There are unique challenges of getting things done when you’re working from home, versus when you’re used to having your own office, or at the very least a cubicle, can be a bit of an issue.

All of a sudden you are in a very different environment that includes your fridge, your washer and dryer, and your TV. There’s a pile of dirty dishes in the sink and the carpet could benefit from some vacuuming. In other words, you’re out of your regular work environment, and thus out of your routine and everything you do to stay productive.

Often your surroundings aren’t the only distraction when you’re trying to get things done from home. People are the other problem. You’ll quickly find out that others don’t respect your time and your workspace when it is right in the middle of your home. I’ve had to tell many people, I am actually working, calls back to back, the only difference, is my commute is a walk down the hall, instead of driving. While that’s not completely true, sometimes you do have to stretch it out, to make even immediate families understand, your not just at home, eating bon bons, doing your nails, and watching your shows! This is how your family and friends may picture you working from home!

Since you are in your own house, it’s not uncommon for loved ones to stop by, pop in, and ask for all sorts of stuff. Of course this is even worse when you’re trying to work from home with small children around.

To put it another way, you’ll have to learn to deal with internal and external distractions on a completely different level when you start to work from home. Yes, there are also distractions when you’re working in the office. Emails come in, the phone rings, and your boss stops by dropping another project on your desk. At home you’re dealing with a completely different set of distractions because the lines between work and time off blur.

That can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. Despite the challenges, there are some distinct advantages to working from home. You can react quickly. If something comes up that requires your immediate attention, you can take care of it, even if it’s seven o’clock on a Sunday morning. Of course this can also be a bit of a challenge. You’re not exactly clocking out when you’re working from home. A lot of people like the flexibility to be able to work and/or take care of things around the house at any given time. It’s one of the big advantages of working from home. The challenge is finding the right balance. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself working too much (or all the time), or too little (and have to rush to finish things in time) in the beginning.

It’s a new process. It’s a new situation. It will take some time to get it right. When you do, your productivity both with your work and around the house will skyrocket, because you are no longer wasting time commuting, waiting around on something to finish or a new report to come in. You can make the most of every minute of your day.

Use these simple tips to cut out distractions when you’re working from home.

Your biggest productivity enemy when working from home is distractions. You’ll be distracted by that pile of dishes in the sink, the kids playing in the next room, or coming in and asking for a snack, and your mom stopping by for a chat since you’re at home. Your best friend texting you. Your crazy aunt calling for you to run food to your grandmother that already has a fridge full of food. Now, of course, if she would have actually needed anything, I would have gladly dropped everything to go see my grandmother. What I wouldn’t give to be able to do that again! Your number one goal to increase the amount of work you can do is to cut out distractions. Here are three simple tips to help you accomplish that goal.

Make A List

It’s easier to stay focused and not get distracted by other things you should be working on both for your day job and around the house when you have a list. First thing in the morning, or even better – the night before, make a list of what you need to get done today. Play around with the length of the list. Some people prefer a short list of just two or three main projects that will take up most of their days. Others are more motivated by being able to check lots of tasks off the list. Start by writing down five things and over the coming days, try expanding that to ten and cutting it back to your top three most important things. Pay attention to what motivates you more and reflect on when you’ve been most productive. I’ve uploaded some awesome to do list in my free printables hub!

Shut The Door

Next, shut the door. Of course there’s a little more to it than that. The idea here is to cut out internal and external distractions by keeping people out, taking the phone off the hook (or silencing it), and avoiding the temptation of getting up to empty the dishwasher when you feel like a little mental break. Instead, take a conscious break by getting up and opening the door to your office. Don’t have a home office? No problem. Pick a spot, ideally with a door. This could be your dining room, a spare bedroom, or your main bedroom with a desk tucked into the corner. Look around and make it work. A workspace with a door you can close has the added benefit of giving those around you a visual clue that you’re working, which brings us to the last tip.

Set Expectations

Let your loved ones know that you’re working and explain that you need to be left to your own devices for a little while. If possible, let them know how long you’ll be working. If you have young children, asking them to go play for twenty minutes while you work on something (hopefully) uninterrupted, can work. Don’t expect it to happen on the first try, or every time. That said, you can train them and yourself to set up these little work sprints that can become highly effective. If you and your spouse both work from home, try taking turns. Each of you gets a couple of hours of uninterrupted work time while the other one tends to children and housework.

