If you’re not used to working at home, making this transition can be a real challenge. Especially if you have other people at home during the day when you’re supposed to be on the clock, finding a way to devote time and attention solely to your work won’t always be easy. But luckily, by setting some boundaries and developing healthy habits, you can find a way to make your work hours at home just as productive as the time you spend in the office.
To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for staying focused when working from home.
Get Ready For The Day
While it can be nice to just roll out of bed and get to work, if you’re having a hard time getting yourself into work-mode, getting ready for the day can help with this.
According to Kristen Brown, a contributor to LifeHack.org, taking a shower, getting out of your pajamas, and brushing your hair and teeth can help you take your work more seriously, even if it feels less formal by being in your home. So while you may have only done these things when you’ve had a video call with your coworkers or your boss, try putting in this same effort when you don’t have a meeting to help yourself differentiate between work and relaxation at home.
Only Work During Work Hours
For some jobs, you might have to be on-call a bit more and work various hours throughout the day. But if you work a traditional 9-to-5 job that you can clock out of when the day is over, Elizabeth Grace Saunders, a contributor to the Harvard Business Review, suggests that you make it a point to only work during work hours and only do other activities after your work hours are over.
While there can be some occasional spillover, the better you are at following this guideline, the easier you’ll find it to create boundaries between when you should be working and when you should be taking a well-deserved break.
Turn Off Non-Work Notifications
Although distractions are always going to be there, no matter where you’re working, distractions at home tend to pull people out of their workflow much further and easier than would happen at the office.
To combat this, John Rampton, a contributor to Inc.com, advises that you turn off Facebook and other non-work notifications for your devices. Then, even if something is going on on your social media channels, it won’t get pushed through to your immediate attention and prohibit you from keeping your focus on your work.
If you’ve been struggling to focus on your work while at home, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you with this issue.
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