How to Stay Focused when Working at Home?
Being able to work from home is a dream that many people aspire to.
Having the freedom to be able to set your own hours and plan your work around your family life is definitely a worthy goal.
But with that freedom, also comes the inevitable distractions from your spouse, your kids, friends dropping by unexpectedly, unexpected phone calls and more.
As I work at my own online business, these things and others tend to pop up and distract me from what I am doing, which causes me to be unproductive and get frustrated.
Heck, even my dogs cause me some distractions at times! 😉
So how do you put these distractions to the side and remain focused when working at home?
4 Steps to remain focused
Here are my top 4 tips for staying focused when working at home.
- Have a schedule
Having a schedule that you stick to, is the first key to successfully working at home.
There is no way that you can just wing it and hope for the best.
Plan your week in advance factoring in your work time, family obligations and leisure time.
I use a simple colour coded calendar that outlines all of my weekly activities, and I make sure that I show it to my Wife so that we are both on the same page.
The great thing about using a calendar such as this is that whatever you are doing, you are focused on that task at the time.
If you are working on your business, you are working on it.
If you are spending time with your family, then you are present with them, and focused on them.
I also schedule my daily tasks the day before, so as soon as your butt hits the chair the next day, you know what you are doing and you are off and running from the get go!
- Have a designated work area
While it can be awesome to work on your business while lounging around the pool, or watching television with the kids, you are not going to be very productive.
Sure, it can be nice to do that to catch up on a few things, but when you are scheduled to work, you need a designated study or room to work in so that you are not distracted.
I have my own office and my family knows that when the door is shut that I’m working, and I need to be left alone and not disturbed.
It is important to have your family on board.
It is also important that you don’t have any distractions in there either, such as your phone, and even having Facebook open and alerts popping up as you’re trying to do your work.
- Take designated breaks
I like to work in 50 minute blocks, then get up and have a break for 10 minutes.
It is good to freshen up the mind, have a stretch, and if my Wife is home to give her a quick kiss on the cheek and tell her I love her 😉
It is also good to have an hours break for lunch and another half an hour when the kids get home from school.
Having these breaks freshens up your mind more than anything, and allows you to be more productive in your 50 minute work block.
- Be flexible
Things aren’t always going to go to plan.
Something is always going to come up and take up your time.
But isn’t this one of the reasons why you want to work at home anyway?
To have the flexibility to be there for your family and friends when they need you?
Try to remain patient and not get frustrated when you can’t get done all that you need to.
In Summary
So in summary, when working at home it is important to have a schedule and have your family on board with it, have a designated work area where you won’t be disturbed, work in 50 minute blocks taking regular breaks, and remain flexible and don’t get frustrated.
After all, working at home sure beats the rat race!
Implement these strategies, and you will well and truly stay focused when working at home.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.
To your success,
John W. Newman
Lifestyle Entrepreneur and Online Business Mentor.
Helping you create TIME AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM by building a PROFITABLE Business Online!
Dream It… Believe It… Then Achieve It!
Love social media? Join me on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Instagram.
For the BEST Work at Home Opportunity, CLICK HERE ==>>
I have a full time job at daytime. So I need to be really focus on my blog to keep it going when I get home every evening. I agree with taking breaks when needed because I feel very very tired if I keep working without taking a break.
But I don’t know how to be flexible after setting up a schedule. I can’t balance them well. Do you have any suggestion for that? Thanks in advance! 🙂
Thanks Vivi, if you are working full-time it is very important to have a schedule and focus on your work so you can achieve the best results in your limited time.
As for being flexible, I think that in your case you just need to not be so hard on yourself.
If things come up that can’t be controlled you just have to understand that they will happen from time to time.
But when you can get back to work, don’t dwell on the fact of what you haven’t got done, just concentrate on the next task at hand.
Progress over perfection!
Best of luck with your website and blog 🙂
Hey John
Staying focused on my blogging is proving to be somewhat difficult, with friends continuously texting, ringing and Facebooking me to go out, lol. But they don’t understand the fact that I’m working towards something important… my future!
Despite these distractions, it’s always great to learn more ways on staying focused while working on the computer, so I really appreciate your 4 steps 🙂
In fact, a colour coded calendar is something I need to design to be more productive.
