How do you stay focused on work at home?

[jamesperez]

I just read an article to help you staying productive when working from home and I'm interested it .If you guys share the idea or what are your tips to stay focused on your targets when working at home?

 

[AndiLim]

From my point of view as a freelancer from home, what I usually keep in my mind is to know what my target is, what I want to achieve, then step by step I will do it -- choose a topic, conduct a research, then find an inspiration to write. Time management plus focus that will keep me interested on what I am doing as a freelance writer.

 

[Miguelito203]

The need for money drives me to work. However, I've been doing this for a while now but have never been the type to just like sit down for eight hours straight and work. I might usually work for an hour or two (if I'm on a roll - in the middle of a thought or something). Then, I'll take a break and listen to music or whatever and eat a snack -- not good at doing those things at the same time. Then, I'll get back to work. Oh, it also helps if I kind of write down (nothing formal) what I'm going to be doing for the day or the week, so I'm just not totally wasting time surfing the net or whatever.

Joey

 

[fretooplek]

First of all, to work it motivates me is that all of its volume still has to be made by me. Therefore, the sooner I'll do it, the better for me.

 

[Greylin]

Needing money is a big part of what keeps me motivated to get my work done.

 

[Hawker]

Hawker

Yeah I'm with you on that. We all gotta eat. Else you'll die and be dead. And ain't no coming back from that.

The only reason I'm here today is because of my hunger. It's what gets me out of bed in the morning.

If I didn't have to eat, or pay any bills. I probably wouldn't even do IM / SEO or domaining of any kind.

I'd probably live in the mountains Bear Grylls style.

Still something drives me on, because I love what I do in some ways.

Plus its always nice to have a little extra pocket money to play with on rainy days.

 

[DavidFeldman]

DavidFeldman

Today you can do both actually--it's not hard to get solar power and a satellite internet connection in the middle of about anywhere. You can do SEO from a mountain top with a pet grizzly bear--no problem.

But jokes aside, this is also another piece of advice--do something you like to do and find a place you like to do it in--those make it a lot easier to get work done.

 

[merapata]

Really good question / problem

I faced same problem before but after some time i my problem was not proper workspace and time management...

So first of all i changed my workstation in front of wall and far from bedroom. And i also make some sticky notes to focus my self on work. Also i defined my working time .e.g l must reply to clients first in morning afternoon i keep for projects work which i accepted and evening for research and this forum work and chat with same business people..

If some day i skip bcos of some private works i fullfill it in nights..

I hope this helps as small guide after all every one know there work better.

#cheers

 

[DavidFeldman]

If you guys share the idea or what are your tips to stay focused on your targets when working at home?

This is a very good question and the first step is to "know thyself" meaning not everyone will succeed working at home as it can be lonely and it requires self-discipline. But if you get past that part, one tip is to close the door to your office space and not have any distractions there.

Also try disabling YouTube on your workstation so that it's just not an option.

 

[DarnelWhite]

Hi there

I run a online business and I have faced the challenge of staying focused. My 3 biggest tips would be:

1. Have a list of goals for that day before you begin working- Knowing exactly what you want to achieve will keep you focused and on track. There is also a great feeling when you tick something off your to-do list. I would say focus on 3 really important things. The more times you achieve everything on your list, the happier and more focused you will become.
2. Set a start time and a finish time- This includes creating a little pressure for yourself, giving yourself no time to mess around surfing the web. From my experience, if you give yourself 8 hours to do something, it will take you 8 hours to do it. If you reduce that to 3 hours only, I guarantee that you will get it done in those 3 hours.
3. Eliminate all distractions- close all social media notifications, turn off your phone if you can, eliminate any attention stealing things.

Hope that helps!

 

[DavidFeldman]

DavidFeldman

Of course if you work by the hour (and I often do) then 8 hours better take 8 otherwise you're over-charging your client.

But setting fixed times is definitely important--otherwise you can sort of quit working whenever you feel like it.

 

[DarnelWhite]

DarnelWhite

I am referring to business owners, of course if you are working for someone else then you may want to work for all your hired hours. If you are running your own business, like myself, then I can decide ,y own hours and I have noticed that I am more efficient if I give my self a deadline.

 

[rritz]

I have been working from home for eight years now and I have found a kind of routine that works and is in accordance with my own rhythm. In the morning when I get up there's usually a load of work that I WANT to do - because I admit I love my work. Sometime early afternoon I cook and make a list of things that I HAVE to do. Then I eat, take some exercise or a short nap and in the afternoon I work through my to-do-list. In the evenings I fool round, then's the time to waste surfing or I visit forums like this one or just jump round to find ideas or whatever.

