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There are so many people out there who would give their right arm to work from home but honestly, it’s not always what it cracks up to be! Staying productive and motivated when working from home is the hardest thing EVER!
Motivation In The Work PLace (at Home!)
I never in a million years thought about how my mental wellbeing would be affected by working at home I just wanted out of office politics as soon as possible without even thinking about the logistics! I wouldn’t even say my first year in full time self employment has been difficult it’s been bloody amazing but trying staying productive and motivated whilst working in your living environment has been the hardest thing ever!
Create your own space
Although I don’t have a space that I can shut the door and not see until I am ready to start working again, I do have an area in my house that I call my office.
Granted I have to share it with the children (or rather their toys!) it’s not in the living room like my computer used to live and nor is it somewhere I walk past every single minute of the day. Just having that space that I can call my own, I can leave my work on and I can organise as I want to helps massively!
Although my space isn’t just my own it is somewhere I like to make as motivational as I can. I have a chalkboard counting down to my next holiday, I have a newspaper cut out of when I was ‘website of the week’ as well as my promise to myself that I made in February 2018 to leave the department I used to work in.
I’m really loving Desenio prints at the minute too.. although I’m yet to get any myself my friends have a few and these are in my shopping basket!
They would look perfect above my computer!
Stay focused!
I find this really hard to do because I’m easily distracted. I always have been.. even in my school reports back in the day & my son is exactly the same now! I don’t find it that difficult to stay focused when I’m working on client work because I get so engrossed that I can just switch off and concentrate on the job but typically when I’m doing anything for me or something that I don’t particularly want to do I procrastinate.. ALOT!
I need to learn to finish what I’m doing and THEN make my lunch, a drink or check my notifications otherwise I find myself scrolling for fun!
Get Out of the House!
Sounds silly that getting out of the house is something I’m recommending you to do to stay motivated but honestly it’s probably up there with ensuring your space is adequate because you need to break.
It’s quite easier for me to get out because I don’t start work until the kids have gone to school so I do actually start most days with a walk and finish it with one too when I pick them up but I cannot recommend more to mark some time in your schedule and get out of the house when you can!
I long to take my children to their out of school activities after dinner if I’ve not left the house because I get really bad cabin fever! I have dogs in the house too which get me out but I still sometimes feel trapped.
Self progression
Don’t forget to grow your skills and build on your knowledge. Don’t get too comfy or find yourself stuck behind a computer doing the same thing day in day out. Take some time out every week to learn something new or research a topic you feel you need to know more about. I look forward to my ‘training days’ because I know I’m heading in the right direction to grow my business and it motivates me to learn new things.
So I hope that gives you a few tips on ways to keep motivated when working from home as a freelancer. It does get easier but even now I must push myself hard to over come the lull or not be tempted by the beep on the washing machine telling you the clothes are ready to hang out!
Feel free to PIN to read again later!
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