The benefits of working from home are countless.
To begin with, you don’t need to go out in the early hours of the day, and traffic and bad weather don’t really concern you.
What’s more, you don’t need to deal with unpleasant coworkers, be in an office that depresses you, or follow rules that actually block your productivity.
You also feel comfortable and at ease, as you’re at home. This also gives you the chance to create the perfect workspace for you that will make you enjoy every project you work on even more.
So, to make your work a great experience (that’s how it should be, after all), here are some things you can do to get things done whenever you open your laptop:
Start your day right
When waking up earlier than you need to, you get some quiet time for yourself. Because there’s nothing else to do, and no one will bother you, you can get to work and stay concentrated for a long period of time effortlessly.
What’s more, than builds momentum. Starting the day by doing some productive work makes you feel good about yourself. You’re basically feeling accomplished before noon, and feel the need to keep getting things done.
To get to the point where you’re not just a morning person, though, but also use this extra time effectively, you can create a whole ritual.
Prioritize your tasks
Well, you’ll need to become ruthless with your time for work.
Assuming that you care about making a living, or maybe turning that into a home-based business of your own, or scaling if you’re already self-employed, then you’ll need to avoid anything that’s not taking you closer to that goal.
Family and friends come first, but then there’s work. You wake up and get started with whatever is first on your to-do list for the day.
When these are plenty too, you’ll focus on the one that is directly related to making more money, building a good reputation in your niche, landing more clients, or else. You can think about what to say to a girl on tinder or scroll Reddit after you finish your work tasks…
Design a perfect space to work
The place you spend hours in daily doing your most important work must be your sanctuary. Just like you would enjoy having a relaxing bedroom, a good mattress, comfy sheets in nice colours, the right temperature and other additional elements that you’ve thought of, so should you take your home office seriously.
- Get as much natural light in as possible – That might mean moving your desk near a bigger window, for example. Just find a way to get access to more light. It leads to better performance, and – of course – is good for your health.
- Keep it clean and organized. Think about going paperless too. Then, keep things organized and put everything back in its place after using it;
- Invest in a good chair or a standing desk which is much healthier
- Get some plants to bring life to your new cozy working environment.
Follow Security Measures
Since you are working from home, it’s your responsibility to make sure everything is secure and not vulnerable to cyber attacks or breaches. As, in a company environment, your networks are restricted, the internet is limited in the office range only. But at home, you are using a general network, not as much as secure as in the office.
To avoid such problems, that might cause big troubles to your job or your company, take some measures like, using a firewall for internet connection, avoiding public Wifi usage, avoid the use of insecure VPNs, use of identity verification and 2-factor authentication in different steps, and applying strong passwords on every single account.
Avoid routine
Do you know the proven truth hates habits? If your mind stays open you need to let it be free.
In order not to let this happen, and to make sure you have fun when doing your work, you can do many creative, challenging and new things.
Here are some ideas.
Do different activities during your breaks
Call an old friend, listen to music, declutter a corner in your home, go for a quick jog, read an interesting book, think through a new life goal, plan your next trip, etc.
In fact, you can challenge yourself to do one new thing weekly (and do it every day after working for a few hours). It can even be learning a new skill.
Go work somewhere else every now and then
Going to a cafe with good WiFi is one such idea. But there’s also co-working spaces in every city, where you can even make friends, feel more professional, and get even more productive by being surrounded by people doing the same.
Connect with people
You can easily join mastermind groups to connect with like-minded freelancers, self-employed individuals or just productivity enthusiasts. You can also go to networking events and introduce yourself to influencers or just other visitors, hand your business card and then follow up. Many opportunities might come out of this.
Keep it healthy
To do better work you need to be in top shape. Here are some easy ways to do that while working from home:
- Know how to rest also outside of your work time – frequent breaks and sleeping enough hours at night isn’t always enough. Some people don’t know how to shut their brains at night, while others are still not relaxing fully during their free time. Scrolling your phone is not a rest, it keeps your eyes and brain unnecessarily active.
- Have a workout as part of your morning routine – There must be an exercise in your day, and knowing that willpower is a finite resource and we have a hard time doing such things later in the day, the time upon waking up seems like a pretty good option. It boosts your energy and mood for the day, among other benefits.
- Take a daily walk – it’s good for emptying your brain but also boosts creativity and you might come up with some pretty good ideas during it. Of course, there’s also being outside and breathing fresh air, while moving your body. And that’s always a good thing. By doing it in the day, you can also get some vitamin D naturally. If you prefer some quiet time to think through, evenings might be your walking time.
So, after reading this, you should be excited about getting to work in your home office tomorrow morning.
There’s so much you can do, and that can become your next personal project – to turn working from home into a great experience and let that lead to better work and more money in the long run.