Staying Productive and Motivated When Working From Home

Low self-confidence is defeating. It can define us and cause us to beat ourselves up emotionally. It can limit our abilities and keep us from growing and moving forward from our mistakes, failures and defeats.

It confines us to our comfort zone where everything is safe from potential humiliation and further mistakes. We then are stuck in that comfort zone believing that we shouldn’t move away from it because if we do we will only be left hurt and disappointed.

Want to bet you have a dream in common with more than three-quarters of those who are employed?

In 2019 LinkedIn surveyed 2,000 hiring managers. They discovered something interesting about their new hires: 82% of those in the workforce admitted to wanting to work from home at least one day a week. 57% expressed a similar desire for at least three days a week.

The startling truth is, people want to work from home, whether telecommuting, doing remote work for a large company, or taking the plunge by setting up their own home business. After all, it seems like the perfect answer to the age-old problem of how to balance home and work life. By combining the two, you get the best of both worlds, every day…right?

It’s not quite that easy. Working from home can be an exciting and even life-changing shift in the way you do business. The key to success lies in doing exactly what you are now: taking the time to learn how to optimize the experience. Congratulations! You’re already on the right track!

Whether you’re lucky enough to be already working from home or are just considering it, this book will walk you through a few things about working from home that you might not have realized.

First, we’re going to visit some of the benefits of working from home. You’re going to find out there’s a lot of good reasons why you should take the plunge and indulge in working remotely.

Of course, we also have to spend a little time on the pitfalls if we want to be fair. There are a few worthy of note, especially if you want to have the full picture of what this kind of lifestyle entails.

From there, you’re going to learn how to create the proper atmosphere if you want to work from home. The ambiance truly does matter, especially if you want to be productive, which leads us to the last point where we’ll discuss several tips on how to get the most out of your work from home experience.

So, hang on, we’ve got a lot of information coming your way. It’s going to be a thrilling ride! 

The Benefits of Working from Home

Working from home is one of those things people dream about doing. There’s a lot to love about being able to get paid for a day’s work, all while never leaving the comfort of your own home.

But there is a plethora of other benefits to working from home extending far beyond being able to be near all your stuff. Let’s take a closer look at some of those. Want to bet there might be a few items on this list you haven’t even thought of yet?

Your Body Will Thank You

Have you considered how much your health and fitness can be addressed by working from home? This means you can create healthy meals for lunch. It’s also easier to find time to exercise. Hey, if you want to, you can set up your workspace with a standing desk or an exercise ball to sit on without having to get permission from your boss. Want to get caught up on reading those reports while on a treadmill? Go for it.

You Can Grab Opportunities as They Arise

Got a reply to an email kind of late? Found out about something you need to jump on now? With your office right there at home, you can quickly grab whatever you need to deal with the unexpected quickly and easily. You’ll never be caught floundering because what you need is across town at the office.

Those Dollars and Cents

While there are some costs to working at home, for the most part, the savings outweigh those easily. With no gas money needed for commuting, childcare fees for long hours at daycare, or even the investment in a work wardrobe, you wind up with more money in the bank account and less heading out the door.

Gotta Love Productivity

Offices are great places for distractions. Co-workers, random meetings, just the daily noise of work can keep you from being able to focus the way you need to. At home, you can set up the optimal environment for getting stuff done. For example, you can have music or not as you like it in the background. You can also set up blocks of time without interruption at all. Imagine how much you’ll get done under those conditions!

Quality Time with the Kids

Been feeling like you never get time enough to enjoy the kids while they’re still at home? Now there’s no excuse for missing out on the family game night or a quick game of ball.

Can’t Beat that Commute

Let’s face it, nothing beats a commute time of nothing. No traffic, no paying for parking or gas. You can even sleep in longer, all because you’re already right where you need to be.

Furry Co-workers

Studies have shown how much just petting an animal can reduce stress. Working from home means having your favorite friend right within reach, helping to keep your work environment calm and comfortable. What’s more, your pet will appreciate the extra attention as well.

No More Casual Fridays

Every day means wearing what you want instead. Your home, your dress code. Of course, you might still want to put on pants at some point or another, especially if you’re teleconferencing.

Incredible Flexibility

While working remotely might not allow for as much flexibility as you like, you’re still going to find working at home has more ‘give’ to the schedule no matter what. Flexibility means adjusting your work hours to your own schedule sometimes, or deciding how you want to tackle the day. Also, it’s a lot easier to deal with the household things when you’re already at home. Meaning you’re not having to take time off of work if you’re waiting for the plumber to show up. Not to mention taking care of a sick kid just got a whole lot easier

Your Day Starts with Less Stress

Have you ever considered just how much you scramble to get to work in the morning? You wake up, rush to shower and eat, and get out the door. All the way there, you combat traffic, and then still fight to find parking or snag a seat on the train. By the time you get to work, you’ve been up for hours, and all of it has been in relentless motion. Working from home means being able to start the day from a more relaxed place. You haven’t had to deal with all these outside stressors, and it doesn’t have to feel like you’ve run the gauntlet just to get to your desk.

Your Work Environment is Your Own

Have you been fighting to get a corner office for a while? Now it’s up to you to create just what kind of office you want. Need natural light or want to add in LEDs? No problem. Would you rather sit with your feet up using a laptop from the couch? Go for it. You have full control over where you’re working. Install all the plants you want or set up with multiple monitors. Whatever you want or need is yours. No more cubicles, unless you want one.

Chores Get Done

Working from home means you can slip in a few other extras from time to time. Start a load of laundry when you stop for lunch. Or take a few minutes to take care of the squeaky door. Being at home means you don’t have to have any more crash-and-burn cleaning marathons on the weekend. Tidying up is a great way to stretch when you pause to take a break.