Thanks for sharing your own break schedule as well because this is something I’m still trying to tweak and get right. It’s always good to know how others stay focused, so we can use it as a kind of guide for ourselves at home.
Cheers
Neil
Ha ha!! It can be difficult when your friends all want to party and don’t understand what you are trying to achieve, it can be very distracting for sure!
You may have to explain your goals to your friends, and if they can’t except it, unfortunately you may have to move on.
But you don’t want to be all work and no play either, that is why you want to build an online business in the first place, to have that balance.
This is why having a schedule can really help!
Best of luck Neil and thanks for sharing your perspective 🙂
John,
Thanks for the tips, without focus there is no end in sight, and everything remains unfinished.
Taking you advice and forging forward
carl
Awesome Carl! Focus and forge! 🙂
Good morning as usual you have done a great job with this post, and i do agree with the freedom of working for yourself you can become destracted and you should put a plan in place to make sure that you make the most out of you day meeting your goals, Thanks for sharing this post.
Thanks Norman!
Distractions are inevitable, but having a plan certainly helps to remain focused and be more productive.
Thanks for you comment 🙂
Thanks for the tips. In a place like here in our place, with houses that are closely adjacent to each other, I find it really hard to concentrate with creating content for my site because of the noise being heard outside.
Once the budget permits, I will follow your advice here about creating a designated or dedicated place for my business where I can’t be disturbed. But for now, perhaps, wearing a headset will help.
Thanks also for the idea for working on blocks. Yours is 50 minute blocks. Maybe for me, a little lower than that. Maybe 30 minutes blocks, as my eyes get tired easily now.
Thanks again. Will tune in for more of your tips!
Thanks for your feedback Gomer.
It can be really hard if you can’t work in an area that is nice and quiet.
One solution as you suggest, may be to wear headphones and listen to some music, or maybe even some earmuffs? 😉
I think 30 minute blocks can be fine, whatever works for you!
Thanks again 🙂
This is exactly what I needed to read right now! Really enjoyed reading your post as it was just yesterday I was thinking about how to stay focused. I had a very unproductive day yesterday and it got me thinking about how I should be approaching working from home, with a regular job you have that routine but at home its all down to you.. And I never truly thought about it as I’ve just been working non stop until yesterday when the distractions got the better of me!
Creating schedules is a great idea and also a designated work area – I do find I am able to get into the “zone” more when I am working on a desk in my room rather than when I’m lounging around in the living room with family. Really great post, thanks.
Sounds like this is a timely article for you Andrea!
I understand what it feels like to just work non-stop, but eventually you tend to burnout, that is why working in blocks and taking a break works really well.
It can be hard when your “in the zone”, but it works better in the long run.
Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Distractions are unavoidable. So don’t let upset yourself. I think that you took them too seriously. My recipe is simple: I know that they come and I’m consciously ready. For that I have planned day before what i’m doing today, for what questions I seek answers and that way I know exactly where I continue after distraction. When I have done, it’s free time for the rest of the day. No specific hours.
Whatever works for you Paul, and you are so right that distractions are unavoidable, so you are better off not letting them bother you.
Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Hi,
I am working from home right now. I used to have an office but I shifted back home as I’m more into online stuff now.
Having a designated area works well. I think the key is discipline here. With only a door away to distractions(TVs sofas,etc), self-discipline is a must.
Another method I tried is plugging on my headphone and start playing relaxing music that helps concentration.
Cheers,
Kenny
Self-discipline is a must when you work from home Kenny.
I like your suggestion of listening to relaxing music!
Cheers 🙂
Speaking about working from home, I am actually on a long break from my day job and have been spending the last one week, working on my online business instead.
This time round, I am more focused because I am starting to see some positive results from my traffic. To keep me going, I use ear plugs, shut down my smartphone and eat chocolate.
I was able to churn out articles after articles so it’s great to see that I am far ahead of my posting schedules.
Sounds like you are pretty focused at the moment Cathy and getting great results!
Awesome stuff, just go easy on the chocolate 😉
Thanks for your feedback and suggestions 🙂