Top 5 tips for staying motivated whilst working from home
1. Wake up early and stick to a routine!
Getting up early is difficult even when you have the pressure of being in the office at 8am every morning. However, when you are working from home and have no set schedule, the desire to stay in bed, or work on a home project, compounds.
If you want to stay motivated, do yourself a favor and set a specific time to wake up every day. If you are a morning person, then wake up early. If you’re not a morning person, don’t worry! You can still set up and create a routine for each day even if you don’t want to wake up at 8am!
2. Keep your work zone, rest zone and sleep zone separate!
It’s all too easy to get distracted and not stick to a schedule when you are working from your laptop and sitting in your bed. Get up, get dressed and sit at a solid work desk. Don’t let yourself get sucked back in to feeling sleepy or unproductive. Get moving!
3. Have clearly defined working hours!
Usually work from 9am to 6pm? Make sure you are focusing on work during those hours. Make sure you still take the breaks you usually would, like an hour for lunch!
If you’re not feeling productive, get up and go for a walk around, make a cup of tea and drink some water. Call your colleagues and catch up with them too, I’m sure they would appreciate some familiarity!
4. Use productivity trackers!
Write a to do list! Add things on there you know you will 100% be able to complete. After all, there’s nothing more satisfying than ticking things off your to do list. Make a list for the day and for the week, be realistic with when you’d like to get things done. Distractions do happen, so don’t feel bad if you only manage to get 3-4 things ticked off your list.
Like we said before about checking in with coworkers, use an online shared document to assign each other tasks and monitor progress. While it may be difficult to keep up with your to do list, keeping in touch with colleagues and seeing them completing their tasks might just be the motivational kick you need!
5. Relax and destress!
Don’t feel like a bad employee for taking an afternoon off to work on your mental health and destress. It can be difficult staying cooped up inside, but remember you’re not alone in this. Call your loved ones, do some yoga, play video games, start a new book! There are plenty of things you can do to keep your mind busy and stay positive.
Remember; there are vulnerable people stuck at home with nobody to interact with right now. Make sure to check on them, send them an email, let them know what you’re up to, give them a call and schedule a video chat. Keep safe and stay home!
