How To Stay Motivated When Working From Home
Keeping yourself on track can be hard, which is why a good routine is so important
When I first ventured into the world of freelance writing I had no idea how to manage my time or motivate myself to work for, well… myself.
Now, in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, thousands of people find themselves working from home when many of them have never had to before.
Sure, working remotely seems like an ideal situation to some, and it certainly has its benefits, but it can also be somewhat hard to motivate yourself when you’re used to a signifcantly less solitary but more structured work environment.
When I first began my career as a freelance writer, not only had I never had a job where I set my own hours and worked from home before, but I was also notoriously horrendous at self-motivation. I am, perhaps, the world’s most proficient procrastinator (which can be disastrous for someone who’s livelihood requires them to hold themselves accountable for completing their work).
I thought working from home was going to be easy, in fact, I didn’t think I would have any problems with it at all. Boy, was I wrong.
See, some people are brilliant at sticking to a routine and staying motivated; I am not one of those people.
Most of the time I felt lazy and frustrated with myself that I couldn’t keep on track and follow any sort of schedule.
All in all, I wasn’t well equipped for the “work-from-home” lifestyle. It was quite the process to learn what worked for me, the best ways to self-motivate, and how stick to a routine.
It can be surprisingly difficult to maintain any sort of a work schedule when there’s nobody around to hold you accountable except yourself. I found the lack of structure and the seclusion of being alone all day a much bigger hurdle than I initially expected.
It took me a couple of months to find a routine that worked well for me, one that I could realistically stick to. I had some late-night zoom chats with friends who have been plunged into the world of remote work (thanks Corona) to figure out what they were doing and see if they could provide me with any useful tips and tricks.
If you’re struggling to motivate yourself to work from home, here are some pointers to help you out.
Set up a designated work space
This one is probably the most important for switching your brain into work mode, which is why it’s first on my list.
When I first started writing from home, I would work on my laptop, usually from a comfy seat on the couch (and sometimes even from bed when I was feeling particularly lazy).
Sure, it sounds amazing to be able to earn money while you sit on the sofa in pajamas all day, but I struggled to get more than a few hours of work done without feeling tired or getting sucked into some strange social media hole.
Once I realized that lounging around with my laptop was doing nothing for my self-motivation, I decided to set up a designated workspace. I bought a new desktop computer and an over-priced office chair, and I don’t allow myself to do anything other than work when I’m sitting at my desk.
Not only is it nice to have a specific space set aside for work, but it does wonders for tricking my brain into knowing the difference between when it’s time to knuckle down and when it’s okay to browse social media or watch weird videos on YouTube.
You’re going to need a schedule
I learned very quickly that working from home does not mean you can wake up and go to sleep whenever you feel like it.
Sleeping in until late morning and staying up past midnight was a particularly demotivating self-schedule. Within two weeks of working remotely I had realized the utmost importance of setting myself a routine that made me more productive during the day.
Everyone’s self-schedule will look different, but it’s important to find some sort of routine that works for you.
As humans, we crave some sort of structure in our everyday lives. Working a 9–5 where you have to show up at the office each day sort of creates that routine for you. But when you work from home, it can be easy to just do whatever you want, whenever you feel like doing it, and that’s not going to bode well for you in the longrun.
I personally don’t let myself sleep in or stay up too late on weekdays. I get up at 7am Monday through Friday, I set aside time to workout or walk the dogs and time for relaxing or switching off.
Most importantly, I set myself designated work hours, just like I would have if I was showing up to a job everyday.
Take small breaks regularly
Anyone who has worked a job that requires large chunks of time spent stuck in front of a computer screen probably understands the importance of this one.
Trying to stay at your desk for eight plus hours of the day without taking regular breaks is suicide for your mental (and physical) health.
Even if you just take a walk to the kitchen and back for another cup of coffee, stepping away from the computer screen and stretching your legs is vital to keeping yourself happy and motivated throughout the day.
I’ve taken to getting up every hour for five minutes and going outside to my front garden to enjoy some fresh-air and break that stale feeling that comes from being stuck inside all day.
Always get ready for the day
If you have to get up and head into the office each morning then getting ready for the day isn’t even something you need to think twice about. But when your “office” is a desk in the neighboring room where you can work in your pajamas, well, that changes things a bit.
It’s all too easy when you work from home to spend your life in loungewear. Why suffer through putting on a pair of uncomfy jeans if you don’t need to?
Sweatpants are great, but getting ready for the day works wonders as a means of self-motivation. I, personally, feel way more motivated to work when I’m dressed in actual clothes. It also helps not to be too comfortable while you’re working; you want to be thinking “work time” rather than “nap time”.
Allow yourself to take downtime
Sometimes, when I’m particularly into a piece of writing or I get stuck in a creative hole and can’t rip myself away from my computer, I’ll end up working round the clock.
It’s great to have that kind of work ethic when you need to hit a deadline or you want to get something finished, but it can also be easy to overdo it when your work is always with you. Try not to get stuck in the at-home-work-web of answering emails at 11 o’clock at night or eating dinner at your desk.
Never stepping away from work is a one-way road to burning yourself out.
It’s important to value your downtime, and set aside at least a little bit of time each day to switch off entirely from your work and focus only on yourself.
Socialize whenever you can
Now, obviously, be safe when socializing and do so mindfully (given the current state of the world), but do find ways to socialize whenever and however you can.
Maybe it’s just a quick phone call to a friend or a zoom chat with a family member, it really doesn’t matter what you do, just find some way to break up the monotony of being by yourself all day long for multiple days in a row.
This was a BIG issue for me when I first started to work remotely. I went from a very social work environment where I spent my days surrounded by people to working day in and day out all by my lonesome. Not having a single co-worker or companion on any given workday can get lonely, and it can make you a bit stir crazy, particularly if you’re usually a social person.
We wonderful humans are sociable creatures by nature, and many of us aren’t used to experiencing a work environment where there is little to no contact with other people. Chronic loneliness can raise cortisol levels, impede sleep, and augment depression and anxiety.
We get a lot more human interaction through our work life than we may realize, so transitioning to working primarily alone can be hard on your mental health. Make sure to regularly set aside time for some form of inter-personal interaction.
Don’t feel badly about yourself if you aren’t one of those magical people who has no problems self-motivating and sticking to a routine.
It’s harder than most people think, and it can take some time to adjust to life as a remote worker. But once you form those healthy habits and find a routine that works for you, working form home can be massively beneficial and fulfilling.
