Today there is much work from home jobs and there’s no shortage of people who think that working from home is better than working in an office. So, the question is, why do you want to work from home? There are many answers however, whether it is part-time work from home or full time, working from home does have benefits.
You don’t have to commute every morning to work, avoid office politics and everything that usually stresses employees in the workplace.
Sometimes it feels like a privilege to work from home because you can develop a better work-life balance as well as getting the freedom to do what you want in the comfort of your own home.
How to Work from Home Successfully?
1. Be Professional
To work from home successfully, you must approach all the aspects of your job professionally as you would do in the common workplace. Your home is not a traditional workplace where there is multiple visible supervision to guide you or rules to follow.
Working from home may feel or sound like a privilege, but it can bring many challenges. You can have problems from connecting with colleagues, feeling abnormal, to getting isolated or lonely.
It is, therefore, crucial to constantly motivate and supervise yourself otherwise your work output will be low.
Some jobs might be demanding than others depending on the workplace environment. However, the work conditions at home tend to be relaxed and can make you complacent regardless of which job you are doing.
So, it is vital to understand that all jobs you can do from home require self-management and strict discipline to get them done without delay.
2. Designate a Comfortable Workspace
How to work at home without distractions depends on many factors but creating a suitable, healthy workspace is the key to productivity and success.
Before starting to work from home, pick the right spot where you can put a proper office table and suitable adjustable office chair. Your workspace must have good light, comfortable temperature and other materials you need to do your work.
Your workspace has to be free of distraction — and where it is easy to stay away from the Television, or kitchen. Try not to work in your bedroom and avoid any shared common space in the house.
Be aware that if you decide to work in a bad location, it can affect your productivity. So, to work from home effectively ensure that the workspace spot you pick is free of any distraction.
If possible, make some space closer to the window and you want to be far away from the television and kitchen.
One more thing that helps much is to be able to shut the door and keep yourself out of sight. And make sure that you have everything you need to work at home.
Working from home with young children is always going to be a nightmare. But if there are other people at home make sure you set boundaries around your work-time and workspace.
Let everyone in the house know that you are working from home, you don’t need any disturbance. Decide what will be acceptable and not acceptable to do during working hours at home.
3. Create a Good Work-plan
Whether you are going to do full time or part-time work from home, create a workflow showing tasks, steps, and timelines from start through to completion. This is your to-do-list with all the steps and time needed to get your daily work done.
The reason you create one is to organize your work and maximize your time. Set a regular starting time and take it seriously.
If you want to be organized and productive, each morning spend between 30 minutes and one-hour planning out the day ahead. This is important because if you plan 24 hours ahead of time, you will able to see tomorrow taking shape as today progresses.
4. Establish Suitable Communication Channels
Most people work closer to their boss so communication becomes less of a problem. But working from home makes them distant and that can lead to the breakdown of communication.
If you are reporting to someone you need to have regular good communication with your boss — and know exactly what you are required to do.
Find out the best way to communicate with everyone whether email, text messaging, using Skype or telephone calls.
5. Set Yourself High Standards
It may sound ridiculous, but each morning you need to act as if you are in a hurry on your way to work in the office. It means waking up early and getting ready as if you are going to work.
You may be accountable for many things in your workplace so being late or arriving to work with a chaotic state of mind can affect your concentration and output.
Read more: This Is How to Manage a Project From Start to Finish
When you work from home, your overall performance needs to be the same or better than when you work at the office. It is, therefore, necessary to create a professional work environment at home that motivates you to do a good job.
There is always a temptation to turn on the television whenever you wake up in the morning. It is very difficult to avoid watching it, especially if there’s a genuine need to know what is going on around and beyond you.
However, you need to try your best and resist not to switch on your television. You can’t focus at work when you have many things running through your mind.
6. Hold Yourself Accountable
There are many things around you that can reduce your focus while working from home. So, self-awareness, personal responsibility, and accountability are much needed when you are working from home.
There’s a constant expectation that some form of information is coming to you through emails, social media, instant messenger, text messages the list goes on. This can make you feel busy, even if you are not doing anything productive.
The habit of constant checking on social media apps needs strong self-management because it won’t help your productivity. It is always tempting to spend a few minutes on Facebook, followed by an unspecified amount of time on YouTube.
You concentrate on work for a few minutes and then grab your phone for a quick scroll through Instagram. It is hard to focus on the job and get it done in such situations.
So, shut off the phone and keep it away from your sight. Also, If the Wi-Fi is not essential to the work activity you’re doing turn it off. Leaving the internet on will allow you to receive notifications and emails.
Remember none stop notifications and constant checking of emails causes distraction. If your job is online then switch off all notifications and avoid reading emails until break time or at the end of the day.
7. Don’t Procrastinate
Having a well-planned to-do list of tasks, you need to complete will help you avoid procrastination. Procrastination is the habit of avoiding to do some work or completing a task. Instead, you feel more comfortable indulging in something else than doing the real work.
People who work from home usually procrastinate because they don’t have a boss to keep them in check. No one is holding them accountable.
It is a hard habit to overcome but you need to create rules so you do less of it. And if you don’t have a structured plan you’ll procrastinate and struggle to meet deadlines.
8. Get Enough Night Sleep
Many people feel tired in the morning as soon as they start working. If it happens to you, don’t put your head on the desk otherwise you will end up sleeping.
There are things you can do to keep yourself awake. Having a cup of coffee is very popular for many people, but hold on to that. You can go outside for a quick walk and get exposed to some natural light.
Taking a glass of water in the morning can stimulate your attention and work performance. But, the best solution is to always ensure that you give yourself enough rest each night. It will help you to get alert and concentrate on your work.
9. Don’t Pretend to be Busy
Finally, there are many useful ideas on how to work from home but looking busy is one that you must avoid. Pretending to be busy and being busy are two different things.
Many people try to look busy as a status symbol at work – because they want to be important. No one is judging you in your home so do what is need and work according to your set time and make sure you stick to it.
Also, your brain has time to work and time to rest. Work from home offers flexibility, so do your job as planned and call it the day when work hours are finished.
Don’t forget as in any workplace, you need to have some breaks for tea or lunch. It is also necessary you leave your workspace for some minutes and give yourself some fresh air to breathe and relax your mind.
Did you like this article? Please, let us know what you think and If you have other ideas for work from home feel free to leave them in the comment box below