In this blog, I sure fire ways to boost your motivation and increase your productivity, when you are telecommuting. Yes, People with self-motivation can find a reason and strength to complete a task, even when challenging, without giving up or needing another to encourage them.
Make a Home Office
Most people enjoy sitting on their couch, watching television, or snacking in the kitchen. But, let’s face it. If you try and combine working with your favourite home activities, you’re not going to be very motivated to get work done. In fact, you may find yourself deep in the latest episode of Scandal while munching on a bowl of popcorn only to realize you haven’t looked at your computer once.
If you’re truly going to get work done, you need a dedicated office space at your home. For best results, your office space should be 100% free of distractions. This means you need a door that locks and you need to set ground rules with your family or roommates about when they can and cannot enter your office. Just like your family or roommates wouldn’t come barging in on you in the middle of a meeting at your corporate office, they should understand not to come in your home office during working hours.
When making your home office, it also helps to make the room look like an office. Make sure you have easy access to all of the tools and supplies you need to succeed. This could include your computer, a printer, video conferencing equipment, paper, pens, and more. You can also decorate your room to include any career achievements and awards, your educational diplomas and or certificates, and branding from the company where you work. The more your room feels like an office, the easier it will be to stay motivated in the workplace.
You can be an Early bird or a Night owl
Getting up early is difficult even when you have the pressure of being in the office at 8:00 am every morning. However, when you are working from home and have no set schedule, the desire to stay in bed, or work on a home project, compounds.
If you want to stay motivated, do yourself a favour and set a specific time to wake up every day. If you are a morning person, then wake up early. Studies show that morning people are more proactive and more likely to identify with the idea of being in charge of making things happen. What better way to stay motivated than to fuel your fire for making things happen by waking up early?
As a quick side note, it’s important to remember that not every person in the world is a morning person. If you are not a morning person, you are not doomed to failure in the business world. Other studies have shown that night people are often more creative and sometimes smarter. If you know yourself well enough to know that morning is not when you make things happen, then don’t waste time trying to become a morning person. Instead set aside time to focus when you do your best work. This brings up the next point.
Create a Regular Routine
You may be tempted to fly by the seat of your pants every day, but if you do that, you’ll soon find yourself disorganized and overwhelmed.
A better idea is to approach your work like the creature of habit that all humans are. Determine when you do your best work, and then set a regular work schedule around that time. For most, that may mean waking up early, exercising, showering, getting dressed for work, eating a healthy breakfast, and then making a checklist of everything you need to accomplish for the day. As you get into your routine, you’ll find it’s much easier to stay motivated and accomplish your goals. Remember to schedule the tasks you need to complete, regular breaks, any meetings you have, and more.
Use Productivity Software
Guess what? You don’t have to rely on your memory or your handwritten “to do” list anymore. There are several productivity tools like Slack, Dropbox and so on that will help you stay organized and motivated.
Plan on Taking Regular Breaks and Vacations
Work can pile up and sometimes it seems the best thing to do is to work through breaks. However, nothing could be further from the truth. And, there is plenty of science to back up the claim that productivity increases when you take breaks. Here are some of the most interesting facts about why you need to schedule in some regular breaks:
- Breaks, even just mental breaks to daydream, can help you make connections and improve brain function.
- Taking short breaks helps you stay focused
- Breaks help you re-evaluate your goals and keeps you on track
If when and how to take a break is lost on you, don’t worry. A survey conducted by an University has a formula identifying the perfect work-break balance. It suggests working for 52 minutes and then taking a break for 17 minutes. You probably don’t need to time your breaks to 17 minutes.
Just make sure you take some time to relax. 😊
- SABCS Experts- Dec 19