will help you get into the right head space to work productively.

Dress for work

It can be tempting when working from home to stay in your pyjamas, considering most of the time you’ve just rolled out of bed and will be starting work shortly after. However, getting dressed and ready for the day ahead will make you feel more awake and help you start your working day with a healthy mindset.

Organise your day

By setting yourself clear objectives for the day ahead, you are more likely to remain focused and achieve your set deadlines. Creating a schedule for the day will also hold you accountable, so you will be less likely to scroll through social media when you know you only have a certain amount of time to complete a task. You will also be less likely to procrastinate when you have given yourself a tight deadline.

Manage your workload

Having lots of tasks to complete for a large project or if you have numerous administration tasks piling up can often feel overwhelming and stressful. Working in small blocks of time can help make big tasks feel more manageable. For example, you may find you will have more motivation when telling yourself that you need to complete one task in the next 20 minutes, as opposed to telling yourself you need to do 50 tasks by the end of the day. By creating these manageable chunks and mapping out your workload in this way should stop you from feeling overwhelmed.

Check in with your colleagues

It is easy to feel isolated when you are working from home. However, although this might be the case physically, it’s important to remember your colleagues who are also working from home or in the office. Remind yourself that you are at work and by calling your boss or colleagues to update them about your work will make you feel more connected to the business.

Give yourself breaks

Breaks are important to boost productivity. They also help prevent you getting burnt out by the afternoon. Be sure to take a full lunch break and try to stay away from your workspace during this time so you can feel rejuvenated. It’s also a good idea to take a few 5- or 10-minute breaks throughout the day to grab yourself a coffee, give your eyes a rest from the screen and stretch your legs. Remember that in the office you would usually get up and walk about to speak to other colleagues, get your print-out and walk further to the kitchen or toilet than you would at home.

Reward yourself

You may find you work best when you know there is a little reward waiting for you. This is particularly true for those who work for themselves or don’t work under anyone. An incentive can go a long way in terms of productivity and getting your work done efficiently. A little boost can give you what you need to move onto the next task and keep up your motivation. For example, you could tell yourself that if you finish your report you can have a cup of your favourite tea with a few biscuits.

Working from home can be challenging and failing to keep motivated can cause stress. It is important to recognise when you aren’t working effectively and to discuss any issues with your manager and colleagues.