 

[rfharris]

haha, this is one of the most common problems people face while working from home as sometimes it become very difficult to do work at home with full attention and concentration with the family members so I usually tend to work late night when everybody sleeping

 

[ulterios]

At first (many years ago) I found it easy to stay focused all the time. Then, as time passed I had some days where I was just not focused/motivated to do a lot of the same old stuff. I decided that I needed to have some kind of plan to help keep everything going at a good pace without slacking.

Here's what I did/do now to stay focused on getting things done:

1. I make a calendar up at the end of a month for my tasks/list of things to do each day. On this calendar I have certain things that are must do's and I check them off as I do them. I also have an optional list of things that I pick from each day when I have extra time or just want to do more. On this calendar I have certain things that are done the same day each week as well as certain things that are done on a monthly basis. Of course there are some daily tasks as well.

2. Mix up the order in which certain things are done. Things like doing certain things in the AM one day and then in the PM hours the next for daily tasks. I also try to mix up things that are done weekly by altering the days that certain tasks are done. Keeping things varying a little can help from feeling like every day is a rut.

3. Make sure to take breaks from working, just like if you were working at a traditional job. Work a couple hours, then take a 10-30 (depending on work load) minute break and do something that isn't work related. Play a game on a tablet, watch some YouTube videos, browse some websites or blogs for just entertainment, read part of an eBook or something, or some other non-work related activity.

4. Make sure to eat regularly. This is something that I neglect and work quality can decrease if you aren't focused because your body is telling you that you are hungry but your mind is ignoring it.


These are some of the key things that I do to stay focused and/or motivated to be more productive working at home.

 

[DarnelWhite]

DarnelWhite

Awesome tips man..

I really liked the points on variation, because routine can kill motivation and also eating is vital, I was so caught up in work that I wouldn't eat for hours.

Good stuff man!

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

Thank you, i'm glad that you liked them.

As for the variation part, it took me a while to try that idea out and come up with it. I was doing the same thing all the time and was burned out a lot. Now that I mix up things and try to get some variation, I have found that it's a lot less tedious. Working at home can cause that more in my experience, because it's so easy to just go do something else around the house or take off and go somewhere, unlike if it was a traditional job.

The eating regularly part was causing my weight to fluctuate quickly because once I get into doing something I tend to forget about eating. Lots of times I haven't eaten till right before bedtime. This is not something that is good for a person's health. I have been trying to focus on eating something at somewhat regular intervals and it helps with being able to concentrate better.

Working at home has it's benefits, but also has things that come into play that many people don't realize.

Thanks again and enjoy the rest of your day.

 

[Lee06]

You just have to remember that you work to have a better life, to pay your invoices, maybe your house and if you have a family you can remember that you work for them too. I think it's a luck to work at home, and you have to preserve this luck.

 

[HCFGrizzly]

1. Drink lots of green tea
2. Use headphones to isolate myself from the environment I`m in
3. Try not to work from bed

 

[wrcato2]

Being a solo-penuer, is tough and it is even tougher when you get distracted. Did you know that once you are distracted it will take at least 15 minutes to re-focus on your project again. Now imagine if you were distracted 5 time in an hour? it would take approximately 75 minutes of your time to get back on track again.

WIth that said I cut out all distractions.

Second "eat your frog" I learned this from Brian Tracy years ago. In essence you do the hardest or least desired project first, then the rest of the day will be easier.

Last but not least List your day: Basically, you write out a list of the top things to get done in the amount of time you have. Stick with the list and once it is complete check your email and play around on facebook. However, I enjoy living life offline.

 

[MeowNinja]

It is extremely tough to work by yourself. First, people think they can approach you and interrupt you ANY time. Another aspect is wearing several hats, which can be distracting and really damn hard when you're stressed out.

What works for others, may not work for you. It'll take time to figure things out, hell, I haven't figured out my perfect from home work schedule yet :/

 

[imnathanjames]

I have learned over the years that i can not sit in front of the tv and get work done.
./ I work in a separate room, no distractions.
./ I always have a daily plan of work that i need to accomplish
./ I work for an hour, or if it's a repetitive task i complete ten tasks such as blog commenting etc then i take a ten minute break.
./ If i listen to music then it's usually chillout or ambient dance etc. something that will help me zone in to my work.
./ Get an accountability partner. This helps so much.get in a skype call to each other every week or 2 weeks. Set a target and make it happen by your next call. This has helped me push my business forward.

Hope this helps.

 

[rbmm]

A lot of great tips and ideas already suggested.

I do performance consulting, and there are psychological principles at work,
as such, everyone works a bit differently.

One thing that happens to most everyone is that they hit a type of "Wall" at
some point where they find themselves unable to really get much done that
is advancing them toward their goal. This happens especially to people who
are starting out on something and don't really know how to pull things together.

