With more people working remotely than ever before, it’s time to rethink the traditional office.
And while work from home jobs are a dream for many, lots of remote employees find that staying focused and avoiding distractions during the workday can sometimes be a serious challenge.
Checking social media, texting friends, and even turning on the television are all temptations that can be tough to resist.
Want to learn how to stay on task and get more out of your remote workday?
Read on to find out how to make it happen.
Get Up And Get Dressed
When you’re employed by work from home jobs, there’s a temptation to stay in your pajamas all day and turn your bed into your desk.
And while this might seem like a nice fantasy, it’s not a good way to avoid distractions.
You need to set a tone from the moment you wake up that, at least for the next few hours, your home is no longer the place where you get to binge on Netflix, but your office.
This starts by getting ready for “work” as if you were about to head into a traditional office. Take a shower, do your hair, brush your teeth, and change into something other than your pajamas.
Designate An Area For Work
Image: Pixabay
Another crucial way to avoid distractions during work from home jobs?
Make sure that you designate a specific room, or “area” if you’re living in an apartment or smaller space, for exclusively work.
This will help you to maintain focus and avoid the temptation to crawl back into bed, turn on the television, or do more “productive procrastination” like cleaning out your fridge for the third time in a week.
Try to pick an area for your desk with natural lighting, as this has been proven to increase productivity.
Additionally, having a “work only” area of your home can also help you to sleep better at night. If you’re working from your bed all day, you’ll associate that space in your home with your professional life — meaning you’ll likely feel too anxious to hit the hay when it’s time to sleep.
Get A Website Blocker
Now that you know how to set up a more productive and distraction-free environment for your work from home jobs, let’s take a look at how to actually get through your workday.
Even those of us who work in traditional offices struggle to fight against the biggest workplace distraction of all time — The Internet.
In fact, studies show that the average employee spends anywhere from one to three hours every day on non-work-related websites at work.
But when you don’t have a boss looking directly over your shoulder throughout the day? Well then, giving into the Internet and losing five hours on an online forum of gossip site is even easier.
The solution?
Install a website blocker.
Those websites that you just can’t seem to resist?
A website blocker will make them unavailable for a duration of your choosing.
In addition to websites, web blockers can also eliminate your access to social media. You’ll find you’re able to get a lot more done at work when you’re not scrolling through your feeds and getting into fights with strangers on Twitter.
Your web blocker can also prevent you from accessing time-wasting apps, which means not only will you get more done in a day, you’ll probably be able to finish work a little earlier, too.
Put Your Cellphone On Airplane Mode
We all love texting — whether it’s responding to a message for mom or waiting to hear from the person you’ve been seeing about whether or not they want to grab dinner again tonight.
Image: Pixabay
However, the average employee spends about five hours every week on their cellphone at work — costing companies over $15 billion in a single week due to lost productivity.
That text can wait until after you’ve finished your work — and one of the benefits of working from home is that you likely use other forms of communication to get in touch with your remote colleagues.
Turn your cell on airplane mode to avoid either getting or receiving texts. If you need to be on call for work, you can install apps and programs that will help you to manage your notifications. Try FocusMe for Android to ensure you’re only getting the messages you need.
Take Designated Breaks
No matter the kinds of work from home jobs you’re interested in, taking a break is essential.
Especially when you don’t have a traditional office culture to help you remember to take breaks, you’ll likely need to schedule them on your own.
Even just taking a scheduled five-minute break every hour on the hour, or using a program to help you to remember to take lunch, can seriously boost your productivity.
Plus, taking breaks helps you to refocus, consider what you’re working on from a different angle, and allows you to take the time for “scheduled distractions.”
When you know you have a break coming up, it’s much easier to power through that tough assignment.
Now You Know How To Stay Focused During Work From Home Jobs
Working remotely is wonderful — but it certainly comes with its own unique set of challenges.
We hope that this post has helped you to understand how you can boost your productivity, avoid distractions, and engage in self-care even if you’re not working inside a traditional office.
Remember: get up and get dressed, designate a specific place in your home for work, use a website blocker, and turn your phone on airplane mode. Also, make sure you always take the time to schedule breaks.
Looking for a quality website blocker and time management tool?
Spend some time on our website to learn more about how we can help you to make the most out of your day.
