I’ve had a lot of start and stop in my work recently — Hurricane Sandy, Thanksgiving holidays. So it’s given me occasion to think about how to get motivated. When I’m away from work, I fall out of the habit of working, and I actively have to flex that muscle again. In addition, a reporter recently asked me for work-at-home motivation tips, so I had to commit my favorites to paper:
Set up a professional environment – clearly delineated office space, lots of light, supplies and files and other material readily available
Decide when you will take breaks and reserve personal time for breaks only – this includes browsing personal social media. On the flip side, you actually do want to take breaks regularly, rather than skipping lunch and then crashing at 3p due to lack of energy!
Don’t answer your home phone or home doorbell. Treat your home office as you would an office away and minimize interruptions
Create an accountability partner or system – either have a colleague that you can check in with each day to update on what you’re doing (therefore forcing you to accomplish something day by day) or create a daily report system that you maintain (even if you don’t send it to anyone, it forces you to acknowledge if you’ve done something for the day)
Treat yourself with something you couldn’t do/ have if you didn’t work from home. This might be a 2p Pilates class near your home that you could only get to b/c you don’t have a commute. This could be a home-made hot lunch. These are two of my actual favorites!
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