5 Work From Home Tips For Beginners

Get Up And Get Ready Like A Normal Day Of Work

You see all these people talking about “working in my PJ’s, yay!” but I would be willing to bet that they do not do this everyday. Working in your pajamas sounds like a fun new idea but when you do it every day it can really effect your mindset.

Any more than a couple a days and it can start to make you feel like a failure. It’s a breeding ground for depression and feeling down. Even if you are doing tons of work during the day it can still have a mental effect. Get up, take a shower, get ready as if you were going to a normal job and your mind will feel much better. At least mine does.

Sometimes I get right up and have to start in on something or emails and I can get carried away into the day. As soon as I stop and take a break to shower and change, I feel much better on the day.

Take Care Of Yourself – Get Up And Move

Make sure you are remembering to take breaks. If you are anything like me, you can sit down and work on something and lose total track of time. Set alarms on your phone if you have to but make sure you are taking breaks. Get up and move. Go for a 20 minute walk, something just to get your body moving.

I struggled hard with this one because I was the kind of person that rarely took lunches and breaks at a regular job. Now, working from home, you’re not moving around as much as you would at a regular job. Things you don’t even notice you did at work aren’t happening. It was very easy for me to sit down to work on a project, editing, whatever and sit there all day as the time passed. That is not good and I had to put a stop to it quick.

Make A List Of Daily Tasks To Complete

This is actually a big one. I started implementing daily lists a year or so before going full time working from home and it was huge. It did take a little while to remember to always check the list and to mark things off though. But, once I got into a flow it really changed how I worked and completed tasks. I believe it just holds you accountable.

I always have a daily list now for everything. It helps me schedule out my days much better as well. I can delegate tasks to certain days, etc to make sure not to overwhelm myself with tasks with no direction.

There are tons of studies that also show that checking off those boxes makes you feel good. I thought this was kind of…not real I guess..but it really does! When I go to quit for the day and I see I have checked off everything I had planned that day it really has a “hell yea” type feeling.

Remove Distractions From Your Workspace – Find Your Productivity Zone

Definitely no T.V. Just because you work from home now doesn’t mean it’s time to do whatever you want and binge Netflix. T.V. is bad anyway but this is a sure way to distract yourself and you will get nothing done.

This being said, I am the type of person that needs background noise. If I DO have on a movie or something, I make sure that it is something I have seen 1,000 times and it’s not going to immerse me in the movie. I know the words, I know the movie, no need to watch, just listening for noise. This is usually for late night sessions though. I find myself working well into the night sometimes and this is something I use then from time to time.

My MAIN “productivity zone” is with music. When I listen to music as I work, I feel incredibly productive. I lose track of time, I don’t find myself lost in thought, I get into a zone and things just happen. It’s kind of crazy. I am actually listening to a playlist right now if we are being honest. It’s hard to explain for me but it really clears my mind of distractions and thoughts become clearer and focused. This may not work for everyone but give it a try, you might be surprised. If you are the kind of person who needs complete silence, I commend you..I would go insane. My mind races way to much for silence, hahah!

Set A Schedule And Stick To It

Don’t go into this willy-nilly. Try to stick to a schedule. This could be considered an extension of making your daily task list, honestly. Set times that you are going to work or when you want to work and that is it.

Since you’re probably just getting into this, just work your normal work day hours. This will feel more comfortable for you. Don’t go mixing it up right away, there’s enough adjusting going on right now. This could throw you off, cause you to be less productive and start effecting your mindset. Working from home can start to feel like you never “leave work” and it can be easy to say “just a little longer, I am almost done with this”.