Ironically enough I’ve procrastinated a bit on writing this post. Definitely NOT how to work from home and get things done. Do as I say and not as I do, right?! But in all seriousness, working from home is not all it’s cracked up to be. Sure pajama days are frequent, but getting stuff done takes some serious focus and planning. And when there are adorable cats to be pet, it’s even harder. So here’s how to work from home and crack out that to do list at the same time.
- Give yourself deadlines. It’s so easy to slack and procrastinate on things if you’re the one in charge of them, so give yourself deadlines and stick with them. I have new release deadlines, video deadlines, and tons of others to make sure I’m not watching Netflix all day.
- Have a designated work space or area that you like to work in. I muddle this a bit since I enjoy working from bed so much, but I still have a designated desk space I go to when things get serious. This also helps to separate work from home life (something I’m eternally struggling with)
- Have an end time so you aren’t working from morning to night. It’s important to live a regular life even though you work from home. Go outside, have a non-work related hobby, see friends. Plus if you know when your work day is over, then you know when you can tackle that pile of laundry or the dishes in the sink. It’s so easy to get swept away by those things during the work day, so having an end time gives you a clear separation between work and home.
- Take breaks throughout the day so you don’t go stir crazy. This is a lot easier when you have a “real” job because they’re assigned to you. I always try to take at least 30 minutes at lunch and another 30 in the afternoon to help get me through until 7pm when I stop working.
- Figure out a routine for your average work week so there is consistency in your life and you have scheduled time for certain activities. This will help make sure you get everything you need to done because there will be a set time for everything. On Mondays I like to do orders, Tuesdays are for videos and blogging bits, and so on. This helps me to know generally what to expect every week so I can tweak it if there are meetings or events.
If you can work from home, definitely do it. It’s completely changed my working life and if I can avoid going back to a desk job, I will. It comes with it’s own challenges, but it’s worth every single one.
