Five habits to boost Home Office Motivation
When the pandemic first hit Austria in March 2020, I was living in a tiny 25m² (269 sq) apartment. I had one room for living, cooking, laundry, sleeping, and working. I smiled about productivity tips such as “putting your phone in another room” or “having a dedicated workspace.”
And I imagine that I am not alone in this. Remote work has blurred the lines between our personal and our work life.
Working from home sure has benefits. You can cut out stressful commutes or design your workspace the way you like. There is an ongoing debate about the pros and cons of working from home, and the best answer is:
It depends — On your personality, tasks, company culture, and many other factors.
In this post, I will share some at-home productivity strategies on how to get things done — no matter how small your space is.
Spoiler alert: They don’t involve the Pomodoro method or buying an aroma diffuser. But, they involve, among other things, the jeans principle.
Here is a shortlist of the content
#1 Holding yourself accountable
#2 Take meaningful breaks
#3 Establish clear rules for your surroundings
#4 Establish clear rules for yourself
#5 Stop treating symptoms
You can find more information on each point below.
Let’s dive and thrive 🌱
#1 Holding yourself accountable
What many of us are missing in the remote working world is someone to hold us accountable. I spend a good amount of this pandemic sitting alone in a room and trying to work things out. And soon, my motivation dropped out of the sky, dead. And why is that?
I realized it was because I missed seeing other people working and being productive. If you think about it, like having a workout partner. You schedule activities and show up because you have someone waiting for you, and no one is waiting when you drag yourself out of bed, to your desk in your pajamas, and start working (or try to). So why not stay in bed for another hour?
And for this, I have two possible solutions:
a) Accountably-Group
It can be your colleagues from work or even friends or family members. You schedule a call where you have a short chat about what you are working on, how it is going, and potential problems. You could do it weekly or bi-weekly, whatever fits your schedule. If possible, schedule meetings at the start of your workday.
Morning meetings will force you out of your pajamas.
b) Coworking-Livestreams
If you cannot think of anyone or work on a project alone, you can try out co-working live streams. They work wonders for me!
There are a variety of videos and streams on YouTube, for example. You can choose almost any ambiance and aesthetic you like.
If you prefer atmosphere, I can recommend the website Noises.Online.
#2 Take meaningful breaks
Well, thank you, captain obvious! That is what you are thinking, right?
Breaks are important. But, how can we make them effective?
Well, yes, we all know how important they are. But what about meaningful breaks?
This point is crucial for those who overwork in their home office. If you don’t need productivity tips but tips for shutting off, this next section is for you😉
The science behind breaks
What types of breaks are ineffective?
❌ social media usage
❌ watching youtube, Netflix, etc.
❌ online-shopping
❌ browsing news articles
❌ eating junk food
Meaningful breaks are, for example:
✔️ meditation
✔️ taking walks
✔️ stretching, working out
✔️ grabbing a favorite snack or beverage
✔️ 5 minute clean up
✔️ sitting and staring
#3 Establish clear rules for your surroundings
Let your surroundings know when you are working and when you are available. There might be this misconception that you are available since you are working from home. It is essential to let people around you know when you don’t want to be disturbed. You can also use status updates on your online platforms, email, etc., to communicate that. If you’re on vacation, put your status on vacation, let colleagues know when you are back, but be on vacation.
Don’t expect them to remember your schedule.
#4 Establish clear rules for yourself
Same as your surroundings, you should try to establish rules for yourself.
Let’s talk about the jeans principle 👖 Whenever I am at my desk working, I wear jeans (this also works with other suitable business legwear). When I want to get comfortable, watch a movie or play games, I need to get changed first.
And I am not getting changed 50 times a day. Work. Change. Play.
I want to get at here that jeans (or other appropriate legwear) will help you get into the right state of mind.
I am sure there are a few things in your home office that you can adjust to this strategy. Put as many steps as possible between you and undesired behavior. And as few steps as possible between you and desired behavior.
#5 Stop treating symptoms
All the tips that I mentioned are essential.
But, at some point, you might have to get to the core of the problem. Ask yourself why you cannot work in the way you desire.
Workspace optimizations and productivity tips might help you in the short term. But if you keep treating symptoms and not the underlying cause, it will circle back again and again.
Consider that productivity problems might be a manifestation of more significant, unresolved issues.
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