It’s also important to set expectations early on with family and friends. Make sure they know what your working hours are and they shouldn’t call or stop by during those times. The earlier you can set those expectations the better.

Staying Motivated And Accountable When You’re Working From Home

Netflix is calling …

Some days it’s so tempting to sleep in, lounge on the couch, work in the yard, or binge your favorite TV show all day. That doesn’t help your work from home productivity. What do you do to stay motivated and hold yourself accountable to get stuff done?

You start by setting goals for yourself. If you don’t know what you want or need to get done today, this week, and this month, it’s easy to piddle around, get distracted, and have little to show for at the end of the day.

How you do this, will depend on your job or business, but a good general process is to start with the big picture, add in some monthly and weekly milestones, and then break those down into daily tasks.

Of course the best goals do you little good without deadlines. Breaking it down into the monthly and weekly milestones is a great way to do it. Of course setting goals of what you want to get accomplished on any given day helps as well. That’s the basis of your to-do list. The most important part is to write all this down and keep it close. You will greatly improve your chances of getting things done and staying productive when you take the time to write it all down.

Let’s run through a hypothetical example. Let’s say you want to write a book. Great goal! But without a deadline, it’s nothing more than a dream. So let’s improve this by deciding to write a book in the next six months. Write that down.

Come up with a book idea and do basic research – 5 days.

Outline the book – 2 days.

Write Chapter 1 – 1 week.

Write Chapter 2 – 1 week.

Etc.

Edit – 2 weeks.

Order cover graphics- 1 day.

Format – 2 days.

Publish – 1 day.

Once you have those major milestones written down, it’s easy to see at a glance what you need to get done on any given day to make that goal. Keep this written master plan close by. The more you look at it, the more likely you are to succeed. Use it as you make out your written daily task list. After that, it’s just a matter of getting into the habit of plowing through that list and not stopping for the day until it’s done. After that, you’re free to binge Netflix to your heart’s content.

The Importance Of Setting Boundaries When Working From Home

Let’s talk about boundaries. When you’re working from home instead of in a dedicated workspace, the lines blur between your personal life and your work one. This is true for both physical space and your time. You work in the same building, sometimes even the same room, where you sleep, or eat, or relax in. You can work from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. This poses some challenges when it comes to creating a healthy work life balance.

Because it’s so convenient and everything you have is at your fingertips, it can be tempting to work all the time. That’s fine for a little while, especially if you are enjoying what you’re doing. After some time though, you will start to burn out. And I don’t have to point out that working non-stop can pose some serious health issues. Our bodies and minds need time to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. Or maybe your struggle is all the various home distractions, keeping you from staying productive and putting in the hours you need to put in your business or your job. No matter what your challenges, setting boundaries will help you find that balance between work, fun, and all the everyday life stuff that still needs taken care of.

Start by creating a dedicated workspace for yourself. If you have a room where you can close the door when you’re sitting down to get your work done, great.

It doesn’t have to be a dedicated room. A desk in the corner of your bedroom that you can use as your office during the day is great. If not, try to find a temporary set up in a different home in your house. You can pull up a little fold up table and chair in the laundry room for those times when you need to put a closed door between yourself and the rest of the house. If neither one of those are an option, set up a workstation in the most distraction-free place you can find. Then invest into a good pair of noise-canceling headphones. Check these out!

Having a workspace is great, but time is just as important. Set yourself certain work hours when you will get stuff done. Don’t be afraid to be flexible. It’s one of the big benefits of working from home. But at the end of the day, the work needs to get done, despite all the distractions. Start by making a list the night before of what you would like to get done the next day. This way you know what you should be working on the moment you sit down at your desk. Set yourself a time limit. Work tends to expand to fill the amount of time you give it. Set time boundaries and get it done. The time on your phone or even an old-fashioned egg timer works well. I will set timers so I can write for a certain amount of time before my family wakes up and the world starts calling! Especially that dude that is so overly concerned with your warranty for your car!

Now if you would rather have a job that your working for someone, make sure to check out my work at home job reviews, both on my blog, and my youtube channel!