If you are into remote work like me, you should count yourself lucky that despite everything that is happening in the world, you are still able to wake up and work, earn a salary and support your family.
Of course, even those of us in remote work are cognizant to what is happening in the world and we are not able to again go to our work offices and work from there. Yes, the environment might be conducive to work from there, but what do we do. We have to live by the World Health Organization guidelines if we are to come out of this pandemic healthy and alive.
Look here, in my country for example, we started with flattening the curve.We washed hands, had cessation of movements but the economy was badly affected. So our president opened up the country. And then we had surges in infections. And currently, it seems that we might be at home for a longer period of time than we had actually anticipated. So the only thing that will stand for the time being is working from.
In this article, I look at how to work from home without so many distractions.
- Keep the kids and pets away from you
Freelancing at home requires that you keep the kids and pets away from you. For a bit so that you can set your mind into deep work. I was able to do this by setting the bedroom as the one room where nobody, not even my wife is allowed to walk into during the day time. For at least two hours per day. Everyone knows the hours and so I do not find kids or pets crawling in because they will surely distract me.
- Have clean working environment
Just like in the office, the place where you work needs to be clutter free and clean. Filth will only make you get distracted as you try to clean up eating into your work hours.
- Log out of social media and Netflix
If there is one thing that I had to battle with so as that I could work, then it was social media. I wanted to be logged into Facebook checking on friends and it was surely not allowing me some adequate work hours.
Until, I deactivated my accounts!
Other things that could distract you include TV time, play time with kids or even Netflix.
- Dress up as though you are in the office.
I like dressing up every morning as though I am at work. At first, I was in my pyjamas and I found out that it would lure me to bed. But when you are in a suit and tie, you are highly likely to trick your brain that these are work hours and they need to be respected.
- The air needs to be fresh and not distracting
We said that the environment should be conducive for work. But then we have pet dander, cigarette smoke, dust and food aroma wafting into our nostrils when we are working. This is highly likely to distract you. Unless you get a good air purifier that cleans up the room where you are working in so that you do not get those enticing or distracting odors that might steal your work concentration.