7 tips to stay motivated when working from home

Work from home has become an all too familiar term globally since the onset of the pandemic. While this wasn't a foreign concept before, a 2020 survey of 800 HR executives showed that 88% of the organizations had turned to remote working since the pandemic's onset.

Working from home is a dream for some, especially if they lived away from their family due to work. Working from home also allows us to work the way we want and make a flexible schedule according to our needs where possible.

There is a diversity of Work from Home Roles that can be highly productive. However, it isn't easy to stay motivated. In addition, since you are no longer working in a professional environment, it is easy to lose discipline and lag on your deadlines.

Since work from home is here to stay and many prefer to work that way, the future of working seems to be moving towards hybrid work to accommodate more people.

Read ahead to see how to stay motivated while WFH and improve your productivity from the comfort of your home:

1. Get Dressed

We're sure most people here prefer to work in their PJs when working from home. Of course, you can throw on a good shirt and brush your hair before a meeting, but who knows what's below the camera view?

However, it is not the best idea to stay in your sleepwear during work hours because it impacts productivity. You'll never be able to wake up and get ready to take on the day this way.

While dressing up at home doesn't make sense, a mere change of clothes can signal your body to wake up and get to work. Since our brain follows personal and social cues to make decisions, dressing up gives a natural alarm to keep you alert.

Take a shower, brush your hair, and have a change of clothes to make yourself presentable, especially during virtual meetings.

2. Create a Dedicated Work Space

One of the most significant benefits of working from home is comfort. You can create yourself a work corner anywhere in the house, your bedroom, living room, study, or even the backyard as long as you have the necessary work equipment and enough peace to really concentrate.

Ensure that your comfort doesn't come at the expense of productivity and the inability to meet your target goals due to distractions. Staying on your bed or couch makes it challenging to resist sleep, especially when you are exhausted.

It would be best if you actively worked to fight off constant distractions, and creating a dedicated work area all for yourself is the key. By creating an environment that resembles a workplace, you can stay in your work mode and be motivated.

If you already have a study in your home, great, otherwise pick a room corner with natural lighting. Use a comfortable office chair and a clean desk to place your system on. Keep necessary items like pens, a diary, a water bottle, and a study lamp for better concentration and orientation.

3. Take Frequent Breaks

While working from home has many distractions, it can also result in you working for long hours without breaks if you get too engrossed in it. This can help you be productive for a while, but exhaustion will hit you at one point, making it hard to regain the same motivation level.

Taking frequent breaks is essential to avoid getting drained from working non-stop. Constantly sitting and working on your laptop or computer results in joint and muscle problems and repetitive strain injuries.

Frequent pauses during the day boost your energy, enhance focus, make you more efficient, and improve motivation. Take five to seven-minute breaks every hour and get back to work with an increased focus on your activity.

The mental and physical disconnect from your work to walk, stretch, eat, or spend some time with your pets or kids can be a great way to unwind and come back with increased energy and motivation.

4. Use Technology Efficiently

It's all about technology and its efficient use in today's work environment. Since most of us work from home now, we need good technology to stay connected to the organization. These allow online communication and virtual meetings to keep the business going as well as before.

While the firm decides on the best online tools and platforms the company will use, make sure you have all the means to use them. Invest in a good internet connection and an updated system that keeps you connected and can support the relevant technology.

Get rid of that distorted mic or damaged headphones to avoid missing out on essential discussions and feeling embarrassed during a meeting. Instead, buy quality hardware along with a reliable system to stay on track with your work.

5. Create Achievable Goals

While it is great to motivate yourself by saying things like, "I'm doing my best" or "I can do this," these reassurances are vague goals. Such things don't give much guidance, and you struggle to meet your goals efficiently because you don't know how to find your way to them. As a result, you get demotivated and may experience burnout because you don't achieve much.

Set achievable goals using the SMART goals methods for better success at your daily work. SMART stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-based

Make your goals more tangible, and with a SMART goal, you can quantify your goals and measure how to do them. Examples include:

• Get five additional sales by the month's end
• Beat a project deadline by a few days and deliver your work under budget
• Improve your presentation skills through PowerPoint before your next presentation

6. Work Out

Working from home gives you a considerable benefit to schedule your activities throughout the day, unlike the traditional office setting. Unfortunately, working out is one of these benefits, which people sometimes skip out on because of their busy work schedules.

Exercise helps you stay fit, disciplined, and motivated.

While a 9-5 job also requires sitting for long hours at a stretch, you still get to take lunch, bathroom breaks, go to your colleague's seat, and have a short chat with them; working from home doesn't offer all that.

Not walking around is not only bad for your health but also demotivating. Working out allows a breather and gives an energy boost, improving productivity by helping you think clearly.

While a trip to the gym could take too much of your work time, a simple home workout can also do the trick. Spare an hour or at least twenty minutes of your day to do whatever form of exercise you like at home and see the physical and psychological difference for yourself.

7. Reward Yourself

It is not easy to meet deadlines when you are demotivated. Instead, it drags on for longer than it should because you can't seem to focus, and the end of the road seems far away. Rewarding yourself from time to time helps to keep you on track.

For instance, if you have trouble meeting a project deadline, you can hold yourself accountable for it by setting a reward. Find something to look forward to once you are done with the day. This includes having that chocolate ice cream in your fridge, watching some movie, or taking a hot bath. Tell yourself you'll get a reward once you are done for the day, and watch how that motivates you to stay on track.

Conclusion

Working from home is the norm now, which is likely to continue. It makes work easier for many people, and more companies prefer to have a hybrid work environment now, facilitating those who find it challenging to work in-office for various reasons.

While work from home can be more comfortable, you need to follow certain things to help you stay on track and motivated.

It is easy to get distracted and meet project deadlines because you are not in a work environment. However, with the right attitude, schedule, equipment, and self-discipline, you can have the best of both worlds: spend time at home while meeting all your work goals.

For those are mom, you can follow our special Online Study Tips for Moms to stay motivated and meet all your goals.

MCI Institute understands the challenges of working from home and strives to help those struggling. Your potential is our purpose, that's why we are here.

Book a time to speak with us. We are more than happy to help you on your journey!