The difference between this happening to a veteran v.s. novice, is that the
veteran can "Wing-it" for a while until they get re-focused, while the novice
is out there kind of blowing in the wind (so to speak).

There is no magic wand that is going to pass over anyone to make them
productive and focused all of the time. The problem comes from having
difficulty focusing when you need to be working.

Working at home is one of the most difficult things to do for many people.
There are so many distractions, and ways that a person can get off-track,
that it takes a lot of planning (as mentioned), organizing (also mentioned),
and willpower to overcome many of these distractions.

Distraction will happen, it is natural. The brain can handle only so much
for so long, and needs a break. By "Training" your brain to focus a little longer
each work session, you can get a lot more done.

There is also this thing called "The Zone" where you are so wrapped up in something
that you just don't get distracted. This happens when you watch a really good movie,
or read an interesting book.

1. Don't be afraid to take a break when you need to, just don't baby yourself.

2. Try to organize BEFORE you begin a project so that you don't have to get distracted
looking for things that you should have had at hand. This includes getting your files
in one place on your computer, maybe even setting up a list of web sites that you
will be using. It depends on what you are working on.

3. DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GO CHECKING YOUR EMAIL! The worst time
wasting thing that you can do, and the most unproductive. This also goes for
Face-waste, Twittle, and the rest of the social media. Pick a time to go there,
and limit yourself. A bit of self-discipline never hurts.

4. If you are not using the internet for research, then turn it off. The internet is the
biggest hazard and distraction to people - period!


There are many other options and ways to stay productive, but I hope that this gives
everyone a good starting point. I'd give a few more, but my fingers are getting tired!

 

[TheStrugglingNewb]

Man, ya'll are rockin with these tips!

I've been working from home for over a year now. Here's what works for me.

1.) Make the next days 'To Do' List Before You Go to Bed

This is kind of like a ritual for me. Each night, I make a list of things that I want or need
to accomplish the next day.

This sets me for having a clear plan when I wake up. Time is money...and I don't like to waste it.

2.) Have A (DDF) 'Designated Distraction Free' Work Area

Find yourself a comfortable area to work in that free of distractions. If you like to
listen to music while you work, that's fine as long as it does not distract you.

Close all non essential apps on your pc like email, Facebook apps etc...

Turn off you cellphone unless you're expecting an urgent call.

3.) Work in Focused 2 Hr Blocks


I went through a productivity class a while back (can't remember the name of it) and
one of the things that I learned is that our minds can really on focus effectively on a task for about 2 hrs.

After that, we need a break to reboot and start the process again.

Now, when I do start a task, I give myself 2 hrs to do it, and if it takes longer, I take a 15 minute break and then come back to it.


4.) Set Defined Working Hours

If you're not careful, you can spend your whole day working on your business...

Especially if you're doing something that you love.

You need to be able to set aside time for yourself and your family and setting defined work hours
will give you a chance to do that.

5.) Prioritize Your Work (do 'money making' tasks first!)

This is a BIGGIE!

Whatever tasks makes you the most money...do those tasks first!

After you do those tasks, then do the tasks that you hate doing (if you have any) and get those
out of the way.


Fred

 

[Muzzamil]

I just read an article to help you staying productive when working from home and I'm interested it .If you guys share the idea or what are your tips to stay focused on your targets when working at home?

I just think about the end goal, and then just start working.

 

[Cameron Hill]

Alright so there's a lot of good stuff above! I'll add my 2 cent:

1. I recommend reading "The ONE Thing" by Gary Keller (or listening to the audiobook). Really helped me out. Basic idea is that you should find the most productive thing to do (the thing that produces results) for 4 hours (minimum) first thing every morning. To find out your one thing, ask yourself, "What is the one thing I could do right now that would make everything else easier, or irrelevant?" Obviously not everyone can do it first thing in the morning (work etc.) so you could find another time of day. You could wake up a little earlier and do 2 hours in the morning, 2 hours in the evening. The basic idea is: no distractions. No matter what. This time is sacred, and you use it going hard.

2. Something that's helped me massively is the pomodori technique. A pomodoro is the singular. The idea is kinda like interval training in health and fitness. 25 minutes working, 5 minutes resting, to increase the quality and intensity of the work period. Also allows you track how much you're actually getting done (crucial).

3. Eliminate all distractions. Eg phone on airplane mode, find a quiet place/"plug-in" (eg headphones).

4 Take a few deep breaths before you start and quiet your mind. This will increase the effectiveness of your work by increasing your concentration.

5. Meditate daily. I know it's not for everyone, but I had to include it because it's been so incredibly helpful for me. Basically all incredibly successful people meditate daily, usually in the morning, so I'd recommend that highly.

If you have any questions, I'm happy to help

Cheers

Cam