How to Stay Motivated (Work From Home Edition)

November 08, 2020

2020 has bought a lot of things with it, and one of those things is the rise of working from home. For a lot of freelancers and small business owners, this might not be too different from your usual work set-up, but, for others, the idea of working from home introduces new challenges.

Specifically, and perhaps most importantly, how do we stay motivated when working from home?

Digest New Material

Digesting new material is a technique as old as time (or at least as old as opensource information). From books to music, consuming other media and texts can be a great way to re-inspire and re-motivate yourself. Whether it's within your niche or completely unrelated, exposing yourself to a variety of media can be as enriching to your personal life as it can be to your professional life. I recently wrote more about this here.

Beautiful office setup from Jessica Brigham.



Switch Up Your Workspace

Have you heard of the concept of tidy space, tidy mind? It's the idea that the tidiness, cleanliness and organisation of your surroundings can have a direct effect on your mental wellbeing. Using this logic, your environment has a clear impact on the way that you feel, the way that you think and the output of your creative ideas.

If you find your thoughts growing stagnant, consider changing up your workspace. This might mean moving to a new room or area of your room, or it might mean re-decorating and investing some more time and energy into creating a workspace that works for you and your individual needs.



Utilise Productivity Hacks

There are plenty of productivity hacks that can be utilised to help you stay motivated and feel less overwhelmed. A part of working for yourself and, similarly, working from home that a lot of people struggle with is having a lack of routine. Implementing productivity hacks, such as "the 2-minute rule", can help to provide you with a sense of structure.

So, what is the 2-minute rule?

The 2-minute rule is a "rule" that entails separating the tasks on your to-do list that take two minutes or less to complete from the rest of your to-do-list and completing those things straight away. Some examples might include:

  • Answering an email
  • Packaging an order
  • Taking the bins out
  • Posting on Instagram
  • Tidying your desk
The sense of achievement of being able to tick things off of your to-do-list can provide you with that needed boost of energy and motivation, whilst a smaller to-do-list can often help to ensure that you aren't overwhelmed.

Take a Break

With a lack of routine, it can become very easy to neglect taking breaks. When your home life and work-life happen in the same environment, the lines that separate the two can easily become blurred. Remembering to take a break from your work is one of the most important (and productive) things you can do, as not to risk burning out (which creates a whole array of new problems).

Similarly, working from home can see the time you spend outside significantly decrease. Without that time you usually spend outside during your commute or your lunch break, it's easy to see how a lack of time spent outside can occur. Even if just for some vitamin D and some fresh air, spending time in the outdoors can be a great way to recharge.

These are just some of the ways that I try to ensure my motivation when working from home but they can differ from person to person, situation to situation. If you have any tips on staying motivated whilst working from home, feel free to share them in the comments!



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