How Can I Work From Home Successfully

Working from home may not be as glamorous as people believe it is. Those who work from home have the freedom to wake up whenever they like, they can vacation and travel while working, but there are many downsides to it all as well. Once you get to work from home, you will notice that sometimes, it gets very lonely, you feel bored and isolated. To avoid these troubles there are a few things you can do and finally do some great work from the coziness of your own home.

How can I work from home successfully?

Create your own dedicated workspace;
Remain disciplined;
Create a weekly/daily schedule;
Manage distractions.

If you want to successfully work from home, you must accept the fact that it is still your job and you have to do all of the tasks you would need to if you worked in a regular office. Just because you are at home and have the freedom to take a break whenever you feel like, does not mean you can be sitting all day and do nothing. If you struggle with noise, get earplugs or noise-canceling headphones, if you are distracted by Reddit, Facebook and other websites meanwhile you work, try to keep yourself away from opening them up. Working from home is all about knowing yourself, your habits and things that usually distract you from your work. Upon realizing all of the things you need and require to successfully work, there will be no problems at all.

You’ve managed to convince your employer and you are finally getting a chance to work from home and schedule your time as you please, but how well can you actually do?

Workers who get a chance to work from home are usually the ones who bring great business results at the end of the day. It is believed home workers are more productive than those who work at the office. It is even said that those who work from home actually love their job more than those who regularly travel to their offices, they are happier and also much healthier too.

Create Your Own Workspace

One of the most important elements for your work at home is finding and creating a perfect workspace for your needs. It does not matter if you are living with your parents, children or your partner, if you are working from home, you deserve your own little workspace and you should make it be however you like. Of course, to create a good workspace in your own home, there are a few things to pay attention to:

Bring in the greenery and natural light

You might think the greenery is not important when it comes to your business and productivity, but it is actually one of the most important things you should get for your tiny office space at home. Daylight and greenery can actually improve your productivity, creativity and help you learn much faster than usual.

Always have enough office supplies

No office can function well without the tape, a stapler, pens, markers, a printer, a brainstorming surface, and scissors. If you want to create a good workspace in the coziness of your own home, you must be aware of the fact that you will need to buy many supplies before you give it a go.

Here is a list of things you will want to stock up on and make sure you always have them around when getting to work on an assignment

Tape
Eraser
Glue
Stapler
Ruler
Printer/Scanner
Markers
Pencils
Pens
Scissors
Paper

There is nothing worse than finally working on a project, focusing and trying your best, just to realize you are missing a few sheets of paper, your pen is dry or you do not even have a printer. It is much easier to have it all nearby and not waste your time visiting someone who has a printer just to print out a couple of papers.

Have a standing desk

Everyone knows the importance of good posture and healthy living. Working at home often means spending hours sitting at your desk and getting up to realize you no longer even feel your legs. To prevent this issue from happening ever again, get yourself a standing desk that is also a sitting desk too. You do not want a desk that allows you to only sit, nor you want a desk that forces you to stand all the time, try to balance it all out on your own. You want to be comfortable as you work on your assignments and you also want to keep yourself as healthy as possible.
Standing desks benefits.

Use sticky notes

Sticky notes are also an office supply you will need to have around at all times. Using sticky notes will be a great way of prioritizing your tasks and reminding yourself of the schedule you created on your own. Sticky notes are one of the things that simply never go out of fashion, people used them twenty years ago, and they do even today.

Get a nearby caffeine source

You probably enjoy a coffee or tea meanwhile you work on an assignment your employer has sent you. But, why would you need to go to a coffee shop in order to get yourself a coffee? Get a tea/coffee maker and keep it nearby your home office area, it will make your life much easier and have you drinking fresh coffee or your favorite cappuccino whenever you like.

Remain Disciplined

Staying disciplined means appreciating the freedom and also doing your best working on all of the tasks you are given. Whoever works at home, knows of the struggles and also often battles the feeling of isolation. However, it is something you need to work on yourself and create a routine that will not allow you to feel bad at all. There are days you are overflown with work, but there are also days you do not have much to do. Just because you are free today, does not mean you should not update your portfolio, work on your website or check on your clients, or maybe even look for potential new clients to work with. Take your work as a way of learning and appreciating your effort.

Create a Weekly/Daily Schedule

Scheduling allows you to own your time and manage workflow. Schedule time that works for you, sets your priorities and structures your day and work week.

The week has seven days, and each one of these days is completely different. However, you should always have a sample of how you think your week will be and write it dow. For example, your weekly schedule can be similar to this: (Note my schedule is a little different as i wake at 4 AM and go to sleep before 9 PM most evening).

Monday

Waking up at 8AM – doing a couple of calls, starting your writing project and heading to your co-working space around 2PM.
At 6PM you are going to gym and taking a shower afterward.
7:30PM -Dinner with family in the evening.

Tuesday

You are home the entire day on Tuesday
You are taking on many calls throughout the day
2PM lunch with your friend
Work or take a break for the day

Wednesday

Wednesday is another writing day!
Waking up at 8AM, heading to your co-working space and writing until tired (taking breaks every an hour or so)
Workout at 6PM, shower afterward
Finishing up your work, relaxing

Thursday

You are home the entire day on Thursday again
You are taking on many calls throughout the day
After done with calls, switching to your writing work and writing until tired (taking breaks every an hour or so)
Going out to see a friend and have dinner at 7PM

Friday

Yet another writing day!
Waking up at 8AM, gathering at the co-working spot with your friends
Working until tired, taking a break
Workout at 6PM, shower afterward
8PM Family/friends time

Saturday

Staying at home all-day
Writing and checking up on your clients and potential new clients till 3PM
3:30PM Taking a shower, 4:30PM meeting up with a friend
6PM going out with a friend

Sunday

Spending time with family
Relaxing and working out

This type of schedule is very simple to make, it does not have to be strictly followed but it creates a great plan for your entire week. Most of the time, the plan will be slightly changed, but that does not matter as long as you meet your deadlines for work and have enough time for yourself

Tip – add your schedule to your calendar so you receive reminders. (Especially for time with friends and family).

Limit Your Distractions

Get earplugs or noise-canceling headphones

If you are working from home, you have probably noticed how easy it is to get distracted by hearing the children outside, neighbors or simply your brother playing music in the room next to your home office. Getting earplugs or noise-canceling headphones could be a lifesaver for all of you who struggle with distractions of this kind.

Tip: I use Bose Noise Cancelling headphones with Brain.fm – i plug in and i get thought so much work in 90 mins.

Inform your friends and family about your important work hours

If you are living with your family or your friends simply cannot imagine a day without you at all, you should certainly let them know how important your work hours are. Some people simply mean no harm when they text and invite you for lunch, they want to spend time with you and that is amazing! However, if you are having an important project to work on, you need to let people who are close to you know that before they interrupt and make you forget about your work.

Quit checking Facebook and Social Media

Social media and Facebook were designed to keep you distracted and make you scroll all day long through your newsfeed – do not let it ruin your work routine and your business results!

Schedule time to check social media – we all need to relax.