Working from home may sound like a dream to many. No daily traffic jams, no bosses breathing down your ear, no need to change out of your pajamas before work, so who wouldn’t want to work from home?
So you hop out of bed, stir up a hot mug of coffee and plop yourself down at your self designed workspace to start work but all of a sudden, you hear your neighbours arguing from next door, the dog barking behind your house, the piano playing from goodness knows where and to make things worse, a month long construction just kicked off down your street. All of a sudden, your ideal workspace becomes your worse nightmare.
Self motivation is one of the key values for someone who chooses to work from home and day by day, one has to constantly inspire themselves to start and get things done whether its a small business or freelance job.
Here are some tips to help you play down the distractions and increase productivity:
Place your office somewhere where you won’t be bothered frequently or in other words, difficult to access by other mere mortals. Have your office in the basement or a well ventilated room upstairs and make sure that the windows don’t face the main road.
If you’re living in an apartment and can’t avoid noise, invest in a pair of noise cancelling headphones or use thick heavy curtains to drown out the noise. Chances are that you may be living with family and if this is so, stress the importance of not bugging you every half an hour for something that does not require immediate attention otherwise you’ll quickly lose your work groove.
If your problem isn’t any of the above but what you really lack is self motivation or focus, try decorating your office with meaningful and inspiring objects that constantly remind you why you do what you do. Words of wisdom and motivational posters may sound cheesy but they exist for a reason. Pick one that suits you and put it on your desk.
You can also play music that will put you into the mood to work like Bossa Nova or some fast paced dance tracks depending on your personality. In short, home offices or sohos don’t work well with everyone especially if you’re the sort who needs to be motivated and requires interaction with others but if you’re willing to go through the pain barrier which we call distraction then you’re well on your way to becoming highly productive.
