How to Be Productive Working From Home

Figuring out how to be productive working from home is an issue that most, if not all, freelancers face at some point – or more likely, on a recurring basis.

To help you tackle the challenges you will face, here’s a comprehensive guide brimming with strategies, tools, and best practices on how to be productive working from home.

Maximizing Productivity While Working from Home: A Comprehensive Guide

You’re lying in bed in the morning, pushing yourself to get up, but what’s one more hour? Or maybe you’re sitting by your desk, with no one to look over your shoulder and check on what you’re doing – why shouldn’t you watch just another YouTube video?

We all know how one video can turn into a 2-hour binge, and before you know it your daily motivation is out of the window, and you’ll be playing deflated catch-up at some point in the next 24 hours.

Thankfully, you’re not alone in all of these feelings, and we’re also occasionally susceptible to inner voices that would much rather go out and see some friends rather than write another word/code another line/read another email/see another pixel (circle as appropriate).

This is probably obvious to anyone reading, but simply creating an environment where the only thing you can do is work should lead to work getting done. I do this in a few ways.

Set Up Your Phone to Be as Quiet as Possible

Depending on how you handle important communication via your phone, turn off all other channels of communication. My phone has a customizable “Do Not Disturb” mode where I can choose which types of notifications I can still receive, and which won’t show up.

In your app settings, you should also be able to completely turn off notifications for specific apps.

Install a Blocking App in Your Browser & Phone

As you likely do a lot, if not all, of your work through your internet browser, this one step can eliminate a huge amount of digital distractions in one fell swoop.

Download the StayFocusd Chrome extension – Leechblock is a good alternative if you’re a Firefox user. Add all the sites that you want to eliminate from your workday to the block list (you can see some common offenders in the image below), and set the maximum allowed time before they are blocked.

Be careful not to block any sites you actually need for your work, because once your daily allocation of time has run out they’ll be unavailable to you unless you disable the whole extension, which is a long process of going through about 30 popups that try to guilt trip you into keeping it enabled.

There is also a “Nuclear Option” which will block all Blocked websites for as long as you choose to block them, starting the moment you hit Nuke – and with no way to reverse it until the time is up. I find myself using this fairly frequently, and it making a huge difference to my focus, especially when I’m feeling particularly distracted.

If just blocking your browser isn’t enough, the team at StayFocusd also have an app for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS called Freedom, which you can use to manage any and all apps or programs you use. If all the browser blocking doesn’t stop you because you’ll just boot up a video game or movie instead, this might be a good route for you.

Forest is also a great option for Android and iOS (although it’s also on Chrome and Firefox). You set the amount of time you want to be distraction-free, and the app plants a small virtual tree that grows during your working time. If you decide to open a different app, Forest will warn you, and if you still go ahead, you kill your tree. Emotional blackmailing at its finest.

Try the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is based on the idea that you operate best if you work in small bursts at a time. All you need for this is:

A kitchen or digital timer
Pen and paper (optional)

Or just use our simple Pomodoro Timer and save your paper!

Decide what you want to focus on, start the timer for 25 minutes, and do nothing but your chosen task until the timer goes off. After each 25 minute block, spend spend 3-5 minutes doing whatever you want, restart the timer and repeat.

After 4 such blocks, take a longer break of up to 30 minutes, then start from the beginning. Adding a tick to a piece of paper once you complete each block can be good for keeping track of your overall progress.

If you interrupt a Pomodoro segment, it should be abandoned and restarted when you get back to work.

This technique can be very effective in that you keep track of what you are doing and constantly have a small motivational break ahead of you. The longer break then allows you to take a proper breather after a couple of hours of more intensive focus.

Make Sure You Have Your Own Space – Or Find One Elsewhere

While many people enjoy using the sofa as their work-from-home headquarters, it comes with a few issues. It’s often preferable to have a dedicated area for your work, in terms of a desk or table away from the rest of the living area, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it allows you to have a mental separation between work and leisure. Doing your work in the same place where you do your relaxing will likely (and I’m no psychologist) lead to a mental overlap that you’d rather avoid.

Additionally, the sofa comes rife with its own, unblockable distractions, such as the TV, your pets, and potentially even family or friends who are milling about. You may not have an entire room you can dedicate to your work, but even just carving out a quiet corner of your home where you can get the majority of your work done can help keep your mind in the right lane.

Your workspace should be comfortable, well-lit, and equipped with all the necessary work supplies. If possible, it should be in a quiet area of the house to minimize distractions.

Looking to level up your home office setup? Dive into our comprehensive guide on the best lighting for your home office to boost your productivity and keep you comfy. Plus, don’t miss our handpicked selection of the best desk lamps for your home office designed to shine in any workspace setting.

If you don’t think you can stay productive at home, then it might be best to head out. I enjoy sitting in a coffee shop from time to time; there’s something about the bustle of other people actually getting on with their lives that causes me to focus on what I’m doing.

Co-working spaces may also be available in your area, which allow you to rent a desk in a shared space for a day or as long as you need.

Make a To-Do List at the End of Every Day

This is pretty short and sweet, but I enjoy it for two reasons. Firstly, I get the satisfaction of ticking off everything I have achieved that day.

Secondly, when I wake up in the morning I already have a list waiting for me to take on, and can add to it if anything else comes to mind. Combining a list like this with the Pomodoro Technique above can also work well.

However, you’re probably tackling these tasks from the list in an order that feels instinctive to you, rather than actively classifying them. If this is your case, this is where the trusty technique of The Time Management Matrix steps in. This neat little system offers a straightforward way to sort your daily tasks into different categories. It’s a game-changer in boosting your productivity and efficiency. Give it a go!

Prioritize Mental Health

Mental well-being plays a critical role in productivity. Remote work can lead to feeling lonely working from home, so make an effort to socialize and connect with acquaintances or friends regularly.

Mindfulness practices such as meditation, yoga, or simply deep-breathing exercises can help manage stress and maintain a positive mental state. Aim to take a short break every hour or so, using it to stretch, take a quick walk, or engage in any other non-work activity.

Work-life balance is also essential for mental health and emotional well-being. while pursuing a certain career path doesn’t come with a guaranteed work-life balance, some jobs do make it easier for you to strike that golden balance than others. Explore and find the best job for work-life balance!

Finally, Think Dedication, Not Motivation

As we’ve discussed before, self-motivation and time management are two of the most important skills a remote worker can possess. However, ultimately, it isn’t even motivation you need, it’s discipline and dedication.

A good freelancer will wake up and already have their day planned out ahead of them, knowing when and how much work they’ll be doing, and just get on with it.

While the tips above should help stave it off, procrastination boils down to avoidance behavior, and unfortunately, there’s no magic fix for the syndrome, besides just doing.