Hey Owlets,
Working from home is like Marmite - you either love it or you hate it. I've been self-employed for most of my working life, and while I have days where I'm sick of the same four walls, I love working from home and honestly wouldn't want to do anything else! It's true that there are lots of opportunities to get distracted (especially if you're self-employed as you're not necessarily accountable to anyone else). Working from home does require a fair amount of self discipline, but through having a routine and building simple daily habits, you'll find staying on track a lot easier. I wanted to share my morning routine with you in the hopes that it'll give you some tips and tricks to make working from home easier and more productive.
Building Your Routine Starts with Waking Up
The first thing I do is try to wake up and start work around the same time every morning. If you work remotely with set hours then obviously this is a prerequisite, but if you're a freelancer it's easy to let this part of your routine slip!
I wake up at 7am everyday and have what I like to call "my commute". I give myself 10 minutes of "semi-productive scrolling time" - I check my emails and social media and reply to anything that only requires a quick response. This might seem counterintuitive and is probably quite specific to me, but I find I'll see something and think "I need to do that today", which makes me feel motivated and like I want to get to work.
At around 10 past 7 I'll get up, make the bed, make my morning coffee, then sit back on the bed and put the TV on while I drink my coffee and answer emails or top up my social media scheduler.
Get Ready to Go to Work
This next step is a little controversial, as I know many people who work from home that stay in their pyjamas all day; that sounds great, but for me personally it's the worst thing I could do when I'm trying to be productive.
Once I've finished breakfast, I get ready like I'm going out. I'll shower, clean my teeth, do my skincare and get dressed. As someone who works from home full time, I have a work from home wardrobe; I would find my "outside clothes" (mainly jeans) too uncomfortable to wear all day. Instead I have several pairs of comfy wide leg trousers that I wear with T-shirts, to give myself the mental boost of getting dressed for the day, without being uncomfortable.
Write a To-Do List
As a freelancer I find it all too easy to bounce around from task to task without full completing anything. The best way I've found for me to stay on task is to write everything down - I start my work day by sitting down at my desk and writing a to-do list on my phone, that I can then check off throughout the day. While I'm working, if I have any thoughts pop into my head I'll just write them down under my to-do list, rather than getting sidetracked and starting to work on something new.
Setting up Your Workspace
The final part of my work from home morning routine is making sure that my workspace is set up to make me as productive as possible, and I do this by removing as many barriers as possible. My computer is older and quite slow so I switch it on while I'm making breakfast so it's ready to go when I'm ready. I make sure my desk is clear, and that my hard drive and mic have been plugged back in if I'd previously unplugged them.
The fewer barriers you have to starting work, the less likely you are to procrastinate
My morning routine is all about getting myself in the right mindset to work - I'm not someone who usually thrives in a routine, but having a routine for work means I subconsciously know what I need to do next and I'm more likely to get on with it. If you're still struggling, then take a look at my article on how to get motivated, or my more general tips for working from home.
What do you do to get yourself motivated to work? Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter
Love and Feathers,
The Owlet 💜
You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Pinterest
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