7 Ways to Stay Productive While Working from Home

Today’s post is a guest post by Amanda Tradwick. Enjoy…

You’ve worked only one hour, and it’s nearly 4:30. The kitchen smells like a wharf with last night’s shrimp leftovers, the neighbor needs you to trim those branches that keep shedding leaves onto his precious lawn, the dogs peed on the carpet again, but the boss is breathing down your neck in cyberspace.
According to Business News Daily, people who work from home name household chores as their number one interruption at “the office,” and that’s followed by distractions like television, errands, children, and the Internet.

No one can fix all of these problems for us, but there are ways to keep chaos at bay.

1. Choose one room from which to do your work—and only one room. Working in a common area like the dining room sets you up for family- or roommate-related distractions. Choose a quiet space, preferably with a door from which you’re going to hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign (yes, you are) and with adequate natural lighting to keep you wide awake.
2. Keep your workspace tidy. Working in a clean and organized environment means you’ll be spending less time cleaning and organizing—or using cleaning and organizing as an excuse to procrastinate work—and more time accomplishing tasks. Try to spend five minutes daily or thirty minutes at the end of every work week putting your work place in order.
3. Look professional. Just because you work from the spare bedroom doesn’t mean you should do so in pajamas. Our hygiene and outfits have an impact on how we feel on a date just as much as how we feel in an office, even if it’s a home office. So, have breakfast, shower, and put on deodorant and clean clothes.
4. Invest in lumbar support. You’re probably going to be sitting in your chair for several hours; doing so in a cheap one can lead to shoulder and back pain and an overall I-hate-work mentality that will damage productivity. Try Craigslist or your local thrift store for a cheaper option.
5. Keep a glass of water nearby at all times. Not only will the motion of drinking every few minutes keep you awake almost as effectively as a cup of coffee, you’ll force yourself to take small breaks throughout the day, which is important for your body and mind.
6. Shut the door and turn off the phone. Remember that “Do Not Disturb” sign? To prevent upsetting family members, gently explain to them that just because you work at home doesn’t mean you’re always available for errands and favors. Your home office is still an office, and it should have office hours during which you work, not mow the lawn. Explain this to anyone who tends to call you during work hours, too, and then leave your phone on silent or turn it off altogether to maximize focus. If people refuse to help you on your path to productivity despite these conversations and the passage of time, it’s probably safe to say that you won’t lose much by ignoring them.
7. Define and separate work and play. One of the most difficult parts of working at home has been keeping myself from checking my Facebook and other social sites—while my work email is loading, after I’ve come back from the bathroom, when I get a notification on my phone, etc. My solution is this: create a business profile alongside your personal profile on your computer. On the business profile, use only business-related tools and use only a browser that has business-related favorites. The process of logging out of my business profile, logging in to my personal profile, checking Facebook, logging out, then logging back into my business profile has been enough to deter me from temptation…at least until lunch.

About the author:

Amanda Tradwick is a grant researcher and writer for CollegeGrants.org. She has a Bachelor’s degrees from the University of Delaware, and has recently finished research on minority grants and student grants in Utah.