How to Boost Motivation When You’re Working from Home

Most people who have a full-time office job dream about the possibility of working from home or working remotely. And with the latest worldwide changes regarding health, most people are advised to stay at home. And so, more and more companies have introduced the possibility of teleworking, where employees are encouraged to work from home.

But even though these measures were long-waited by most employees, they come with hardships and challenges. Working from home is nice because you don’t have to commute anymore and you can sleep a bit longer. You work from the comfort of your own house and you organize your time however you want, because working from home comes with greater flexibility.

Teleworking also comes with challenges, though, and one of them is to maintain a high level of motivation, especially because your work setting has changed drastically. How can you do this? Firstly, make sure you organize your space at home for maximum productivity. Furthermore, here are some remote working motivation tricks that worked for me and might work for you, too 😉

A Fixed Schedule

You’re a remote worker now 🧑‍💻 The thought that you’re working from home makes you more relaxed. And this relaxation is associated with a longer time spent in bed in the morning.

Isn’t it great that you don’t have to get ready and rush to work?

It’s important to keep in mind that you are already used to a schedule and you should respect it even though you’re working from home. This allows you to be more productive and improve your concentration power. A great way to boost your motivation when working from home is to stick to your old schedule. Wake up at the same hour, take a shower and have breakfast 🍳

Prepare for the day as you would if you were going to work. Avoid delaying the start of your workday because you will be so relaxed and comfy that you will not feel like working.

If you spend more time in bed and let yourself be distracted, your motivation and productivity levels will slowly decrease and working will be a chore.

Change Your Clothes

To maintain your productivity and motivation levels at least as high as at the office, you need to recreate the office conditions at your home. Of course, you will feel more comfy and cozy working from your own place, but some details need to be kept —and changing your clothes is one of them.

Most people who are working from home spend their morning scrolling their social media feed while lounging in bed. Then, they start working in their pajamas and then they expect to be able to focus and be motivated to finish the day’s tasks.

But this is one of the worst things you could do! Our brains make a lot of associations between our activities. And your brain will associate pajamas with sleeping because you wear them when you go to sleep. And like this, you will probably experience a strong desire to go to sleep rather than to focus on work. This is why you need to avoid working in your pajamas. You can still choose comfy clothes, but not those that are used when sleeping.

Organize Your Working Space

If you have just started to work from home, you might think that your motivation level is high, no matter where you are working from: your bed, a couch, a chair or a bean bag. Well, yes and no.

While some of these objects offer us the coziness we need, they are not always to our advantage. Keep in mind that while working from home you must maximize your motivation and productivity levels. You should not focus solely on how to stay comfortable.

So, the best thing you can do to boost and keep your motivation is to choose and organize a dedicated working space in your home. Choose a place or a corner that you don’t use so much and work from there.

Install your gear there and add different elements that would motivate you to stay focused on your tasks. Maybe you have some quotes that help you stay motivated, a calendar and sticky notes.

If you have the possibility of working outside, you should know that this is encouraged by mental health professionals. You have the opportunity to spend time outside of a building, and you should take advantage of these moments.

Working in the midst of nature makes you more relaxed, focused and motivated.

Keep Away Distractions

One of the biggest motivation killers is distractions. They exist in all forms and they have the power to catch your attention and maintain it for a while, killing your productivity and motivation to finish work. One of the biggest distractions are our mobile phones and all those push notifications we are receiving every minute.

Workers from NSBroker are mostly working remote, especially nowadays, and they have some advice. Put your phone on silent and away from you 📳

Simply seeing that you have some notifications will make you want to check them. Also, make sure that you set some ground rules with your roommates or family. It is important to not disturb you when working and to maintain the silence.

Try to have a to-do list for every day. This will urge you to be stronger when avoiding distractions and to stay motivated to accomplish your tasks.

Conclusion

Working from home is nice, but it comes with challenges you have to face. Set a strict schedule and aim to respect it as if you were going to the office. Organize a working space in a corner of your room and be sure you set some ground rules with your family, friends or roommates.

Wake up early and have your morning routine. Never work in pajamas and keep away distractions. Put your phone in another room on silent and have a to-do list for every day. Keep up the motivation!

About the author

Donna James is a freelance writer, journalist and proofreader from UK. Being interested in everyday development, she writes various blog posts and discovers new aspects of human existence everyday.