I’m not perfect when it comes to working from home.
But after about a decade of doing it I’ve tried to discover habits that lead to success. Obviously everyone is a little different when it comes to a lot of things. And that is true for working from home as well. So your own situation will take a little tweaking.
But these are some habits I’ve found helpful over the years. If working from home is new to you I’m hoping these can be good starting points. And if you’ve worked from home often, but are struggling for some insight, I hope these help a little too.
1. Keep Your Entire Home Orderly
You know it’s interesting…this entire work from home thing is far from new.
My first introduction to working from home was my grandfather. He was an insurance agent in a small town. His home, the one my mom grew up in, was on Main Street. And at some point my grandfather must have figured that his home was as good of a location as any for his office.
When I visited I always liked sneaking into his office to look around. He had a steel desk and a nice chair. There were two chairs across from his at the desk and he even had a waiting room.
But one thing was always obvious when I snuck in there…grandpa kept his office orderly.
Every pen had a place. Every pad of paper had a place. There were steel filing cabinets where papers and files where stored in a way that allowed for order.
And all of the rooms in the adjoining house were orderly as well. That was probably more thanks to my grandma, but I could tell even back then that working from home worked better when things were orderly.
It can be easy to tell yourself that it’s okay to be unorganized at home. But there is real value in keeping your entire home, and your home office, orderly.
I find it’s beneficial for the simple fact that if you know where things are you spend zero brain effort trying to locate it.
2. Structure Your Entire Day
Life needs structure.
This includes working from home. The traditional 9-5 schedule has worked for generations. There is no reason to abandon it as the main structure for the workday. But you can tweak it to fit your personal preferences.
My first job out of college was flexible…a little. It was a 9-5 structure, but you could arrive early or late if you wanted. I, along with more than a few others, liked working from about 7:00 AM to about 4:00 PM. A few liked to come in between 9 and 10:00 AM and work until closer to 6:00 PM.
Structure your entire day. Figure out the tasks you need to accomplish each week and each day and schedule them out.
What about unexpected interruptions, you ask?
Schedule for those too. Leave an hour each day for those interruptions. Figure out how that lines up with your reality. Then adjust. But best case scenario is you have an extra hour a day for working on “extra” things.
3. Allow for Mini Rewards
I find it’s good to have mini rewards throughout the day. I like to find an article or two in the morning and save them for reading later…after I’ve finished some essential tasks. It could also be something like going for a walk or watching a YouTube video or anything like that.
Work for an hour, finish something and then allow yourself 5-10 minutes for a mini reward. It helps keep your motivation going throughout the day when you have something to look forward to.
4. Identify Key Stressors
You likely had key stressors at the office. If you’re now working from home there will be new stressors. Look for the things that short circuit your brain. Look for the things that make your frustration levels rise. Usually these things are repetitive and they will continue to occur until you address them.
5. Eliminate Those Stressors
Once you identify a big stressor, look for solutions. It will continue occurring unless you address it. You will lose focus on your work. Your body and mind will suffer. No good will come from it.
Can you find a different location in the house to work?
Can you call someone to repair something that is an issue in the home?
Can you remove the door bell on the front door so the delivery driver doesn’t ring it while your kids are napping?
Anything is on the table when it comes to fixing stressors. If you’re going to successfully work from home it’s essential to fix your environment as much as possible.
Conclusion
Working from home can be a good thing. But with more freedom in your environment it can lead to some bad habits. And sometimes you can even have the best of intentions, but bad habits can creep in. So hopefully these suggestions can get you on the right track.
And I would end with a point that it’s good to audit your habits and routines every six months or so. See how you’re doing compared to what you set out to do. Reassess your situation and see if you have to change things a bit.
It will go a long way to leading you to success while working from home.