You Can Hear Clearly Now

One of the hardest things to do in any workplace is to return a call when there’s a lot of background noise. How many times have you been caught repeating yourself or worse, asking the client to repeat themselves because there’s too much chatter just outside your door or in the next cubicle? When you work from home, you can set up a quiet spot for returning calls—no more noisy distractions.

You Can Indulge in an Office Romance

Between work and commute, you spend quite a few hours away from home normally. Working from home means you get to see the people you love most a lot more often. Breaks just to say hi or steal a kiss give you random bits of happiness to look forward to. Even when you’re working, it doesn’t mean you have to be apart. Maybe your significant other is curled up in the corner of the same room reading or doing work of their own. At the very least, your boss isn’t going to know when you’re texting your spouse anymore.

Job satisfaction

The very fact you’re being permitted to work remotely should tell you the work you’re doing is good. It also says a lot about what your employer thinks you’re able to accomplish, and how much they trust you. If you’re working in your own business and have things to do, it also says a lot about what your clients think of the work you do. In other words, you have reason to be proud. As a result, more than any other work situation, you have a lot of reason to feel job satisfaction. People who work from home are fantastic folks. Go them! 

The Pitfalls of Working from Home

Of course, nothing is perfect. While there’s a lot of terrific aspects to working from home, there are a few pitfalls you need to be aware of as well.

Willpower

Without a boss looking over your shoulder, or peers on hand who are likewise busy, working can seem challenging to start in motion. Sitting down and making yourself work, meeting deadlines, and accomplishing what you need to, takes a lot of willpower, and all of it is going to need to come straight from you. Sadly, willpower is a finite resource, and if you’re tired, discouraged, or overwhelmed, you’re going to find it harder and harder to get started. Eventually, this can become a problem where you’re not getting anything done at all.

Being Scheduled

The only way to successfully work from home is to establish a routine. Think about it. When you go to work, your routine is typically determined for you. You’re told when to be there and when you can leave. There’re guidelines about breaks and time off. At home, you lose all this structure, and these decisions fall into your hands. If you don’t recreate your routine, you’re going to find yourself not getting very much done at all. Breaks will enlarge to take over the day. You won’t start when you should and might wind up working all night to compensate. Things get messy.

What Was That?

Missed calls, missed opportunities abound. If you’re not proactive about keeping up with communication, you might find yourself left out of the loop entirely by co-workers or clients. Without a receptionist to catch calls for you, something important can easily languish in your voicemail for hours before you notice it.

Binge-Snacking

Eating for energy, for boredom’s sake, or just because there’s food so near at hand can lead to out of control snacking. This isn’t good for your health or waistline.

Unintended Naps

With no one to keep you alert, you might very well nod off over your work, especially if you make yourself too cozy on the couch or are working in bed, all tucked in.

Same Old, Same Old

When you don’t go into work, you see a lot of the same four walls day in and day out. It’s very easy to grow bored with your surroundings or feel too much like you’re penned in at home and never get out. This can lead to anxiety and depression over time.

Equipment Issues

Your stuff, your problem. If you have a computer problem, it’s now yours to solve. You’re going to have to act as your own IT person, even if your company provides phone support. There isn’t someone coming down from the computer department to deal with the paper jam in your printer. Speaking of the printer, all equipment is up to you. You’re going to have to stock your office, so second monitors, a decent pencil sharpener, even extra paper clips are all yours to find or maintain. It’s not like you can lean over and ask someone from the next cubicle to lean you a stapler.

Environmental Issues

Speaking of equipment, what about the rest of your surroundings? Do you have a desk? An ergonomic chair? Good lighting? A dedicated office space? This, too, is all up to you.

How Many Bars Do You Have?

Working from home also leaves you at the mercy of less than glorious Wi-Fi speed unless you upgrade your plan. Updating your Wi-Fi can mean extra cost as well. Sadly, reliable internet is an absolute must. You cannot share documents or teleconference properly on low bandwidth, and your phone can’t always make up the deficit.

Slowdowns

Getting a response from the boss might take longer when you’re asking questions from home. So too might access to the documents you need or to work other people are doing on the files. This can very quickly slow down progress on whatever you’re working on.

Concentration

Working from home can lead to a whole slew of outside distractions from the dog who wants to go out, to just noise in general or interruptions from other members of the family. There is always something to keep you from working. It’s up to you to try and find a way to maintain your concentration even when things are falling apart around you.

It’s a Little Too Quiet

On the other hand, especially if you live alone, things can get a little too quiet. You’re used to having other people around you, especially other co-workers. Without this kind of social interaction, it’s normal to feel a little lonely. Even if you have family around, just having conversations with people who have something more to talk about than home life is a vital part of the day. Your brain needs stimulation, meaning you’re going to have to work harder to maintain positive social interaction.

Finding a Balance

Speaking of the Work/Family thing, how are you balancing things? When you’re working from home, it’s easy for things to get skewed. Either you’re distracted by your family and the work isn’t getting done, or you’re ignoring your family and putting in too many hours at work, simply because your office is right there and it’s easy to keep working long past quitting time. Achieving this balance is a challenging exercise and takes a lot of intentionality to maintain.

Staying Motivated

You’re not going to get as much feedback from co-workers or clients when you work from home. You can start to feel like you’re isolated doing work no one appreciates or even needs you to do. Motivation falters, and as a consequence, you find it harder and harder to sit down and do what you need to do. Stay too long in this state of mind, and you might find yourself thinking of quitting altogether.