I had always dreamed about having a job that allows me to work from home. I wanted the flexibility to be home to tend to my young children - to be able multitask some chores around the house or get Amelia off the bus. I felt like it was the answer to lots of my problems.

When COVID hit, my prayers were answered. I now have the opportunity to work from home. I am able to get Amelia on and off the bus and fold the laundry as I answer work calls. Its worked out quite well for me. However, just as great as working from home has been for me, it does have challenges. I was so comfortable with the idea of being in the comfort of my own home, that it made me just as lazy. All I wanted to do was be in bed. I had no motivation to work my job or be productive.

I remember getting a call from my supervisor asking me if everything was ok. Apparently my work had fallen short and it was starting to show. As emotional as it made me, I honestly cannot say I was surprised. I was not as productive as I normally would be because of the distractions being home brings.

I would be scrolling through social media, chatting with my husband, and just not focusing on my case loads and work obligations. It was time to buckle down and stop playing games.

Here’s what I did:

set up a permanent work station

I got a designated area in my home that would be my new permanent work station. It was away from my husband and out of our kitchen. All traffic goes through our kitchen so I had to get out of there.

respect the work hours

I work from 7:30am to 4:00pm, and for that time, it is all about my job. I put my phone away, shut off any distraction and get to work. I am not usually a morning person, so I start off with doing the easiest tasks, that do not require a lot of brain function and just bang those out. Once I start to feel more awake, around 10am, I will then get into more nitty gritty work.

to-do list

You guys know how big I am with to-do lists and my day job is no exception. Each afternoon, before logging off for the day, I jot down a couple things to do as soon as I log on in the morning so that I don’t have the chance to procrastinate. I already know what I have to do so it is just a matter of getting it done. If you are not a big to-do list type of person, here are a couple project management tools I found online:

Trello
Asana
Basecamp
CoSchedule
Freedcamp

develop a morning routine

Since I am not a morning person, I NEED a morning routine. I need to be on autopilot and not think about anything. I get up and go. Brush my teeth, get the girls up and ready for school, prep breakfast, get Amelia on the bus, do my morning prayer and journaling, and log onto my computer for work. It’s on autopilot at this point and all I do is move my body to get it done.

create a reward system

it gives me something to look forward to and helps me push through the procrastination and laziness. It is usually something simple, like reading a page out of my favorite book, going to bed early, or having a nice glass of wine.

I hope these few short tips helped you find a more effective way to handle working from home and how to overcome the challenges it brings. Feel free to leave any comments or questions in the chat or follow me on social media. I look forward to hearing from you.