Staying Motivated While Working at Home
--
We’ve all experienced “The Crash” before, right? Not literally a crash — but the figurative, productivity crash. You’re at home — doing school work — minding your own business — and then BOOM — crash — you lose all motivation — all alertness — all you want to do is sleep. I’ve been there — we’ve all been there.
And as someone who has experienced the crash many many times, I want to tell you the four things that have worked for me — to get through that crash.
(1) REMOVE / RETURN
Temporarily remove yourself from the room you are in and take a quick walk. I mean take a 90 second walk in your home — change up the scenery for a few moments and then return to the room you were in to continue the work. If its a nice day out side, concider even walking around the outside of you home.
(2) REHYDRATE
One of the biggest symptoms of dehydration is fatigue. Water is Key! Drink A lot of water! Keep the water running through your system and avoid any of the energy sucking symptoms of dehydration. There are even numerous smart phone apps avaialble to help you make sure you are drinking enough water throughout the day. (I use Plant Nanny)
(3) REFRESH
You might need to do something for a minute of two to get the blood flowing again. Try shocking your system by throwing some cold water on your face — or take 90 seconds and do some jumping jacks. Do something to get your body moving and the blood flowing well. This can make a huge difference in resetting you energy levels.
(4) REPOSITION
Let’s assume at this point you have already done the REMOVE / RETURN technique in which you have left the room and then returned. When you return, if possible, don’t return to the exact same chair or couch or desk that you were just in. Try sitting somewhere else — or try standing while you work. (There are some amazing standing desk options available).
I know I promised you 4 techniques, but I want to give you a bonus technique in case these first four are just not working for you. So our bonus technique is this:
(BONUS) REPOSE
What does repose mean? Its another name for sleeping — or to put it more specifically for our context — take a quick power nap — 20 / 25 minutes — no longer. Set your alarm — close your eyes — and drift off to sleepy town for a few minutes. Don’t over do it though — a long nap can actually leave you feeling groggy. Keep it short and then get back to work. And if you want a power nap pro tip, try quickly drinking a cup of coffee right before you take your nap and see how you feel after you wake up.
To Review:
Remove / Return — Take a quick walk around your house and then return. Just for a minute or two.
Rehydrate — Drink some H2O. Water will increase your energy levels.
Refresh — Try some jumping jacks or something. Get moving — throw some cold water on your face — do someting to wake your body up.
Reposition — Adjust where and how you are sitting in the room. Don’t remain in the exact same seat in the exact same position. Concider standing while you work.
Repose — Take a 20 minute power nap. Maybe even drink a cup of coffee before you take the nap.
So next time you are working and you begin to drag just think to yourself “Remove, Rehydrate, Refresh, Reposition & Repose” These technics have worked for me many many times and I belive they will work for you too. Give them a try.
